Looking at why Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom struggled guarding Dirk Nowitzki
If it were up to Lakers forward Ron Artest, he'd be the one guarding Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki in Game 2. It's the kind of matchup Artest revels in, knowing that how he performs against a particular player could prove instrumental in the game's outcome.
"Dirk can play," Artest said. "But I'm definitely a better defender than guys on other teams that guard him. I would say I'm a better defender. I'm not going to say that he can't score, that I can hold him to zero points. ... I mean, he hits jumpers over 7-footers anyway. But there's other things I could do to make that work in my advantage."
The Lakers could surely use the help, considering their strategy in mixing in Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom didn't exactly work out in the team's 96-94 Game 1 loss Monday to the Mavericks. Nowitzki scored 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting, while the Mavericks shot 56.8% in the second half. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson wouldn't reveal his contingency plans, but he at least acknowledged that Artest guarding Nowitzki for at least some of the time remains a possibility. That's progress, considering Jackson's fear heading into Game 1 "that if you overcompensate for Dirk, you're going to end up allowing other people to get involved that can also spark this team."
Regardless of what the Lakers do in Game 2, it'll have to be a better effort than in Game 1, with Gasol playing horrific defense on Nowitzki and Odom having mixed results. The lasting image of Gasol's play on Nowitzki might be his ill-conceived foul off an inbounds pass that gave Nowitzki two free throws en route to the Mavericks taking a 95-94 lead with 19 seconds remaining. But Gasol's defense on Nowitzki rarely worked out, making his 15 points on five-of-10 shooting fairly useless.
There were times Gasol was a second too late in defending Nowitzki. He was a step behind when Nowitzki cut above the lane, received a pass from Jason Kidd and drilled a 13-footer with 9:51 remaining in the third quarter. Gasol was too fixated on switching with Kidd after Nowitzki set a screen on Kobe Bryant, allowing Nowitzki an open look at the baseline for a 17-footer with six minutes left in the third quarter.
Even when Gasol gave barely an inch of space, Nowitzki still punished him, beginning with a 19-foot jumper on the team's first possession. The same thing happened when Gasol heavily guarded Nowitzki on the following possession on the far baseline, which resulted in Nowitzki nailing a six-foot fadeaway. And when Gasol shut off Nowitzki's driving lane, he still pulled up and canned a 14-footer to cut the Lakers' lead to 14-12 with 5:15 remaining.
The way Odom approached playing Nowitzki on defense proved different in one subtle way. He put a body on him. When Nowitzki posted up on Odom at the beginning of the second quarter, Odom gave him little space and fronted his post-up moves. That forced Nowitzki into pump-faking before letting out an off-balance 14-footer. The same thing happened when Odom shut off Nowitzki's driving lane early in the second quarter, prompting him to toss up an off-balance 12 foot jumper that rimmed out. And when Odom and Gasol doubled on him when Nowitzki drove the lane, his layup with 4:28 left in the second quarter rimmed out. Odom's block on Nowitzki's putback with 3:53 remaining exemplified his physical play as his long wing span and body positioning shut off a good angle at the basket.
Refusing to throw the kitchen sink at Nowitzki proved disastrous, as Odom found out when he was off balance in contesting a 21-foot jumper that gave the Mavericks a 27-25 lead with 11:07 remaining in the second quarter, when Nowitzki blew by him for a left-handed layup with three seconds left in the second quarter, and when Odom didn't provide any physical contact on Nowitzki's off-balance 14-footer with 11:11 left in the fourth quarter. Odom also suffered some lapses similar to Gasol, where he simply didn't guard Nowitzki, allowing him to sink a 26-foot three-pointer that cut the Lakers' lead to 80-79 with 9:03 remaining in the game.
But that tactic won't guarantee success. Odom gave Nowitzki very little room to operate and didn't appear off balance during the Maverick's series of pump fakes and jab steps before sinking a 12-foot jumper that cut the Lakers' lead to 90-87 with 4:52 left in the fourth quarter. The same held true on a shot that slashed the Lakers' edge to 94-93 with 40 seconds remaining; Nowitzki bruised through Odom's shoulder and swished a nine-foot fallaway.
Nowitzki rarely will miss an open shot, such as his 17-footer that rimmed out with 5:01 remaining in the second quarter and his 26-foot three-pointer that hit iron at the 1:42 mark -- despite Odom giving him space on both plays -- or when Nowitzki's post-up on Odom with 4:16 left in the game gave him room for an 11-foot fadeaway that rimmed out.
So where does Artest fit in to this equation? Well, for all the anxiety the Lakers felt about Nowitzki hitting off-balance shots, he also had lots of open looks. Considering the tight margin of victory in Game 1 and the fact that Nowitzki entered the series averaging 10.2 points in the fourth quarters of Dallas' first-round matchup with Portland, it could prove to be the difference in the Lakers tying the series.
-- Mark Medina
Email the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com
In the words of the first ST6 Commander, Richard Macinko,
"Boys it's GO TIME. Let's give'm HELL. Dallas,--
DOOM ON YOU."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6__o39_iGxM
PS. LAMAR & PAU- Shadow Dirk and for hell's sake- JUMPPPPPppp.
