|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
koolruningz
Starting Rotation
Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 986
Location: New Zealand
|
 Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 6:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks DB.
What a game, even though i only listened to it on the radio i was an emotional wreck after. The obvious pride we all feel for this young team is something i have never experienced for any other Laker team. We have watched them fail and make mistake after mistake but to see them flurish now is indescribable.
I cant say enough about Kobe's leadership in this series, he always seemed to me to be a "lead by example" guy before but now he is the emotional leader to. I have never seen him hug his teammates so much, he seems to enjoy watching the young guns stepping up on the big stage and alot of it is because of the confidence he has instilled in them.
_________________
"The advice I get from Magic, Michael and those guys, that's always sacred," Bryant said. "That's going to the mountain top and talking to Buddha, know what I mean? That's privileged information." |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40198
Location: O.C.
|
| Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 12:13 am Post subject: |
|
|
| A Mad Chinaman wrote: |
Question:
Bell's "in your face" defense of Kobe - why didn't they utilized more "back-door" plays (the natural counter of this type of pressure) to take advantage of the aggressive pressure on Kobe?
|
I think you may see a lob or two more. Possibly off of deadball situations, however, where we plan it. It's easier to see those back door counters when a guy is play ball denial, which Bell isn't. He's just playing tight, often waiting for the double team. If Kobe gets the ball and attacks earlier, he can leave Bell in the dust and take on the help defender on the move.
The lob situation I'm hoping they run more is when Kobe comes off a Lamar screen out of the corner, curls around a pick and we reverse the ball back to Lamar in the corner while Kobe starts to make his move down the lane. It can be triggered by that corner screen on the fly in the offense, but I don't know if they will have the cajones to run it or not.
| Quote: |
Did the Suns just bring far greater energy/focus (or Lakers didn't bring the same amount of energy) on rebounding that resulted in the stats being just about even or did they do something different? What can the Lakers do to effectively counter this?
|
To be honest, I actually thought it was our energy that was down that made them look better. On some of those offensive boards, we've got too many guys standing and watching instead of boxing out. I'm particularly concerned that Kwame looked a little gassed. He needed some Red Bull or something.
| Quote: |
Since the Suns found a "P&R" play that worked to their advantage when it involved Smush - is the best option is just to sub Sasha in, or is there something else that PJ can do (not switch, mix up how they defend it, etc.)?
|
You may see more Sasha. If Kobe doesn't have foul trouble, I bet you see him on Nash in those spots late in the game. Outside chance that Phil might throw DG on Nash for a couple sequences. Phil occasionally went to the zone against the P&R during the season, but he won't do that against the Suns.
| Quote: |
Since this was a short "turnaround" between games, it appeared that PJ made a decision to focus on defense (especially during the 2nd quarter when Kobe was on the bench with foul trouble) while recognizing that rebounding and offense might suffer - though they were still even at the half. What can PJ do to maintain the needed energy on the court - use other players selectively (i.e. Turiaff, JJ, etc.)?
|
Give Luke the ball more in the post. He got way too few touches in the last one. I think, offensively, that will ease some burden on guys. Kobe is our best conditioned athlete...that probably took a toll on the team with not having him in there for the second quarter. I almost think that may be why we didn't feed Lamar much in the third, letting him rest and letting Kobe carry a load (while getting him in rhythm). Having Kobe in foul trouble certainly will affect things in this regard.
| Quote: |
Kobe's TO - What was the cause behind Kobe's flat cross-court passes that were intercepted - were the Lakers not executing the offense well w/available outlets not being there?
|
I went and watched those again. They were just bad mistakes, IMO. Certainly, we need guys to time their pressure release cuts a little better, but there isn't a whole lot of excuses for throwing a flat skip pass that can easily be picked off.
| Quote: |
BTW: Who was the dumb reporter who asked Kobe if this game/shot was more satisfying/better than winning a championship?!?!?! Huhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! |
Don't know...but, damn, that was stooopid. Haterade sometimes makes people do strange things. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40198
Location: O.C.
|
| Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 12:36 am Post subject: |
|
|
| angrypuppy wrote: |
Offense
1) It looked like the double teams inside were giving the Lakers problems, preventing easy baskets and passing.
|
We certainly had some sloppy passes out of the double. We also had some great sequences. My favorites are when we draw a high post double and another Laker cuts to the low post to get a pass. This usually results in another pass (that layup to Smush, or some passes from Kwame in previous games, etc.). That's how we need to take advantage of it and there were few too many sequences where Luke or Kwame got the low post position to get the pass out of the double. Hopefully, we see more of that. It is, essentially, a way to do away with a low post double and score using our size or have a two-on-one situation.
| Quote: |
2) The triangle just stagnated out there during key stretches. Poor off-the-ball movement which led to poor quality shots.
|
Poor movement, but a complete abandoning of the post. Guys like Lamar, Luke and Kobe, late in the games, need to get the ball in their hands in the post. It was ridiculously bad in the overtime. We shot those two weak threes off stagnated offense...Phil called a timeout...next thing we did was go to Lamar in the post (he missed, but we got the ball back) and we went back to Luke in the post for the pass to Lamar and the And-1. Get the ball in the post, make our cuts... but keep getting the ball in the damn post. That was driving me crazy.
| Quote: |
3) The Sun defenders were leaving Cook and Smush open just enough for them to catch but not get set, leading to them to put the ball on the floor. Neither is very effective trying to shoot off the dribble, and Smush couldn't take it to the hoop (foul trouble & refs liberally calling charges).
|
They were sagging just a bit. Sometimes, this is a condition of us standing and watching. Sometimes, it is a problem of us not attacking quick enough when we get the ball on the ball reversals. I think we can limit that if we just keep the offense flowing on both sides of the floor, which we've generally been doing with our Tri execution. We need to keep guys honest with some dive cuts from the perimeter. We need to run our weakside screen sequences so defenders have to concentrate on their men. Quick ball reversals and attacks can keep the floor spread. Just execute the offense.
