It will be a battle between the two most successful teams in the NBA over the last 10 years to decide which squad will have the chance to add another ring to its decade of dominance.
The Lakers, owners of three straight championships from 2000-02, will have homecourt advantage against the Spurs, owners of four rings in the last nine years (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007).
It wasn’t an easy road to the Conference Finals for the defending champs, as it faced perennial foe Phoenix in the First Round and was forced to win a Game 7 on the road in the Conference Semifinals to advance after falling down 2-0 to start its series with New Orleans.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, is 8-2 in the playoffs so far – the best record of any team still standing – following a regular season when it earned the No. 1 seed in the West by having the best record, 57-25, out of any other team in its conference during the 82-game slate.
The Spurs are led by the same triumvirate that they captured their last three rings with – Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker – while the Lakers feature a different cast of players from its threepeat at the turn of the century.
Well, a different cast besides Kobe Bryant.
Fresh off being named the league’s MVP for the first time in his career, Bryant has been nothing less than dominant in the postseason with averages of 33.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists.
While the Spurs have their “Big Three,” Bryant has three very good starting teammates who he relies on. Kobe’s post-Shaq running mate, Lamar Odom (15.6 points, 10.7 rebounds in the playoffs); reacquired friend, Derek Fisher (11.9 points, 2.7 steals); and midseason Godsend, Pau Gasol (20.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists) make Los Angeles a balanced team.
In the two teams’ four regular season meetings they split 2-2, with the home team winning all of the matchups by an average of 13.3 points.
However, the last of those four meetings occurred in the last week of the regular season with both teams vying for the best record in the West and was the only time the Lakers had Gasol in the fold. On that day, L.A. won by 21.
The best of seven games to decide the best team of the last 10 years tips off on Wednesday in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.
Well, Lakers and spurs battled each other during 2003 since shaq's exit its also a challenge for LA to step forward once again and engage defeat the enemy.
while the spurs will take their inspiry and dirty runs.
who will win the west.
let the rivalry begin on NBA Playoffs
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