Posted by: heh8meN1 | May 04, 2011 at 01:13 PM
Hey guys. I deleted and banned the user who was stealing handles.
Posted by: Mark Medina | May 04, 2011 at 01:41 PM
I don't see anything about DFish being injured on BSPN or anywhere else, including Twitter...............
???
Posted by: NuggetsCountry | May 04, 2011 at 01:46 PM
Wow! Obama administration sent a Justice Dept letter to NCAA that they are investigating the BCS system for possible Anti-Trust violations. Now that's an important use of taxpayer dollars.
Maybe they can get involved in the NBA negotiations too. While their at it, why doesn't the Justice Dept file suit on the NBA Playoff setup. It would be so much more fare if playoff appearances were based on a lottery or a fairness doctrine than on regular season victories.
Hell, Why Not Go A Step Further And Let The Justice Dept Pick Next Year's Playoff Teams!
"IT'S THE PLAYOFFS, NOT THE LAYOFFS! (AT LEAST NOT UNTIL NEXT SEASON'S JUSTICE DEPT INQUIRY...)
Posted by: The Triangulator | May 04, 2011 at 01:47 PM
I just checked out NBA.com and noticed an article written about how Artest would matchup with Dirk!?!? sounds kinda interesting.. any takers on the topic?
Posted by: LALakerz213 | May 04, 2011 at 01:47 PM
RA on Dirk is a good thing about 50% of the time, until Mavs adjust out. RA is not really guarding anybody that important this series anyway, so far.............
Posted by: NuggetsCountry | May 04, 2011 at 01:50 PM
@MM: This is not my post - another hijacker!
Posted by: NuggetsCountry | May 04, 2011 at 01:54 PM
Posted by: NuggetsCountry | May 04, 2011 at 01:57 PM
I am a Lakers, Kobe fan, and I like Pau very much,but Pau is not a good denfender.. hope someone else will guard Dirk.
Posted by: mara | May 04, 2011 at 01:59 PM
MM,
This once great place to get Laker news and converse with smart fans is rapidly becoming a farce. Trolls using the handles of regulars (Jon K. is being abused badly). I've tried to stick around hoping the rgulars would beat the trolls over time, but it seems to be hitting a low point.
Help!!!!!!
I love your work here and loved the old community of knowledgeable fans (including some Celt fans even!). But this has gotten out of hand, with trolls using Jon K's name to post about Pau's sexual orientation. I may have to go get some real life friends (horrors!!!!!!!)
Tom D.
Posted by: Tom Daniels | May 04, 2011 at 02:00 PM
@ Nuggets
Yea agree but i potentaly want to see the matchup at least to start the game. you got to know that RON has some vengance against Dirk for that elbow he got on the head. Also, if you guys havnt noticed how much artest goes inside the paint for an offensive rebounds and put backs, he dives in with the opposing teams bigs and gets tangled up. i think RON has credentials that might play out, plus DIRK would be a little scared that RON might throw an elbow of his own in GAME 2... all Im saying is we wont know until we see the matchup. Whos he guarding now anyway, Shawn Marion?? pshhhhhh hmmm Marion is a better matchup for LO but marion will never post him up.
my 2 cents!
Posted by: LALakerz213 | May 04, 2011 at 02:02 PM
"In the words of the first ST6 Commander, Richard Macinko,
"Boys it's GO TIME. Let's give'm HELL. Dallas,--
DOOM ON YOU."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6__o39_iGxM
PS. LAMAR & PAU- Shadow Dirk and for hell's sake- JUMPPPPPppp.
Posted by: heh8meN1 | May 04, 2011 at 01:13 PM
"
Great reference! I was thinking of Dick Marcinko and his Rogue Warrior book that started me reading all his stuff when they got UBL this past week! That was a perfect Rogue Warrior scenario.
I hope the Lakers remember the 10 Commandments of SPECWAR & especially #5!
Posted by: NuggetsCountry | May 04, 2011 at 02:03 PM
I don't see anything about DFish being injured on BSPN or anywhere else, including Twitter...............
Posted by: NuggetsCountry | May 04, 2011 at 01:46 PM
---------------------
Nuggets - That info about a DFish injury was a hoax posted by a jacker!
Posted by: LRob | May 04, 2011 at 02:05 PM
Yeah, looks like the imposter made up the rumor about DF hurting his ankle. There's not a single news source saying a word about that.
So that's good
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | May 04, 2011 at 02:17 PM
We need Dirk to react to us, not us react to him - we need to stay wrapped around Terry every second he's on offense - we need to play our game smoothly and not let up on any possessions.
Let's go!!!
Posted by: Patrick | May 04, 2011 at 02:22 PM
Wow! Obama administration sent a Justice Dept letter to NCAA that they are investigating the BCS system for possible Anti-Trust violations. Now that's an important use of taxpayer dollars.
