Always Have a Spare Blogger... (And Today's Question)
Lakers Bloggers-
Hey. Two big games this weekend. Massive. Gargantuan. No question, the kind of games you'd normally have two live blogs to from which to pick and choose. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if that's what you'd rather have anyway) you only get one. Some long planned, unchangeable, unavoidable, unbreakable travel plans with my fiance will keep me out of LA on Friday and Sunday.
So bring home a couple winners, and I'll be guaranteed a shot at Game Six... or better yet, take two at home and Game Five in Phoenix, and hopefully it'll set up a Lakers-Clippers Round Two that will create more buzz in Los Angeles than news of Brad Pitt leaving Angelina Jolie for Billy Bob Thornton.
Okay. Enough on programming notes, more on hoops. Here's today's question. Phil Jackson has developed a game plan that has managed to, paraphrasing PJ's own words, stymie and befuddle the Suns. In Game One, the Lakers had a chance to steal the game with a better showing on D and a couple clutch shots. Didn't happen. Game Two was another story entirely- an often dominating performance forced Phoenix to play catch up, no fun for even fun-and-gun NBA teams.
So here's the question. You're Mike D'Antoni. What adjustments do you make going into Game Three? How would you break the Lakers D, or force the Lakers offense to play to your tempo. Would you try to force the purple and gold to rely on Kobe? Would you have to see a shrink just for thinking of that sort of strategy?
And more importantly- because no Lakers fan wants to think of a good idea and give it away to the enemy- afterward, after removing your sombrero de D'Antoni, put on your PJ hat. What adjustments should Jackson make in anticipation of D'Antoni's moves? Or is it a question of, "You know what we're going to do, but we're betting you can't stop it?"
If cliches have taught us anything, it's that the playoffs are a chess match. What moves are coming next?
BK
most everyone here is assuming we won that game because of our offense and by pounding the ball inside. We were effective and scored well because of that, but we won because of defense. If Phoenix should change anything, it would be on the offensive end! They must figure out a way to spread the floor and get more open looks. In order to do that, they must beat the Lakers to the spots, ie...run & gun! Watch out for Nash to jump out the box before the gun sounds. If he was like a rabbit before, he will be like a jack-rabbit now! Unless, Mike D'Antoni is using one of Phil's moves, by using the media to Psychologically bluff the opinion. He may not try to run at all, use Nash to pick and roll us to death? At any rate, it will be a great chess match!
Posted by: M&M | April 28, 2006 at 03:53 PM
I think the main point of taking Marion off Odom is to improve Marion's offense, not to find a better defense against Lamar. Marion gets worn out pushing against Lamar and his offensive attack suffers.
If the Suns take Marion off Lamar then the Lakers best response would be, as someone already mentioned, that Lamar will burn that person (Diaw or whoever) so badly the Suns will feel constrained to put Marion back on Lamar.
Posted by: Guity | April 28, 2006 at 04:02 PM
187...I like that!
It is a very slowww day hehe.
Does anyone know if it's going to be on TNT/Espn today, or just FSN?
Posted by: Faith | April 28, 2006 at 04:03 PM
It will be difficult for Lakers to play the near perfect game evry time.
Look for Kobe to go for Kill Today.
Posted by: Venu | April 28, 2006 at 04:06 PM
M&M
We are saying that we won because our offense set up our defense. When LO and Kwame are working out of the post (and a little bit of Luke too, I like his moves down there) missed shots create short rebounds which prevents the Suns from pushing the ball upcourt as fast as they would like. If Phoenix doubles down in the paint and we have to take a midrange or outside jumper, even if the shot is missed too many Suns are around the hoop defending which limits their ability to beat the Lakers in transition.
Also (if I understand correctly) standard devensive setup in transition consists of getting to the paint, and then moving out to the perimiter. The Suns would have a field day with this. On TNT the other night they showed how the Lakers were not doing this, but instead were meeting the Suns immediately at the three-point arc in transition. This helped further limit the number of wide open threes the Suns love to take early in the shot clock, and forced the them to put the ball on the floor rather spot up and shoot.
Posted by: Mike S. | April 28, 2006 at 04:10 PM
BK got a fiance? WTF!!!
Faith doesn't have one? WTF!!
As for Phoenix's plan - get the Matrix going by looking for him aggresively, and/or getting LO into foul trouble.
While Kobe [and Kwame] have hogged the attention, it's LO who has been the difference, shutting down the Matrix and doing his damage on O.
Posted by: hariyahu | April 28, 2006 at 04:11 PM
HEY LAKKERVILLIANS!
