Game-Night Preview: Do We Still Care About Spurs vs. Lakers?
So ESPN is billing this Spurs - Lakers matchup tonight as Team Chemistry vs. Chemistry Experiment. Which is true, if by “chemistry experiment” we’re talking about finding an empty Liter-A-Cola, filling it with a little bit of water, plopping some dry ice in it, and tightening the lid.
The Los Angeles dry-ice bombs (1-7) are a total mess. They’re allowing more than 114 points per 100 possessions, dead-last in the league, Byron Scott may or may not be insane and/or delusional, and Kobe Bryant is leading the league in scoring while shooting worse than 39 percent from the floor (27.5 points per game on 24.5 field-goal attempts). And that’s without mentioning the fact theit high-profile rookie, Julius Randle, broke his leg on opening night and Kevin Love just told reporters he’s not going to L.A. in the wake of recent rumors. Being a Lakers fan this season seems about as enjoyable as running a marathon with a hangover.
On the other hand, things aren’t perfect in Spurs-land (4-3), either. Injuries are affecting efficiency on both sides of the ball, the only objectively good game they’ve played was on Tuesday in Oakland, and they’re currently sitting eighth in the Western Conference standings. That’s not a big deal at this point though. My guess is they’ll be pushing the top seed within a few weeks, if not days.
But we still have yet to see the consistent basketball we’re accustomed to, though there are some positives: Tony Parker busted out, Kawhi Leonard seems to be putting the conjunctivitis crap behind him, and Tim Duncan just continues to play amazing freaking basketball at 38 years old. As Tiago Splitter inches closer to a return from whatever the hell is going on with his calf and Marco Belinelli returns from his mild man-regional strain, things will pick up.
Right now, all I’m interested in is what Leonard does. He represents everything that’s exciting and fresh and new with the Spurs. I love watching Timmy and Manu and Tony, but we always know what we’re getting. And that’s fine; that’s why Spurs fans love this team. Winning is fun! But watching Kawhi run the show the other night against the Clippers was, to me at least, more fun. I realize this comes off as spoiled or jaded or whatever, that I’m basically taking for granted how difficult it is to actually win as many games as the Spurs do on a yearly basis, but that’s the reality. Barring a major injury — or multiple major injuries, really — this team is going to be right there in the end.
So why do we watch this? Why do we pay such close attention? Does a nationally televised Friday-night matchup with the Lakers still get you going? I mean, I know it does for a lot of you, but why? That team hasn’t been good in four years, so maybe it’s the Kobe-Duncan aspect of it all. (There has been some good stuff written on this matchup in the last couple of days — here and here, for two.) Still, I’m not sure even nostalgia can compensate anymore for a physically limited Bryant jacking 19-foot fade-aways all night. (I really wish, when Kobe broke the NBA record for most missed field goals in a career, they would’ve stopped the game, showed a montage and presented him with a ball, and that ball was partially deflated with really bad rim burns on it. Or maybe they’d just give him a brick. That would’ve been so much fun, but I digress.)
Rivalries go back a greater length of time than just four years. I remember going to this matchup in the Alamodome, when Shaq was there and Kobe wore No. 8 and had that short-fro. I remember the recent battles in the late-2000s, when the Lakers kept winning those big playoff battles and stopping the Spurs’ title runs. I hated those Lakers. Hell, I hate these Lakers, but for different reasons, not the least of which is the fact they employ Carlos Boozer.
Maybe that’s it. These Lakers are such a pain in the ass because there’s nothing fun about them. The eventual return of Nick Young might help that a little, but it’s still going to be ugly basketball. And I know I sound like sour grapes, but I do enjoy watching the mid-November Spurs. I like watching them figure out new things along the way, I love watching Boris Diaw play, I enjoy Gregg Popovich’s beard, the #IcyHot guessing game remains a fun time, and Manu is still Manu. The Spurs are still the same team I’ve had a blast watching for however the hell long it’s been, and I still shake my head in disbelief with some of the things they continue to do. But, still, this game…
I realize there aren’t exactly any other ratings-bonanza-type matchups on the docket this evening, and Lakers - Spurs is almost always broadcast nationally, but, bleh, man. San Antonio is going to blow Los Angeles out of the water (you’d think at least) as Kawhi swallows Kobe with his boa constrictor arms, and by the fourth quarter we’re going to be watching the inimitable — the totally imitable — Ryan Kelly launching 3-pointers, but only if Scott allows him to do so. (And by the way, it’s hilarious to me all the Ryan Kelly updates coming from L.A.-based and ESPN reporters at shootaround. This is where we are with the Lakers. The coach is being asked of Ryan Kelly’s availability. Ryan Kelly.)
So, we’ll continue to watch and see if the Spurs can build on the offensive performance they put on against the Warriors — it shouldn’t be difficult, considering the opposition — and we’ll still remained glued to the Leonard storyline as he develops into what San Antonio hopes is its new Face of the Franchise (which, considering he doesn’t talk or say or do anything interesting outside of basketball, they really hope he is).
Regardless of the situation, we’ll still find a way to get fired up for Spurs vs. Lakers, no matter how little it resembles the good ol’ days.
Tip-off is at 9 p.m. CT on ESPN. Get pumped!
