Since Game 3 Andrew Bynum has been ineffective (43 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 0 blocks) and the series has reverted back to the 2008 Finals with the Celtics controlling the paint. This is fine for the Celtics who continue to win as the Lakers try nothing new to change the outcome. Watching the Lakers pass the ball around the perimeter and then look to Kobe to bail them out is painful!
(Charles Krupa / Associated Press)
What's surprising is that Phil Jackson hasn't changed what the Lakers are doing. For all his wisdom and the worshipness bestowed upon him, no one has questioned that he's been outcoached by Doc Rivers. The Lakers need to break out of the triangle when necessary. Two successful examples are the two-man game between Fisher and Bryant in Game 3 and the high screen-roll with Kobe and Pau against Orlando in the 2009 Finals.
Maybe Phil is immune to the criticism because he finds ways to win and two days from now we'll all be praising him for the Lakers' comeback victory. For the Lakers to win, it would help if Phil remembered strategies from The Art of War by Sun Tzu, a military strategy book that Phil has surely read.
Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards... Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.
- Sun Tzu
The words "toughness" and "physicality" (i'm pretty sure this isn't even a word!) have been incorrectly thrown around recently. Hey, i get it, it's fun to say "work harder" and "play tougher," but the Lakers should be playing smarter. Everyone wants Lamar and Pau to suddenly put on 20 pounds of muscle and start pushing people around like they're Dwight Howard. Instead, as Sun Tzu suggests, LA should attack Boston's physical style and use it against them.
So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.
- Sun Tzu
Enough with the Philosophy, get to the Tactics!
What's Boston's strength? Strength!
This all starts with Kendrick Perkins, whose numbers don't reveal the impact he has on the game. With Bynum injured Perkins eats up space, grabs rebounds, and pushes anyone out of rebound position. He's really good at planting his feet and pushing with two hands. At 6'10" he's roughly the same height as Lamar and a couple inches shorter than Pau and Bynum. At 278 he's the same weight as Bynum and has 30 pounds on Pau and 50 on Lamar. With this height-weight combination he can easily push his opponents out of the way.
Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Tony Allen play tough one-on-one defense against Kobe and Pau. Their strategy is to push-up against Pau or Kobe and prevent them from generating any momentum when they put the ball on the floor.
They first make the catch very difficult by staying close to Kobe or Pau and preventing them from receiving the ball where they want it. When they do get the ball, the Celtics move into Pau and Kobe giving them no room to dribble or go towards the hoop. Obviously if someone crowds you on defense you try to go around them. Kobe and Pau cannot get around their opponent because when they put the ball on the ground their defender is still engaged (hand or forearm) with them. Technically this is a foul but the ref's aren't calling it and there's no point in complaining about it at this point. With a defender engaged with them, Pau and Kobe cannot get by their defender or are going so slowly that help defenders can easily rotate.
Turning Boston's Strength into a Weakness
They first make the catch very difficult by staying close to Kobe or Pau and preventing them from receiving the ball where they want it. When they do get the ball, the Celtics move into Pau and Kobe giving them no room to dribble or go towards the hoop. Obviously if someone crowds you on defense you try to go around them. Kobe and Pau cannot get around their opponent because when they put the ball on the ground their defender is still engaged (hand or forearm) with them. Technically this is a foul but the ref's aren't calling it and there's no point in complaining about it at this point. With a defender engaged with them, Pau and Kobe cannot get by their defender or are going so slowly that help defenders can easily rotate.
Turning Boston's Strength into a Weakness
Using strength and leverage requires being in close proximity to your opponent. The Lakers- who are longer, quicker, and faster- need to move without the ball, pass more, and swing through hand-checks. If the Lakers do this then it will prevent defenders from locking on Pau/Kobe and Perkins from owning the paint. If Perkins has to help or move around then he's away from the hoop which makes it more difficult for him to box out.
If Bynum can't contribute Phil should try using Mbenga who should be able wrestle with Perkins. The two are similar in style so Mbenga should be able to keep Perkins off the boards and hold is ground under the hoop.