I am SO SICK of ESPN.com. It has become the ANTI KOBE site. And Laker Fan, the Insider is much more than half nowadays. I'm with you, that stuff should be free. Most other sport sites don't charge for their info.
And I am so sick of their anal-ysts. In particular Hollinger and Stein give me the creeps. People, we need to give them a piece of our mind. Stein has been a Laker hater
ANTI KOBE ever since Kobe turned down the Clips in FA. (Stein is a Clipper lover) Stein admitted he voted for Nash and probably didn't even have Kobe on the ballot. He predicted Suns in 5, which I guarantee will not happen. He put them at 15th in the playoff power rankings out of 16. Email the ahole let him know how much of an idiot he is.
Posted by: 24/8=3x the MAMBA | April 28, 2006 at 04:17 PM
Tonight's game is on ESPN, but the ESPN broadcasts are not nearly as good as the FSN broadcast in my opinion.
Posted by: Brandon | April 28, 2006 at 04:18 PM
Man just think how great it would be to eliminate the suns and the leugues beloved MVP in the first round, then think how great it would be if we could take out the clips "L.A.s New number 1 team" we got a oppurtunity to prove every one wrong and make a stand...
Mike S.
i feel bad for you waiting till 10:30, but on the bright side u can go catch a movie and be back by tip off
Go Lakers...
Posted by: TrueLakerFan | April 28, 2006 at 04:26 PM
Getting Bynum a shot is a great idea, assuming that the Lakers can keep the tempo at their pace. If he can get the position that Kwame gets, which is completley plausible, I'll bet he can finish even better than Kwame. Same goes for Chris Mihm, if healthy. The defense may suffer slightly, but it might be worth a couple extra buckets.
Posted by: Blind Worshipper | April 28, 2006 at 04:27 PM
Faith-
It will be on ESPN and FSN. Personally, I always watch the games on FSN or KCAL if at all possible. Mostly a combination of preferring to listen to Joel & Stu than whoever is on the other channels, and the national broadcasts have an unhealthy love affair with Bad Camera Angles. Picture quality is better on ESPN and TNT though, so its pick your poison.
Posted by: Hunter | April 28, 2006 at 04:42 PM
Mitch,
I love the 187 reference. It would prolly make a good commercial, but the meaning of 187 would prevent it from becoming a nickname for those three.
TruLakerFan,
The game does take forever to start. It's only 7:41 on the right coast, and I'm really starting to get impatient. I really really want to see us come out strong, and ready defensively, so we can keep the crowd at Staples into the game.
Posted by: Weave-Man | April 28, 2006 at 04:43 PM
One thing I've noticed is that whenever Nash comes off a high screen the Lakers have been switching. For instance I've seen Kwame guarding him on a few occasions. More often than not, Nash will either put up a shot with Kwame in his face or feed a teammate in the block to post up Smush. What I haven't seen him do is attack Kwame with the dribble and draw a foul. With this strategy you could get Kwame, who's the only legitimate threat in the post besides Odom, into foul trouble.
If you're the Lakers you'd want to fight over the screens so that you wouldn't have to switch, but that's not always possible. But if the Suns have to resort to using Nash to draw fouls or get shots off the dribble then I think Phil would be more than happy to turn the Suns offense into a one-man show. It would be a war of attrition in a sense because even if Kwame got into foul trouble, the trade off is that Nash doesn't get the ball to his teammates and they don't get to run their offense.
The other options for Nash off the screen are to shoot from the perimeter or feed the post. If he shoots, once again he wouldn't be involving his teammates and would have to beat the Lakers by himself. And so far the Suns have been unable to punish the Lakers down low with the size mismatches. Partly because their big men (Marion, Diaw, and Thomas) are more perimeter oriented and partly because the Lakers help defense and rotation have been excellent.
Posted by: Mike O | April 28, 2006 at 04:44 PM
I think that the biggest adjustment that the Suns will try to make will be to involve their bench more. Guys such as Barbosa, House and James have provided "surprise" points all season long. In the last game the Phx. bench accounted for only 4 points. Look for the Suns to try and get these guys off and get them some confidence. I also would not be surprised to see either Grant or Tskitishvili used specifically to give hard fouls and give the Suns a more traditional look to their lineup. As long as the Suns have no real size up front, the Lakers have a free pass to the hoop. The Lakers must continue to deny the 3 point shots which Phx. thrives on and shut down the Suns' bench. They have to match the intensity the Suns will try to create and not get caught up in the pseudo tough-guy tactics that the Suns are sure to try. Poise, Lakers, Poise!! Keep your poise, play your game and this game and series will belong to you!! GO LAKERS!!
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | April 28, 2006 at 04:49 PM
1) FSN rocks. It is so much better than ESPN (and better than TNT) that, though we have HDTV (it's like being there), we still watch FSN.
