Joined: 15 Sep 2012 Posts: 29335 Location: La La Land
Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2020 2:05 pm Post subject:
Whether he starts there or not. AD will play major minutes at the 5. And I'm not sure guarding PJ Tucker in the short corner is a smart idea.
I know it sounds crazy. But him guarding WB and sagging off into the paint might be the right answer. _________________ "Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better”
Whether he starts there or not. AD will play major minutes at the 5. And I'm not sure guarding PJ Tucker in the short corner is a smart idea.
I know it sounds crazy. But him guarding WB and sagging off into the paint might be the right answer.
That’s not a bad idea. Knowing Russ he will take it as a challenge and take bad shots.
For Harden I would throw fresh bodies at him. KCP/DG/KUZ all need to just keep staying physical. If he gets a whistle. Make that foul count.
Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2020 2:24 pm Post subject: Re: Starting 5 versus Houston?
BigBallerBrand wrote:
Does Vogel have the guts to stand up to King McGee and start Kuzma?
I have a feeling McGee will still start at least game 1.
I'm sure there are those of you who recall Phil Jackson's words of asserting your will on the other team and making them react, if we switch up our lineup before the tip off we are effectively allowing the Rockettes to assert their will on us..
If you have to do in in the game, so be it, but otherwise you have to dance with the girl you brought... (lol) _________________ “Always remember... Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots.”
AD needs to dominate their small ball line up. he just has to. if he can't average 40ppg against their small front court, he is not being aggressive enough.
I prefer the Lakers play Houston than the Thunder. Houston has no inside presence. Thunder have Adams and some athletic wings. Houston doesn't really have the sort of high energy athletes that give us trouble. Their thing is to camp out at the 3 and let Harden drive and kick/shoot. Houston has nobody that can stop AD or Lebron inside, or even Dwight and McGee for that matter. Whereas the Thunder have Adams that can clog the middle, and they have those quick, athletic guards that cause us so much trouble. It will be a tough round, but it's better for us to play the Rockets than the Thunder.
But against Houston, you go two bigs and destroy them on the boards and thwart paint penetration.
Lebron and AD can basically miss layups at the rim and let Javale and Dwight clean them up. Using bodies to box Dwight out especially on the boards will suck up gravity and wear them out. Going small against them is what they want us to do.
Save AD @ the 5 for the Clippers. Much better matchup and you limit their scouting exposure.
I think you try out the bigs line up and see what goes from there. HOU contrary to their playstyle has actually not been a good 3 point shooting team in the bubble and Adams on one leg actually gave them trouble on the boards.
Harden will be dangerous but one thing I like knowing is he won't bomb from 30 feet like Dame has.
I think Kuz is the real key in this series. Can he be an adequate switch defender on Harden/WB? _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
I think Kuz is the real key in this series. Can he be an adequate switch defender on Harden/WB?
Not sure HOU relies on any one defender. They have been playing pretty energetic defense. They will likely be collapsing on James’ drives and for I g him to either settle for 3s or pass out to shooters. HOU has been pretty good at scrambling and recovering.
Up yo the Laker shooters to keep the ball moving and for open shooters to hit shots. Conversely, the Lakers have not been consistent with their rotations and close outs. A critical part of winning this series. Can the Lakers sustain the level of defense needed? Will the surges / runs they have be enough over the course if a game and a series.
That is going to be the fascinating aspect of this series IMO. Which team can sustain their style and energy. Can not wait for tomorrow!
I think Kuz is the real key in this series. Can he be an adequate switch defender on Harden/WB?
Not sure HOU relies on any one defender. They have been playing pretty energetic defense. They will likely be collapsing on James’ drives and for I g him to either settle for 3s or pass out to shooters. HOU has been pretty good at scrambling and recovering.
Up yo the Laker shooters to keep the ball moving and for open shooters to hit shots. Conversely, the Lakers have not been consistent with their rotations and close outs. A critical part of winning this series. Can the Lakers sustain the level of defense needed? Will the surges / runs they have be enough over the course if a game and a series.
