Count me among the NBA fans who enjoy watching the Lakers lose. It wasn’t always this way, but that Kobe guy just irks me. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the Spurs thrashing of the Lake-No-Shows last night 97-82. The Lakers played (count em) ONE good quarter -- and that was the 2nd. I am not sure it was even them playing a good quarter as much as it was the Spurs having a bad one. At any rate, the Lakers have now lost three straight and Kobe is starting to (maybe) realize that his 30-ish% shooting is as much to blame as anyone else on the team. He was 8-for-27 from the field. It doesn’t help that Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, and Lamar Odom barely made a dent in the game, Shannon Brown was 1-for-11 and their point guards suck. All in all, the Lakers shot 35% from the field and committed 16 turnovers -- and five were courtesy of Kobe Bryant. At least Andrew Bynum is coming along (10 points and 7 boards in 22 minuntes). If he’s available in your fantasy league then now is a good time to snatch him up.

On the flip side, San Antone handled their biz as usual. Aside from Duncan having a horrible game (1-of-7 from the filed for 2 points, 4 boards and 2 assists in 30 minutes), everyone else was decent or better. Tony Parker had another great game going off for 23 points, two boards, two steals, and three assists without a single turnover. It’s so nice to see him not turning the ball over five times a game like last year. Also -- DeJuan-Frikkin-Blair was awesome with 17 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and a block. Now that’s what I’m talking about. I can’t see why he doesn’t approach those numbers more often. It’s not like the Lakers lack size or anything.

George Hill played 27 minutes and had 10 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, three assists, and two steals -- no turnovers. Meanwhile, Gary Neal only played about 18 minutes. Like I said, it’s time to move on if you picked him up in your fantasy league.

Speaking of George Hill, Kobe almost provoked him in to going Chris Childs on him at one point. Peep the video below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-oKNhXvEjg

Well today is the day. LA Lakers vs Boston Celtics.. again. Call me crazy, but I am going to go out on a limb and make predictions one more time this season. I nailed the first round, and most of the Western Conference. However, my underestimation of the Boston Celtics pretty much ruined my bracket. I say no more! This time I am going to call it and get it right, so here goes.

Backcourt:
Kobe Bryant is among the best players in the NBA ever, and Ray Allen is among the best shooters in the NBA ever. They seem to share a mutual dislike for eachother dating back to Ray Allen’s days in Seattle, if not further. Kobe will be forced to run around and defend him all series or try to shut down Rajon Rondo instead. Rondo is making a case for himself being considered the best point guard in the league. The only problem is that he is banged up and the Celtics need him to run the show or they will be in trouble. They got a lift from Nate Robinson in Game 6 against Orlando, but that can’t be expected to work all series against LA. Derek Fisher is the weakest link here for either team, but that isn’t saying much as he is not a very mistake prone player and has a knack for hitting a timely shot or two in crunch time.

Frontcourt:
Lamar Odom and Ron Artest will be bothersome to say the least. Paul Pierce had his way with the Lakers pre-Ariza/Artest era, but it’s a different situation now. If Pierce can get going at all in this series it will help to keep Artest less active on offense, but the jury is out on how effective either can be against each other. KG has obviously lost a step since the Celtics won in 2008, but he has learned to adjust quite well. I’m sure it helps when you have a decent supporting cast around you. The question is how they will contain Pau Gasol. Presumably, Kendrick Perkins will do the honors of guarding Gasol most of the time, and that would be fine but there is one worrisome factor here. Perkins is one tech short of a one game suspension. Can he keep under control enough to not get T’d up or ejected? Then there’s Bynum who is still having problems with his knee. How effective can he be? I’m guessing not as effective as Rasheed Wallace - and that’s not saying much.

Bench:
Both teams have decent benches that can give them a boost when needed. Odom may start with Bynum having issues with the knee, but the Lakers also have Farmar, Shannon Brown, and Adam Morrison (just kidding). The Celtics can lean on Tony Allen sometimes (of course that could mean a timely five points or untimely five turnovers), and Nate Robinson in the backcourt, with Rasheed and Glen Davis in the frontcourt.

Coach:
Then there’s the Phil Jackson factor. Phil is a far better coach than Rivers, but Doc has surprised me lately. He is doing all the right things and navigated the Eastern Conference with relative ease.

