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Filling in Spurs' Daniels steps up for injured Anderson
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Antonio Daniels has looked like anything but a replacement. Thrust into the San Antonio Spurs' starting lineup during the playoffs because of Derek Anderson's injury, Daniels helped hound Michael Finley into 1-of-17 shooting in the fifth and final game against Dallas. His next assignment: Kobe Bryant. Bryant averaged 37.7 points in three games against the Spurs this season. He and the Lakers open the Western Conference finals in San Antonio on Saturday. "Antonio is doing a great job of filling in and giving us really solid defense," center David Robinson said. "Kobe has done a great job in the playoffs so far. Antonio can kind of get up in him and challenge him a little bit." Daniels became a starter after Anderson separated his shoulder in Game 1 of the second round against Dallas. "When I came in for DA, I wasn't worried about scoring," Daniels said. "I was concerned about playing defense." His performance settled any concerns. The fourth-year guard came out and slashed to the basket, soared for dunks and got in Finley's way. In Game 5, when Finley finished with two points, Daniels had a career playoff-high 19. Now he faces a daunting task. Bryant, 3 inches taller than Daniels at 6-foot-7, averaged 25 points in the first round and 35 in the second. "Hopefully, we can help out Antonio a little more," Robinson said. He likely will need it. "Anything is a disadvantage in guarding Kobe," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's going to score. It doesn't matter who's guarding him. Nobody's stopped the guy yet. Nobody's going to stop him. "Rather than concentrate so much on him, I'm more concerned that as a team we play better than their team or execute better than their team." Anderson, who shot free throws and sprinted Wednesday in his most extensive workout since he was hurt May 5, is still expected to be out three to six weeks. But that means he could be ready by Game 4 of the upcoming series. "Derek gives us that great transition and great offensive option," Robinson said. In the meantime, the Spurs waved off comments by Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who suggested their defense has been continually illegal. San Antonio has limited opponents to 86.8 points and 38.5 percent shooting in nine playoff games and led the NBA in field-goal defense during the regular season. "San Antonio won't have to change their defense next year; they've played a zone all season," Jackson said. "They play a 1-2-2 zone; nobody calls it." "I don't want to hear about Phil," Tim Duncan said. "Whatever he has to say, he has to say." Said Robinson, "I'm going to let the refs call the game." "We're going to play defense the way we know how to play defense," he said. "We do a good job of really reading one another and covering one another, and that's what we'll do." Joking around, Popovich added, "We call it a point zone. It's more of a 1-1-3, but it's pretty tricky."
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