2) Bynum is 6" taller than any Sun. Like my wife and me. It would be interesting to see him, but I don't think PJ will do it unless it's a blowout.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Baywood | April 28, 2006 at 04:51 PM
I don't know what's more astounding, that the suns give absolutely no credit to the Lakers for taking them out of their running game, or that their 'winning strategy' of letting Kobe score 70 points and contain everyone else is EXACTLY what the Lakers did with Nash to win game 2.
Posted by: Hunter | April 28, 2006 at 04:54 PM
The Big Cry Baby:
Shaq "O'Neal said referees target him and he knew he was in trouble when he saw Bob Delaney was working Game 3."
Would you love a Heat <> Lakers Final? sorry, the Heat won't make it.
Posted by: Baywood | April 28, 2006 at 04:57 PM
Went on the Suns website and saw a poll where the question was "How do you feel about Kobe Bryant?" The current results were:
46%------Hate him.
38%------Respect him.
16%------Love him.
I'm just glad that the Laker organization and its fans have too much class to get caught up in such petty pursuits.
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | April 28, 2006 at 05:06 PM
bronxlakerfan -
You voted for "love him" though, right?
I agree that it shows a lack of class. But, its to be expected. Franchises that have a history of success (Lakers, Spurs, even the Bulls) don't need to stir up hate to motivate their fans. The fans are jazzed because they love watching their teams.
Posted by: Hunter | April 28, 2006 at 05:23 PM
Baywood...
I'm no longer a Shaq fan, although I'll always value what he brought to the table during his years in L.A. But, there is a lot of truth to his claim that referee Bob Delaney gives him a quick whistle. During the 3peat years, Delaney seemed to have it in for the Big Bank Account. I can remember an important game where he ejected Shaq with very little provocation. I've also seen him put him Shaq in early foul trouble with questionable calls on many occasions. Shaq never gets the benefit of the doubt from him. PJ even agreed with Shaq about Delaney's lack of impartiality. It's a shame that the league doesn't monitor these petty dislikes between referees and players more closely.
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | April 28, 2006 at 05:26 PM
YES, we took a game on the road. the problem is, WE HAD TO. to win this SERIES we can't lose in LA. and with the one we've got we'll get em. we just can't lose. we are TOO YOUNG, with to LITTLE history together to be able to AFFORD an L in LA. this game I think KOBE'll go off. NOT shooting. DRILLLLLLIN INSIDE, he'll go off.
Posted by: rayray | April 28, 2006 at 05:38 PM
What's with Nash and Kaman's Hair? it should be outlawed by the NBA!
Posted by: Baywood | April 28, 2006 at 05:46 PM
I know this is totally un-Laker related...but has everyone heard that the Texans signed Mario Williams! That means Reggie Bush isn't going to be the top-pick tomorrow.
I love how the build up to this year's draft has been a bit unpredictable with guys like Drew Brees signing with the Saints messing up the mock drafts of guys like Mel Kiper.
I've got nothing against the guy I just think the draft is broken down a bit too much. No one knows what's going to happen until it does.
AK, you a USC guy where do you see your boys Bush and Leinart going? Do you see Bush falling down to as low as 3rd? Do you see a team like the Jets trading up to the 2 spot.
P.S.
To everyone else...I know this is a Lakerblog but this is justt HUGE news! I couldn't help but bring it up.
Posted by: Xodus | April 28, 2006 at 05:49 PM
Baywood-
I figured Faith was out of my league, so I just went ahead and got hitched.
And in answer to my own question (in my last shot at the net before gametime), I think the response D'Antoni will run with is to do exactly what he's said he'll do. Run. They'll run to the tip, they'll run to inbound the ball, run to get some water, run to the bench during timeouts. It wouldn't surprise me if they've said to heck with the bus to Staples and actually ran to the game from the hotel.
That, and A TON of high screens when they have to play in half court sets.
They're going to force the Lakers as much as possible to move their feet, even more than they have. Phoenix has had a couple successful quarters, so they have something to build on.
As for the Lakers, I don't see too many adjustments from them. Right now, the onus is on Phoenix to figure out the Lakers, and I think Phil likes that. The Lakers believe (with some cause) that if they execute on offense and play D like they did in Game 2, there isn't much the Suns can do about it.
I'll check back in postgame, if I can.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | April 28, 2006 at 06:17 PM
Yeah, I just heard that about Mario Williams. Dang! Reggie's family might have cost him. Hopefully he doesn't fall any further.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | April 28, 2006 at 06:23 PM
Reggie Bush not #1? What? I hope this is not the beginning of a tough weekend for SoCal!