In the end, I think the Celtics have the edge. They beat Orlando and Cleveland without home court so I don’t see why they couldn’t beat LA in a series format that arguably favors the road team. My prediction: Celtics in 6

The Spurs lost to a Lakers team that was missing arguably the best player in the game right now and their starting center. They may as well have lost to Pau Gasol and four lucky fans last night. Gasol had some ridiculous numbers with 21 points, 19 rebounds, eight assists, five blocks, and a steal. Ron Artest had 18 points, and Lamar Odom had a double-double with 16 and 10. For the Spurs, the usual players showed up – Duncan (16 points, 15 boards), Parker (20 points, 8 assists), and Ginobili (21 points). The tandem of Antonio McDyess and DeJuan Blair had 15 points and 14 rebounds… not too bad. George Hill was a non-factor, and Richard Jefferson…. oh boy.

First, the good news. He is apparently gonna stick with the facial hair, which is a good thing since he avoids looking like Keanu Reeves when his real body actually woke up within The Matrix.

The bad news is that RJ had only nine points, two rebounds, and two assists in 33 minutes. This is really looking like the norm for RJ. We’re lucky when he scores in double figures, and even luckier when he grabs more than two or three rebounds or can help the Spurs get a stop in the fourth quarter. But we expect it less and less. To be fair, Finley and Bogans were even more atrocious and should never see the court again for all I care, and I would like to see Malik Hairston out there playing 20 minutes a game before either of them. However, RJ came in with high expectations and so far has failed to come close. Aside from a few nice dunks and the game winner in OKC (which was only made possible by Manu’s hustle), he hasn’t really done much to get excited about.

Now the Spurs are reportedly running low on patience for RJ to come around and be that extra piece to the championship puzzle many thought he would be going into this season. The Spurs have lost to the Lakers without Kobe and Bynum, the Blazers twice without Brandon Roy, and the Nuggets without Carmelo Anthony. How is this even possible with what was supposed to be the “Big Four”?

Coach Popovich says, “We’ve never had a group like this that didn’t gel, as far as being consistent night after night. I think if we change this person for that person, we’d still have the same problem.”

Does this mean a trade is on the horizon? We’ll see, but it’s hard to say if it will help right now.

On the one hand, it’s hard to get too excited about beating a Lakers team playing without Pau Gasol and only 3/4 of Kobe. On the other hand, it’s always nice to pummel the Lakers, even if it means kicking them while they’re down. The Spurs dismantled the remnants of the reigning champs 105-85 in San Antonio making them 11-10 against Western Conference foes. It was also nice to beat a team that is above .500 for a change. That makes the Spurs 5-11 in that category. For once, the Spurs committed fewer turnovers than their opponents – only 10 to LA’s 14. The Spurs shot 57.3% from the field, but were a horrific 4-of-11 from the free throw line. Good thing this game wasn’t closer. The Spurs are now 1.5 games behind Dallas in the Southwest Division and five games behind the Lakers.

I have one gripe, however, and that is that DeJuan Blair played all of seven minutes, went 1-of-2 from the field and grabbed two rebounds. He never turned the ball over or picked up a foul so I don’t know why he couldn’t get more playing time in this game. Meanwhile, they played Tim Duncan for 40 minutes. I know it’s the Lakers, but they gotta give Tim some rest and Blair some reps when there’s a 22 point cushion.

Highlights

[youtube 9uChkLJrMBU]

Spurs Notable Stat Lines
Tim Duncan: 25 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks. He played more minutes than I’d like to see, but a good game still. Loving the blocks.
Tony Parker: 22 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, and only 2 turnovers for a change.
George Hill: 13 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals. He hasn’t had a really good game in a minute, so it was nice to see he still had a pulse.
Richard Jefferson: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal. RJ had another one of his 34-minutes-of-not-doing-a-whole-hell-of-a-lot games. Then again, his defense wasn’t too shabby.
Manu Ginobili: 9 points, 6 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal. Not a whole lot but I like the assists.

Lakers Notable Stat Lines
Kobe Bryant: 16 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound. Of course he didn’t play the whole game due to back spasms.
Andrew Bynum: 23 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks. Nice game for Bynum, although I am surprised he didn’t get a double-double.
Lamar Odom: 10 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks. An all around good game for Mr. Kardashian – at least from a fantasy basketball perspective.
Ron Artest: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal. Nice game except for him shooting 3-of-12 from the field.

