LAKERS vs SPURS GAME 4 THOUGHTS

I woke up early just to watch this game and when I found out that Joey Crawford will officiate this game, I honestly thought that his history with the Spurs would be sensationalized and I was right. I expected the Lakers to bounce back honestly and now let's go to the thoughts shall we?

The Lakers grabbed an early lead in the first quarter. The Lakers simply were grabbing offensive rebounds and the help that Kobe Bryant simply needed was present. Luke Walton struggled though in the first quarter but picked it up by the second quarter. The thing that made me worried for the Lakers was that both Fisher and Odom, good stabilizers of the Laker offense, got into foul trouble early. But suddenly, Vladimir Radmanovic simply was the "savior" of some sorts for the Lakers in the first quarter.

The Lakers had 14 or so second chance points but the Spurs hung in tough thanks to the turnovers of the Lakers. The Spurs took two timeouts in the 1st Quarter alone. Gregg Poppovich was obviously furious at the lack of focus by his Spurs. Manu Ginobili struggled yet again. Once he struggles, the Spurs will have a tough time winning but it was a good thing for the Spurs that Brent Barry came alive off the bench. Brent scored 23 big points and was a part of the crucial final play down the stretch of the game.

The Spurs actually had chances to win this game but they simply could not make that momentum-changing shot. Robert Horry is struggling big time to tell you frankly. What is amazing though is that the Spurs did not allow Kobe Bryant to take a single free throw. Yes, you saw it right. Kobe did not attempt any free throw in the whole game. Gregg Poppovich's plan of making Kobe work hard for his points was successful but the difference here was Kobe got the necessary help he desperately wanted.

Let us talk about the "Big Three" of each team now. For the Lakers, their "Big Three" would be Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom. Kobe had 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Gasol had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Odom certainly bounced back after a shaky Game 3 with 16 points while collecting 9 rebounds as well. Overall, the Laker "Big Three" was exceptional. For the "Big Three" of the Spurs, it would be Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. Duncan had another monster outing with 29 points and 17 rebounds. Parker meanwhile had 23 points and dished out 9 assists. Manu Ginobili had 7 points and 6 assists. Duncan and Parker did their part but Ginobili somehow did not. You cannot blame him though. He is not 100% and his injuries are simply affecting his game.

About the final play involving Brent Barry and Derek Fisher this time. Brent Barry pump faked and this made Fisher jump and landed on Barry. There was contact no doubt but Joey Crawford did not call it. I honestly thought that a whistle will be blown but fortunately (or unfortunately. It depends on how you look at things), no whistle was blown and the Lakers win 93-91. They now take a commanding 3-1 series lead.