Posted by: fakerz | April 28, 2006 at 06:25 PM
Comin up on Staples. Don't know if I can take wi fi into the center. I'm so pumped I should be unencumbered with technology.
My voice is half gone already from yelling in the car. Is there anything better than a Laker playoff game live? You forget. The difference in intensity is off the charts compared to a regular season game.
We got this one, BLog Dawgs, I'll holla...
Keep the posts flowin'...ya know it works for the Lake Show.
Posted by: Vman | April 28, 2006 at 06:56 PM
so is this gonna be the game thread? Or is AK still gonna do live updates for these two games?
Posted by: Hunter | April 28, 2006 at 07:10 PM
Chris Mihm is deactivated...he won't be playing.
Fans came in 1 1/2 early! Loud! That's how it's suppose to be yay!
Go Lakers! Playoffs baby! We can do it!
Posted by: Faith | April 28, 2006 at 07:20 PM
Laker game coming on soon...itz a drag watching lebron. I know he's supposed to be next and I must admit he's really good but it ain't fun 2 watch at least not for me....he seems so much bigger and faster than everyone else...like he has an unfair advantage...even when he strokes an outside J it's like d court's 2 small for him...off course he's gonna hit it. Kinda like shaq in d post back in d day...loved him cuz he was a laker but it wuz always like damn we got an unfair advantage.
Yo kobe don't get jealous I ain't saying Lebron is as dominant as Shaq was...u still my 1 I luv, been so since we one that 1st championship. Bron ain't done nothing like dunk on san antonio's twin towers...or helped his team go off 2 a play off record 15-1. Besides d point I wus trying to make is lebron seems to have a physical advantage but my man kobe is got dat elegant game, dat high wire act you always wanna watch...whether u love him or hate him...on another note, damn I miss Horry and Fisher and Fox.....argh but its a new day...a new laker team...we're underdogs now which makes dis laker team like it's leader....a high wire team datz gonna shock d world when we go all d way...a little nervous (datz y i'm rambling) about the phoenix suns but if Mar n the rest of the boiz comes with the same effort again, dis one's in d bag.
Posted by: Taliq | April 28, 2006 at 07:22 PM
GAME TIME!
LET'S ROCK!
GO LAKERS!
MAKE THEM OBEY!
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | April 28, 2006 at 07:25 PM
Hey...is this the game thread? Gadda know...game time baby!
Posted by: Bonez | April 28, 2006 at 07:27 PM
I think AK will have a live game thread
Posted by: Faith | April 28, 2006 at 07:30 PM
under 5 minutes to go in the Cavs/Wiz game. looks like this is gonna be our game thread after all.
Let's rock.
Posted by: Hunter | April 28, 2006 at 07:31 PM
How about Luke going out and giving a flagrant foul? Who would have thought he had it in him?! lol man it was nice to see that tho! Talk about speeding up the pace a bit...it's ok i guess once we just get back
Posted by: Bonez | April 28, 2006 at 07:58 PM
Hunter...
If I did vote in that silly survey, I would have voted "Respect him". I can't form a love or hate opinion about someone that I've never met. LOL!!
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | April 28, 2006 at 10:45 PM
Go Lakers!
Now that the Lakers are doing exactly what I said they needed to do, and they're winning, can you all admit that you are full of crap.
I said Kobe shot too much. Ya'all said that he needed to shoot for them to compete. Now? Kobe shoots less...and the Lakers win.
I said that he had a good supporting cast and needed to give them a chance. Ya'all said his supporting cast sucked. Now? The "rest of the Lakers" are outplanying Kobe...and the Lakers win.
You owe me an apology.
Posted by: Jon | April 28, 2006 at 10:47 PM
(As a side note - Lebron is showing his much greater MVP worthiness by dominating against a defensive strategy directed entirely towards him and carrying a team on his back that has absolutely no one else to do the job.)
Posted by: Jon | April 28, 2006 at 10:48 PM
Jon,
Shut the f*ck up. Howz that for an apology?
Posted by: Con | April 29, 2006 at 01:01 AM
Jon,
Even if I'd disagreed with everything you said and ignored the fact that the Laker team has changed dramatically since the All-Star break...
I still wouldn't owe you an apology.
As it is, your point is pretty weak.
As for Faith, it's obvious she's going to have Smush Parker's love child.
Posted by: Benjamin | April 29, 2006 at 03:02 AM
Jon,
Funny how you waited till after LeBron scored 41 points to claim his MVP-worthiness. May be you were too busy with his nut sack after game two when he had 10 TO to proclaim his MVP-readiness then?
Posted by: hariyahu | April 29, 2006 at 09:43 AM