NBA Playoffs: Lakers-Spurs, Game 4

Basketbawful has pulled out his Ouiji board, Magic 8-Ball and Tarot cards in order to give you a little prognostication for tonight's game.

Manu Ginobili. He was the unquestioned goat of Games 1 and 2, and even moreso the unquestioned hero of Game 3. His "In yo face, suckah!" performance (30 points, 9-for-15, 5-for-7 in threes) was pretty damn impressive...especially when you consider he's doing it with an arthritic ankle. Ouch. Seriously, though, some of those threes were wacko - one of them even made Kobe laugh - and I don't know if that kind of lightning is going to strike twice. So the Spurs are going to need some...

Commodore Obvious! This is what Tim Duncan thinks the Spurs need to do to beat the Lakers in Game 4: "We have to contain them, limit what they do They have the best scorer in the league. He can get off in stretches. We have to be able to contain the rest of their team and understand that defense is what's going to get us over the hump."

Kobe Bryant, Part I. Dig this: Mamba shot 96 free throws in round two against the Utah. He's had six so far against San Antonio. No, you read that right. Apparently, the Spurs don't commit fouls. Amazing.

Kobe Bryant, Part II. Now dig this: Mamba isn't as overwhelming when he's facing a Bruce Bowen who has a Tim Duncan watching his back. This is a mystery that even the power of Mighty Science may never unlock.

Kobe Bryant, Part III. Apparently, dude was a bastard even back in high school. I'm shocked, I tell you. Shocked.

Brent Barry. The Spurs could use somebody other than Ginobili to spread the floor. Barry is a known floor-spreader. Timmy wants Barry to get more minutes. You getting all this, Gregg?

Lamar Odom. He had a real "WTF?!" performance in Game 3: 7 points on 2-for-11 shooting, five missed free throws, and a game-high 5 turnovers. It was enough to keep a guy up at night. And it did. Lamar couldn't sleep after the game. And Phil Jackson understood why. "I like players to get their rest, there's no doubt. But any time you have a game of that importance and you don't play well, you're upset. It's bothersome." Bothersome? Dandruff is bothersome. The stink bomb Lamar dropped in Game 3 was more than "bothersome." But whatever. I'm calling it now: Lamar will bounce back tonight.

Ronny Turiaf. He's crazy. Like, eat-you-and-wear-your-skin crazy.