| Quote: |
I realize that the Lakers are showing youth and inexperience, and that part of the problem is that the Laker front court didn't have much PT together during the regular season. What adjustments do you see Phil making on the offense in Game 5?
|
Hopefully, he gets a full second quarter of Kobe. One of the big things is be more diligent in getting the ball in the post. We strayed away from it too much in the last game. We've got to continue to pound the post with Kobe, Lamar, Kwame and especially Luke. As I mentioned in another thread, Luke got no where near the touches he should have in the last game. Not only does he often have a size advantage, but this allows our two bigmen in Lamar and Kwame to crash the offensive glass and clean up Luke's misses. Plus, Luke is always much more effective with the ball in his hands instead of hanging out on the perimeter.
| Quote: |
Defense
1) The switching on the pick-and-rolls was leaving us with some ugly mismatches for poor Smush. Will we see more Sasha, or do you see something else?
|
I think more Sasha is possible. If Kobe is out of foul trouble, I think Phil will throw him on Nash so that the switches don't results in such a mismatch. I could also see Phil giving Devean a shot on Nash for a few possessions to mix things up. I don't know if we want to make Nash a shooter late in games...but damn, outside of that one three in the last one, he must have missed about 7 or 8 shots. But I doubt Phil wants guys to go under the screens against him. So, probably more Sasha...hopefully, Kobe gets a chance to be foul free.
| Quote: |
2) Rotations were not as crisp. Did you attribute this this to fatigue or confusion? Kwame in particular didn't look good, and in particular never got his concentation back when he was re-inserted later in the game.
|
Kwame certainly looked fatigued. Don't know if Phil will give him more rest or if Kwame can get more in his tank.
| Quote: |
3) Diaw has such a limited game... they've got to do a better job sticking with him during his inevitable cuts to the basket. I'd imagine you'd give him space for him to shoot, and have the defender guard the drive to the basket.
|
He's a very reluctant perimeter shooter in this series. I'd definitely protect the drive.
| Quote: |
What adjustments do you see the Lakers making on defense, Game 5? |
Offensively, some of what I mentioned above in regards to being more methodical in the post. We didn't get Luke or Lamar the ball enough in there. I'd like to see Kobe with a few more quick strikes off the dribble. Defensively, we held the Suns to fewer points in regulation than we had since the "We Want Tacos" Nash-less, Bell-less game. Guys need better energy on the boards. We need to protect against their lob sequences better. We need to be wary on our personnel on those switches late in games. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
A Mad Chinaman
Star Player
Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 6142
|
| Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 12:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| DancingBarry wrote: | | I think you may see a lob or two more. Possibly off of deadball situations, however, where we plan it. It's easier to see those back door counters when a guy is play ball denial, which Bell isn't. He's just playing tight, often waiting for the double team. If Kobe gets the ball and attacks earlier, he can leave Bell in the dust and take on the help defender on the move. |
In the "Princeton-type" offensive sets where the defender was practically "face-guarding" - it seemed that this was the best counter?!?!?! This would take advantage of their over-aggressiveness to score. Look forward to more info from you on this.
Re: Lob Situation
They seemed to use (especially when Kobe is curling off a pick) this when Artest was guarding Kobe effectively, then they went away from this. Any reasons why this happened?
Re: Energy
I agree with you that the energy level was down - though not by the players' design or intentions, just their inexperience of what is required during the playoffs. Could one possible solution be to use Turiaff/JJ - even Cook if he is hitting his shots (50/50 proposition) in short spurts (3 to 5 minutes of PT) in the first half to get some needed rest to players such as LO/Kwame.
Re: Luke & Energy Level
Did Jones in the lineup create more problems? If so, what are the counters? I am in agreement that LO didn't go into the post during the 2nd quarter because they wanted him to rest but not on the bench when Kobe was in foul trouble (note: was Luke in the game - most of the time - when Kobe was on the bench?)
Re: "P&R"
What are your thoughts on Smush (when guarding Thomas) forcing him away from the baseline towards "help" or (when guarding Diaw) forcing him to shoot a contested shot (as oppose to a layup) away from the baseline? This is in addition to switching the coverages (i.e. different defenders such as DG/Kobe - at the end of games/Sasha, not switching, etc.)?
Re: Kobe's Bad Passes
Obviously not seriously concerned about these passes. Only concerned if it is the result of being fatiqued (not a chance), bad execution (likely), inexperience (from the other players) and/or bad referreing.
Re: Dumb Reporter's Question
They should kick this reporter who asked Kobe if this game/shot was more satisfying/better than winning a championship out of the media?!?! We should see who this reporter is - maybe he is the one that says we should have kept Shaq over Kobe - as Vic the Brick says "FEELING . . . . YOU!" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
phzzrr2000
Rookie
Joined: 01 May 2006
Posts: 2
|
| Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 12:52 am Post subject: |
|
|
| A Mad Chinaman wrote: | | DancingBarry wrote: | | A Mad Chinaman wrote: | | DB - thoughts on our questions? |
I will try to get to them tonight when I have more time. I expected the Suns to start milking the switches more prior to this game to set up those low post opportunities. I think the Lakers will let Nash be a scorer to start the game in hope that it keeps others from getting involved, then they will try to tighten it up later with switches...if Kobe can stay out of foul trouble, I think you will see them finally put him on Nash late in the game. That will clamp down on that aspect. Hopefully, Kobe can avoid the flops and fouls for three quarters. |
For short period of PT, Kobe was guarding Nash on the perimeter - I think this was when Sasha was guarding Bell(?!?!) |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