To clear space Pau and Kobe can swing through the hand-check allowing them to break contact and possibly pick up a foul on their defender. If they do this a few times the defense will have to give them more room.
Let's look at LA's offense which gives Perkins paint control and allows the Celtics to help on Pau and Kobe. At 42 seconds into the video we see why the Lakers offense struggles-
If Bynum can't contribute Phil should try using Mbenga who should be able wrestle with Perkins. The two are similar in style so Mbenga should be able to keep Perkins off the boards and hold is ground under the hoop.
To clear space Pau and Kobe can swing through the hand-check allowing them to break contact and possibly pick up a foul on their defender. If they do this a few times the defense will have to give them more room.
Let's look at LA's offense which gives Perkins paint control and allows the Celtics to help on Pau and Kobe. At 42 seconds into the video we see why the Lakers offense struggles-
Let's look at what happens with 10 seconds left on the 24-
First, Pau and Lamar are both setting a screen for Kobe which is kind of pointless since they're all bunched up. The key problem the Lakers are having is on the weakside where Fisher and Luke Walton allow one defender (Rondo) to guard two people while the other defender (Pierce) can roam freely. As the play develops, Fisher & Walton don't move from their positions, Pierce slides into the key, and Kobe puts up a shot over three defenders. Instead, if Walton or Fisher cuts there will be a clean pass to whoever Rondo leaves.
Another example of stagnant offense is Tony Allen's block on Pau Gasol in the third quarter (1:22 of the video).
Notice that the play involves four Lakers standing around the perimeter and Pau sealing for the lob. When the pass is made into Pau, Tony Allen can leave his defender because he has been watching the play develop and doesn't have to worry about his man (Sasha) who is right in front of him. To prevent Tony Allen from helping, all Sasha has to do is make a hard jab in one direction for a split second. This could force Tony to turn his back on Pau and chase Sasha a little bit.
The point here isn't that Sasha made a mistake but rather that LA's offense doesn't move around which allows help defenders to negate LA's individual offensive stars- mainly Kobe and Pau. In this play Rondo or Davis could also have stopped Pau from scoring. And because four Lakers are on the perimeter the Celtics also have inside rebound position to easily collect the miss.
The Lakers further prove my point through some plays that worked in Game 5. Watch what happens (2:56 into the video) when the Lakers pass the ball around and move without the basketball-
The Celtics play pretty good defense in this possession until Ray Allen doesn't realize Kobe is cutting to the hoop-
This is more good offense by the Lakers than it is bad defesne by Ray Allen. Notice that when Kobe cuts, Ray is thinking about helping against Lamar driving or Andrew/Artest under the hoop. Because the Lakers moved the ball around Ray was unable to keep an eye on both his man and the other Lakers.
Later in the video (4:53) there's another good example of the Lakers moving the ball & breaking the Celtics' defense. This time it's without Kobe but again involves movement and someone getting into the middle. The key play is made by Luke Walton who slowly (not really looking to score) & patiently drives into the key. He waits for the defense to step up and has an easy pass to Sasha who smartly moved without the ball and went to an open spot-
Notice that Tony Allen is forced to guard Lamar & Sasha out in the perimeter. Tony picks up Lamar cutting through key (incorrectly- helps already in the key!) and leaves Sasha for a wide open three. This is a decidely different outcome from the previously play where Tony Allen was a help defender, made the right choice, and blocked Pau's shot.
Also if Sasha misses there are angles and mismatches for the Lakers to sneak in and get an offensive rebound-
In this case notice that Walton has inside position on Rondo and Davis is trying to box out Pau Gasol. Also, Lamar and Farmar could easily sneak into the key to collect a long rebound since Pierce is floating in between them.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately for the Lakers, most of the other highlights in those videos involve the Celtics moving the ball on offense and the Lakers standing around when they have the ball. LA's defense has been okay but they cannot continue to score below 100 if they want to win the series. The Celtics are slower, older, and need close-proximity contact to stay with the Lakers. For the Lakers to win, they must trust each other, move without the ball, create spacing, and turn the Celtics' strengths into weaknesses.