That is going to be the fascinating aspect of this series IMO. Which team can sustain their style and energy. Can not wait for tomorrow!
Yet they let a lethargic OKC offense take them to 7 games.
Lakers identity ALL season has been defense. Even in the Portland series. I wish people would start giving the Lakers the benefit of the doubt. Remember how many people thought the Blazers would beat us? _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
The Rockets are not built for the playoffs, especially not in this bubble. I have a hard time believing they are going to be able to consistently be pests defensively, switch everything, getting beat up by bigger/taller Lakers, ALL while jacking up so many shots and having to do that efficiently. They will have to do this playing every other day. They are going to be TIRED.
I can see close games initially but the longer this series goes on, I think we will start to see comfortable (even blowout) wins by the Lakers.
It's easy to be switching onto guys like SGA, Schroder, Bazley.
It's another to have LBJ/AD as the switches. Best talent wins out usually in the playoffs. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
I think Kuz is the real key in this series. Can he be an adequate switch defender on Harden/WB?
Not sure HOU relies on any one defender. They have been playing pretty energetic defense. They will likely be collapsing on James’ drives and for I g him to either settle for 3s or pass out to shooters. HOU has been pretty good at scrambling and recovering.
Up yo the Laker shooters to keep the ball moving and for open shooters to hit shots. Conversely, the Lakers have not been consistent with their rotations and close outs. A critical part of winning this series. Can the Lakers sustain the level of defense needed? Will the surges / runs they have be enough over the course if a game and a series.
That is going to be the fascinating aspect of this series IMO. Which team can sustain their style and energy. Can not wait for tomorrow!
Yet they let a lethargic OKC offense take them to 7 games.
Lakers identity ALL season has been defense. Even in the Portland series. I wish people would start giving the Lakers the benefit of the doubt. Remember how many people thought the Blazers would beat us?
Relax. I was not waving a red flag El Toro. Just stating my own opinion on a much anticipated series.
This is the playoffs and the intensity is cranked up by all the teams. It is the sustained effort and focus that gets a team through to the next round.
That lethargic OKC offense somehow found a way to score 60 pts in the first half of game 7. They also were able match the Rockets effort on both ends. Playoff b-ball.
No doubt the Lakers have been a damn good defense all year. They proved it in shutting down a really good Blazer offense. Now they need to keep escalating the effort in Round 2 against the Rockets.
Every round has good teams playing well to get there. Unexpected results are coming out of the bubble without normal travel or home court advantages. The bubble has become an equalizer of sorts. Not just for the Lakers but for other teams even more so. Examples of both Bucks and Raptors being down 0-2 stand out.
JMO but Lakers weak spots all season has been sustained shooting and energy. They have been able to get by on “runs”. They will need to be more consistent every min of every game to keep winning. That is where my “benefit of doubt “ wanes a bit. They are a vet team but new to this moment as a team. They still need to prove it IMO.
As I stated, can’t wait to see the Lakers do it. I have been anticipating this years playoffs all season. I’m not disappointed so far.
Enjoy the show, Yinoma and fellow Laker fans. I will be!
I like the idea of starting Morris in place of McGee and letting AD defend Westbrook. We will live with Westbrook taking open or semi-contested 3's.
AD can cheat a bit off of Westbrook if Harden is driving down the lane.
So matchups then look like this:
Morris on Tucker
Bron on Covington
KCP on Harden
Green on Gordon
AD on Westbrook
Key players off the bench: Kuzma, Caruso, playoff Rondo?
If we play the defense we played in games 1-4 against Portland and KCP, Green, Caruso and Kuz can hit their open shots at a 40% clip... we win in not more than 5 games. If they struggle to make open looks and the defense is lackluster, its a long series.
All times are GMT - 8 Hours Goto page Previous1, 2, 3Next
Page 2 of 3
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
