*** Lakers - Vs. - Nuggets *** Game 2 Thread 5/1/12

jodeke · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 9:38 pm Post subject:

mrpulla You complain about how Laker posters P&M during games. You say you're gone. You say you're not coming back yet every time I plug into a game thread, there you are. Why go to the movie if you don't like the theater?
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yOw · Star Player Joined: 02 Dec 2011 Posts: 1644

CBaller8 · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 9:46 pm Post subject:

W/o Ron they can run Lawson and Miller together. They can't do that w/ Metta cuz he would destroy Miller in the post. Thanks for getting suspended Ron.

TooMuchMajicBuss · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 9:46 pm Post subject:

jodeke · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 10:16 pm Post subject:

TooMuchMajicBuss · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 10:32 pm Post subject:

Balki Bartokomous · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 10:33 pm Post subject:

jodeke · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 11:01 pm Post subject:

jcmaggi · Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 12:26 am Post subject: Break down and observations

Eeked that one out. I was at the game, there were some good things, some bad things, and moving forward, adjustments must be made. These are some of the things that struck me at the arena:

The Team - Simply put, they did not look locked in today. Bynum wasn't with the guys when they hit the floor, he came out with like 5 minutes left until tip. Barnes wasn't on the bench when MB had to make an emergency substitution because Ebanks picked up those two quick fouls, meaning MB had to send Blake (Barnes did emerge shortly thereafter and got in the game). IMO, this did not set a good tone for the game. Everyone seemed mentally out of it, the transition defense was always a step slow (even though the Lakers only turned it over 11 times) leading to 30 fast break points. This lack of focus permeated all aspects of their game and while I do think they did some good things, there were a lot of negatives.

Rebounding - Let's start with the elephant in the room.

Negatives: The Lakers let themselves get CRUSHED on the offensive glass in the first half, had the Lakers cleaned that up, this game might have been over by half. Anyway, in the first half, Nuggets missed 32 shots and got 13 offensive boards. They essentially recovered half of their misses. It looked as though the Lakers got better on the boards in the second half (Nuggets only got 6 offensive boards) but I believe it was more because the Nuggets were making way more shots (they shot like 35% in the first half and ended the game at 44%, roughly 53% shooting for the second half--but more on that later).

Positives: Lakers did a pretty good job themselves on the offensive glass, especially in the second half; they grabbed 18 of 53 misses. The Lakers did it by committee on the offensive glass, Kobe, Pau, Bynum, Hill, Ebanks, and Barnes all got involved; big ups to Jordan Hill with 5 of those (more on Hill later) to lead the charge.

BOTTOM LINE: Kobe's said it, Bynum's said it, Pat Riley's said it, REBOUNDING WINS RINGS. Lakers have GOT to be much better on the defensive glass moving forward.

Defense

Perimeter: Before the game, most of the talking heads were preaching that Denver would have to launch 30 threes to have a chance to beat the Lakers. They only shot 19 tonight (IMO it's because they were so good in transition). However, I felt that the perimeter rotations were pretty solid on the limited occasions Denver was actually forced to run a half court offense.

Paint: There's no way to put this lightly, the Lakers got decimated in the paint to the tune of 60 points in the paint. 30 of those came in transition and I'm sure that giving up all those offensive boards (a lot for put backs) didn't help this stat one bit.

Transition: Lakers gave up 26 points in transition. This is simply too many easy buckets. Even on shots that I didn't consider poor, Lakers were always a step slow getting back. Reaction has got to be quicker (and they need to stop blowing so many easy lay ups, Barnes and Sessions are the two biggest culprits). Lakers did take some bad shots which helped fuel their run outs.

BOTTOM LINE: Despite giving up so many easy buckets and second chance points, Lakers still forced Denver to shoot 1.1 points per shot. (Denver averaged 1.3 pps during the regular season; Also, Lakers held Denver to .98 pps in Game 1.)

Offense

I won't dedicate much time to offense as I feel that the Lakers have shown in both games that they are simply too big for this team. The Lakers big 3 are simply too much and Denver does not have enough to stop them. Ball movement was pretty crisp except for the instances were Kobe went ISO (he was on fire today). 20 assists on 43 FG's, not bad, but would like to see a couple more. 3 point shooting was not on tonight, they missed a couple that they normally drill.

BOTTOM LINE: Keep pounding the ball inside.

Bynum: A game after tying the NBA post season record for most blocks in a game, I felt that Bynum did very little to control the paint. Credit Denver here, they adjusted, they stopped running it directly at him, instead, they got him in pick and pops and forced him to step out of the paint. Yes, Bynum did get 2 blocks, but I felt like he didn't have a lot of "altered" shots that he normally gets when he's controlling the paint. Usually, Bynum was either a step slow or had been taken out of the play. As Bynum said, when he beasts on defense, Lakers are on stoppable. It is now up to him to make the choice to be mentally locked in from now on in his role as defensive stopper and captain. Which segues me in to my next point:

Jordan Hill: Both times when Jordan Hill came on the court to play with Pau in the front court, it felt as though the Lakers surged. IMHO, I think Hill is going to be critical moving forward as the Lakers face teams with quicker and smaller line ups. He has been a diamond in the rough find and has brought a nice athleticism and toughness up front.

FINAL THOUGHT: Lakers showed tonight that they are simply too much for Denver offensively, however, they also showed their achilles heel (not that it is new information): Lakers are susceptible to fast teams that can get down the floor. They HAVE GOT to maintain balance in transition.

Prediction: Lakers in 5.

jodeke · Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 6:56 am Post subject:

^^^^Barnes was in the lockerroom getting treatment on his sprained ankle.When he saw he might be needed he stopped the treatment and went to the floor.
_________________
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.