The Triangulator
You are worried about that? You are worried about an investigation into possible anti-trust violations? What is more important use of taxpayer dollars? Dropping more bombs? The last administration didn't want to regulate or have oversight over any possible anti-trust violations and look where that got us! Keep your bias hate to yourself on this blog and don't sweat the small stuff, why don't you worry about the subsidies for the oil companies that are making record profits or the fact the GE didn't pay taxes in 2010?
Posted by: biasfoolbgone | May 04, 2011 at 02:26 PM
test
Posted by: LakerTom | May 04, 2011 at 02:29 PM
test
Posted by: blackmamba | May 04, 2011 at 02:30 PM
I think better use of the bench to drive the paint and wear down their Bigs would make it easier on the starters after their first rest period. The Lakers philosphy of having the bench players hang on to a lead or keep them close is a position of a team that is trying NOT to lose,(the premise being that they will lose)instead of playing like the winners that they are. Shannon Brown has an okay shot from the outside, but with his skill and speed he should be driving the paint getting their bigs in foul trouble. That I think is worth big points in the fourth quarter when you need them. Lets face it he was a non presence in game one.
Posted by: M.A.Mungaray | May 04, 2011 at 02:49 PM
Hello
Police here; game day babayyyyyyy!! We got this, and if not well we got the next four!
KobeMVP888 don gone into a hideout AGAIN? Oy vey, the PSP don't get why people let the goings on in a blog affect them this way. It's just a blog for crying out loud.
Meanwhile the meat are laying the smackdown on the celtics. Like someone mentioned on this blog yesterday or so, talent wins games in the NBA. Not the triangle, not the rectangle, not the circle, but talent.
Anyway its just practice playoff season so it doesn't matter if we win or lose; we go on to the next round!
Thanks
PSP Intern
Posted by: Practice Season Police | May 04, 2011 at 02:57 PM
Oh God no, moderation AGAIN. MM why you letting these people punk you like this? This blog is getting weaker by the day, feels like Narnia in here.
Posted by: Practice Season Police | May 04, 2011 at 02:58 PM
The Triangulator - Dude...c'mon BOZO someone has to bring these's MOBSTERS down, the NCAA is out of CONTROL.
Posted by: G.Money | May 04, 2011 at 03:18 PM
If Phil plays our crappy bench for more than half of the 3rd and 4th quarters again, I'm gonna lose it...
Posted by: Xeoh | May 04, 2011 at 03:20 PM
Lakers problem is don't have 3 shooter treat...we start missing Sasha and farmar..remember farmar and shads can shoot in 3 it's area...
Posted by: Jhay_kb24 | May 04, 2011 at 03:37 PM
Lakers problem is don't have 3 shooter treat...we start missing Sasha and farmar..remember farmar and shads can shoot in 3 it's area...
Posted by: Jhay_kb24 | May 04, 2011 at 03:37 PM
I wouldn't be opposed to see the Lakers go with Ron on Dirk. Ron could be very physical with him and keep him away from his spots. This could only happen with Odom in the game though, as Pau can't guard a SF.
Posted by: TheBoogeyMan | May 04, 2011 at 03:56 PM
The Priest have some breaking news and it is tough to state it. I am a true blue laker fan since 1981. I cried when MJ embarrassed magic and when magic retired due to HIV. But sad to say that LBJ will win his first ring this season. Think about it, Kobe is a 5 time champion and LBJ is almost universally hated but yet LBJ's jersey is the number 1 seller. Stern took notice of that. Plus kobe committed the unpardonable sin and insulted a particular moneyed demographic with his gay slur recently. The young people love the heat and imagine the frenzy if they win their first ring before next season. Finally, both LBJ and Dwade are much better than kobe at his age. All this add up to is a heat victory. Yall remember in the 2008 finals in game 2 I believe when Leon powe a Boston scrub had more free throws in the 3rd quarter than the entire lakers team? That was to get the 1st Boston big 3 their first ring. but they were old. But this big three is young and exciting and can generate beaucoup dollars for Stern. We are doomed and kobe caused it.
Posted by: island priest | May 04, 2011 at 04:09 PM
Even the tv ratings are upbig due to the heat this year. Most people might not know this but the Priest is tight with the dollar. But even I purchased the nba league pass out of curiosity about the heat. Imagine if they win it all? Stern will explode with all of the money he will stuff in his suit. If the lakers win again. Yawn will go the casual fan. We are doomed i tell ya.
Posted by: island priest | May 04, 2011 at 04:18 PM
Heat is scary good and not sure if Boston or Chicago can stop them. Can lakers if they make it to the finals beat the Heat?
Posted by: blackmamba | May 04, 2011 at 04:36 PM
Need more evidence? Miami is led by a trio of likeable, talented, clean cut, non controversial and marketable stars. Kobe is marketable, clean cut and extremely talented but he is not liked outside of la. Kobe is an enigma. Look at his finals appearance where he gave 4 words or less. The media was upset with kobe and Stern was furious. We all know how the refs can control the outcome of a series ask sacramento.
Posted by: island priest | May 04, 2011 at 04:54 PM