Lakers-Suns Game 5 Preview & Breaking the 2-3 Zone

 (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

After losing another game to the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers should be very concerned. The loss by only nine points in Game 4 hides the fact that the Lakers, if it weren't for Kobe Bryant hitting ridiculous (& bad) shots, should have lost by 20+ points.The Lakers are not doing a good job guarding the pick-and-roll and have been unable to adjust to the Suns' 2-3 zone.

106 points for the Lakers is good, but they cannot expect to win if they give up 115. To make matters worse, Nash & Stoudemire didn't have huge games. Instead, the Suns' bench did the majority of the damage in the second and fourth quarters.

When defending against the Suns, you need long/athletic shootings guard and small forwards to rotate to shooters, fill gaps, and pick-up big men on screen-rolls. The Lakers only have three players (Odom, Bryant, and Brown) who fit this build. 

The Lakers’ zone offense also leaves them in a bad spot because they usually have a guard in the corner (Fisher) who has to catch up to a guard that’s defensing near or above the free-throw line. This has lead to some bad switches and open perimeter shots for the Suns as the Lakers scramble to match-up on defense.

LA can try a few different things to mix things up against the Suns. I'm not sure if any of these options will shut the Suns down but they're decent options since what they're currently doing isn't working:

1.    Switch Kobe and Fisher so that Kobe guards Nash & Fisher guards Jason Richardson. This could slow down the Nash-Stoudemire pick-and-roll. The Suns could then try to post Richardson against Fisher. This is okay because it gets the Suns out of pick-and-roll situations, prevents Richardson from launching 3's, and might not work because Fisher is a crafty defender.

2.    Put Ron Artest on Nash or Stoudemire. Artest might be able to do a decent job on Stoudemire either in the post or if he has to switch onto Stoudemire when he's guarding Nash. Right now, Artest isn’t too involved in the defense since he’s just chasing Hill and Richardson around the perimeter.

3.    A really radical option would be to play some sort of zone (3-2?). This seems like a good idea since the high screen-roll is pointless against two guards who will just switch. The problem with the zone is that it often yields open shots & a variety of opportunities for teams like the Suns with good wing players (Richardson, Barbosa, Hill, & Dudley). But trying this out for a few plays, LA could slow the Suns down for a few moments and would also allow Gasol & Bynum to stay near the paint where they can protect the hoop. The Suns' offense is designed to expose their advantage over Bynum & Gasol who have trouble guarding Stoudemire when he's dribbling at them.

Bynum

Yes, everyone knows that Bynum is injured. His injury should be a major concern for the Lakers for both the remainder of this series and if they advance to face Orlando or Boston. His knee is preventing him from extending and making quick moves on offense. Bynum could be causing problems if he could rotate on defense and also move quickly through the Suns' zone defense. They could try using Powell and Benga who could cause some problems.

Breaking the 2-3 Zone

Despite the Suns' 2-3 zone, the Lakers have still been productive in both road games (109 and 106 points). So, again, the zone is a problem but they need to make more improvements on defense. Here’s an excellent breakdown of what the Lakers are doing wrong:

A few takeaways from the video:

- The key to breaking the zone is the decision made by the player who gets it in the high post. He will have two or three defenders converging on him (see video at 0:30) so he can either drive or pass to someone cutting. Since the Lakers are still getting used to attacking the zone, the high-post player has been reluctant or uncomfortable with making the right move.

- At 1:49 Ron Artest panics as defenders converge on him. He then takes a shot while driving into three defenders. If Ron passes to the right,Lamar Odom is wide open and Grant Hill will be forced to chase Lamar or leave Gasol open under the hoop.

- At 2:22 Lamar cuts too far to the low-block and the makes another mistake when he meets the pass to high and far from the high-post. If he stays in the paint and comes to the high-post he has an open shot or he can drive right to the hoop. Instead of moving into the high-post he moved into positions used in the triangle offense.

- At 4:42 Kobe gets the ball at the high-post as two defenders converge on him. For the Lakers to beat the zone Lamar must cut more aggressively into the weak-side opening. At this point, Kobe could have made an easy pass to Lamar. But Lamar didn’t cut quickly and the pass is more difficult because Dragic gets in the way. If the pass gets through, Lamar has a bunch options since a 3-2 advantage has been created. He can shoot, drive, or pass to Shannon Brown who will be open in the corner. Again, the main problem is that the Lakers are not comfortable with attacking the 2-3 zone. Lamar is too slow or reluctant to cut and Kobe’s not sure he can make the pass even though it looks like there’s enough room.

The 2-3 zone can be broken when two things happen:

1) The ball is entered into the high-post

2) The ball then gets swung to someone cutting through the other high-post on the weak-side. This player will then have a 3-2 advantage where he can shoot, pass, or drive.

Game 5 Prediction

My earlier prediction of the Lakers winning in six could still happen. But as I anticipated in that post, the injury to Bynum is really hurting LA. In Game 5, look for the Lakers to play better defense and do a better job of executing on offense. I don’t anticipate that the Suns’ bench will be as productive as they were in Game 4. The Lakers will also make a few adjustments, shoot better, and take advantage of playing at home.