We’re all busy people, and it sucks when we finally have time to sit down and watch a basketball game only to find out it’s the Clippers or Bucks tonight. Who needs that kind of aggravation? I know I don’t, so I have compiled the following list of the Top 15 Must-See Games for Spurs fans this season. So mark your calendars, get your tickets, set your Tivo, book your flights, save up your sick days, or whatever you have to do, but do not miss these match-ups.

October 28 (Wed): Spurs Vs New Orleans Hornets
It’s the season opener against a division opponent, and a home game. What else do you need? How about the fact that it’s a nationally televised game on ESPN?

November 11 (Wed): Spurs Vs Dallas Mavericks
The Spurs renew what is possibly the biggest Texas rivalry against a revamped Dallas offense. There’s even a good chance both teams will be healthy enough for all of us to get a good feel for how they really match up.

November 14 (Sat): Spurs Vs Oklahoma City Thunder
OKC is a team to watch out for this year. Quiet as kept, they have a budding star in Kevin Durant, a better-than-you-think point guard in Russell Westbrook, and an underrated coach in Scott Brooks. Durant will soon be mentioned in the same breath as LeBron, D-Wade, and Kobe – you’ll see. Do not miss this game if you can help it.

November 18 (Wed): Spurs @ Dallas Mavericks
A week later we meet again in Dallas. You think the Nov. 11 game will be full of fireworks, just wait ’til this rivalry simmers for a week. This isn’t a home game, but it will be on ESPN.

December 3 (Thu): Spurs Vs Boston Celtics
They might not be the reigning champs, but if KG & Co. are all healthy, not to mention the addition of Rasheed Wallace and former Maverick Marquis Daniels, then this will shape up to be a great game against a possible NBA Finals opponent. (I know that sounds presumptuous, but get used to it.)

January 8 (Fri): Spurs Vs Dallas Mavericks
Yes, the Mavericks again. Sorry if it’s getting old, but outside of the Lakers no one in the West poses a greater threat to the Spurs getting another championship than Dallas. There are divisional, home-court advantage, and psychological implications to every Mavs-Spurs game.

January 12 (Tue): Spurs vs LA Lakers
The reigning champs come to town. Kobe, Artest, Gasol, maybe even Andrew Bynum’s bum knees will make an appearance. And let’s not forget Lamar Odom-Kardashian vs Tony Parker-Longoria.

January 29 (Fri): Spurs Vs Memphis Grizzlies
This might be one of the last chances to see a relevant Allen Iverson play against the Spurs. Also, there’s OJ Mayo who is always fun to watch, and finally, the DeJuan Blair-Hasheem Thabeet match-up.

February 8 (Mon): Spurs @ LA Lakers
A Monday night game on TNT against the defending champs in LA. By this time, football season will be behind us so what else are you gonna do to get your Monday Night Sports Fix?

February 28 (Sun): Spurs Vs Phoenix Suns
Is there still bad blood between these two teams? Maybe, maybe not, but it should still be a good game featuring Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Jason Richardson, Grant Hill, and Leandro Barbosa. Phoenix will have to find their identity again in order to make the playoffs this year, and this will be a possible playoff preview if they do.

March 24 (Wed): Spurs Vs LA Lakers
Yes, the Lakers again. This time it’s a home game, plus it will be on ESPN. Playoff standings are going to be a bigger deal around this time so every game is going to be critical.

March 26 (Fri): Spurs Vs Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron, Shaq, Mo Williams, Big Z, Anderson Varejao’s Hair, Possible Finals Preview? My only question is why we have to wait until March for this match-up.

April 2 (Fri): Spurs Vs Orlando Magic
Last year’s Eastern Conference Champions are not going to give up their title hopes easily. With the loss of Hedo Turkoglu comes the addition of Vince Carter. In all honesty, I don’t see why they didn’t keep Turkoglu but they overpaid Brandon Bass and Marcin Gortat, but I digress. This will be another great game and possible Finals preview.

April 4 (Sun): Spurs @ LA Lakers
Another away game in LA, but this time on good ol’ ABC. There is no reason in the world to miss this one.

April 14 (Wed): Spurs @ Dallas Mavericks
Season finale on the road against Dallas. This could be a critical game in the Southwest Division, the Mavs-Spurs season series, and overall playoff positioning.