Lakers-Celtics Game 2 Preview

The Lakers will look to continue their success and go up 2-0 in the NBA Finals. Meanwhile Game 2 is Boston's last chance to steal a game in LA and take homecourt advantage. After a 13 point loss, they have multiple things to improve upon if they want to go back to Boston tied at 1-1.  Look for the Celtics to make some changes to try to get back into the series.

Changes for the Celtics

Keep Ray Allen on the floor

Why?

They need Ray on offense because he creates problems for LA when he comes off of screens. Since Rondo is unable to penetrate, Ray creates shots for himself and teammates on curl screens into the key. Paul Pierce also creates but mostly from the high post.

What happened?

Ray was in foul trouble because he picked up fouls guarding Kobe. If Kobe's going to have a big game then that's fine; but Ray can't also get into foul trouble.

Lisa Blumenfeld / Getty Images

Solution?

Ray needs to play less aggressively on Kobe since the help defense is coming. Doc Rivers must also find ways to trap Kobe so that he's not attacking Ray so much.

Defending Kobe

What happened?

In Game 1 Kobe had 30 points and was able to score or create at will. Too often he came around screens and was wide open. In the third quarter the Celtics did a better job of trapping Kobe. This forced Kobe into a couple of turnovers and unsuccessful drives into the Celtics' help defense.

Solutions

1) Make Kobe dribble further out in the perimeter where his options are more limited. Perkins needs to come out on Kobe until a guard rotates back. Or he can double Kobe. Sometimes Kobe will try to drive and score over big men helping in the key. If you're the Celtics, you'll take your chances with this rather than having Kobe make easy passes that lead to open shots. Also, when the Lakers watch Kobe drive into multiple defenders they lose rhythm and have a tendency to make mistakes.

2) If you're going to double Kobe you might as well try putting Rondo on Kobe. Rondo will do a decent job of harassing Kobe around the perimeter and also rotating if he loses Kobe on screens. The Lakers will probably counter by putting Kobe in the post. This works in the Celtics' favor since they can get the ball out of Kobe's hands by sending the double team.

Attacking LA

The Celtics could run more screen-rolls that involve Pierce and Garnett or Allen and Garnett. Either of these options will create a mismatch that the Celtics can exploit. In Game 1, the Celtics ran mostly post plays. This works in the Lakers' favor since they have the length of Gasol and Bynum to make things difficult for anyone in the post. The Celtics can counter this by forcing Bynum and Gasol away from the hoop where they have to run around and find a guy to defend.

Mix it up!

Nate Robinson poses problems since he can hit the outside shot. On screen-rolls he has multiple options that will break down LA's defense: shoot the three-pointer, drive into the paint, or pass to an open teammate. The Lakers will be in trouble if Bynum or Gasol has to come out and cover Nate on a high screen.

Changes for the Lakers

Defending curl screens
The Lakers did a poor job of defending Ray Allen when he comes around curl screens from the baseline.

Solution
The Lakers can counter this by preventing Ray from getting the ball. Ray is curling on one side of the floor and the pass is coming from the top of the key or three-point line. If the guard defending the passer knows which side Ray is on, he can step to that side at an angle to prevent an easy pass to Ray. Yes, the defender gives up the lane but the Celtics might not be able to exploit this. This video (at 1:25) shows what happened in the third quarter-

Derek Fisher could step to his right at an angle if he knows that Ray is curling off a screen on that side of the floor. This would open the lane to Nate Robinson but the help defense (Shannon Brown and Gasol) may prevent Robinson from scoring or creating a shot. Brown could leave Rondo out on the perimeter to guard Robinson.

The same exact situation occurs at 1:39. This time Rondo is entering the pass so Brown has two options that involve leaving Rondo open. He can cut the pass off if he knows where Allen is or he can drop towards the free-throw line to double Ray Allen.

Pau isn't getting good post position
Pau allows defenders to push him too far from the high or low post. In the low post this is a problem because his post game is best at 8-10 feet from the hoop. At 10+ feet from the hoop he has to dribble towards the hoop (which invites help defenders) or is limited to face-up jumpers. His deadly right and left jump hooks are not an option that far from the hoop. At 1:58 in the video you can see one instance of this:

Solution

When posting Pau allows defenders to easily push him in his back and away from the hoop. To counter, Pau needs to find ways to prevent defenders from having an angle to simply push him. The easiest solutions is to face his defender for longer periods of time until the ball gets to him.

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.

Without Kobe & Bynum, Pau & Lamar Dominate

Have you seen the Lakers lately? Over the last three games they've beaten Western conference rivals- @Portland, San Antonio, & @Utah- easily. Okay, maybe those first two victories aren't as significant as they could be but the Lakers had lost something like 8+ in Portland & San Antonio is always tough. Nevertheless, if you've watched any of these games they're clearly a refreshing welcome from their lethargic efforts that we've become accustom to.

Pau Gasol, left, had 22 points and 19 rebounds, and Lamar Odom finished with a season-high 25 points and 11 rebounds in the Lakers' 96-81 victory over Utah. (Steve C. Wilson / Associated Press)

Obviously the main difference in these games has been the absence of Kobe & Bynum. With these two players the Lakers' ball movement slows down so that zone defenses can collapse and rotate in systematic manner. More importantly, everyone stands around and just watches as these guys make aggressive scoring plays. In the last three games, the Lakers' ball movement has been much better as even guys like Walton and Sasha (yes, i said it) are making valuable contributions.

Basketball is best when you don't have to do a lot of thinking & there is little one-on-one play. Right now they're making simple plays (cuts, screens, give-and-goes, etc.) because they trust their teammates will make the right decision whether it be pass, shoot, or create. This is primarily because Pau & Lamar are unselfish in nature and are looking to take advantage of mismatches. Bynum & Kobe are more naturally inclined to score rather than create.

The Lakers have the most talent in the NBA and this is clearly evident without Kobe & Bynum. I'm not saying the Lakers are a better team without Kobe & Bynum, but it would be nice if Kobe & Bynum could take advantage of the existing talent on this roster. Even if you're Kobe's biggest fan, you have to admit that these last three games have been both fun to watch and surprisingly successful. Think about it, none of these games have even been close.