Lakers are huge favourites in this game and in a possible matchup in the Finals against Cleveland.
I was wrong ... the Lakers don't deserve to be strong favourites ahead of the Cavs in a playoff series. This is a fairly even matchup.
The Lakers do not take advantage of the Cavs' lack of quickness amongst their big men. Not in transition, not in pick and rolls, not through ball movement, and not through one-on-one offensive play. Not only do they fail to take advantage of their defensive weaknesses but in turn they also allow the Cavs to play to their strengths. To have Shaq's size and interior defense hanging around the rim. To shrink the floor defensively with their large frontcourt (Z, Shaq, Vareajo, LeBron at SF). LA is getting hardly any penetration as result.
The Celtics are a bit better at this but still not great. That's why Rasheed Wallace is so important to them in matching up against the Cavs. To take their big men out of their comfort zones defensively and to open up the paint. Wallace caused similar problems for Bynum last year when with Detroit.
Lakers OffenseI'm amazed by how much the Lakers halfcourt offense has declined since Ron Artest came on board. I expected them to lose their transition game and to drop off some in the halfcourt, particularly against sub-.500 teams, but this has been far worse.
The Lakers player movement in the halfcourt is slow and easy to defend. The ball movement is mediocre. All season long, they've allowed opponents to stay in front of the ball defensively. Reducing penetration, reducing the opponents need to play help defense, less defensive rotations, less open shots and more contested shots. They don't force the defense to react, they allow the defense to stay in position (team defense wise).
Kobe Bryant has made the situation even worse with his unwillingness to play on the perimeter + unwillingness to be a playmaker. His desire to post up with regularity makes it even more difficult for the Lakers big front court to space the floor effectively + provide threatening movement off the ball.
Improvement?I think the Lakers might have to try and find a way to upgrade Derek Fisher at the point in order to offset some of those negatives offensively in the first unit. Although, I'm not really sure what would work. They already have so many people who need the ball. A more efficient role player would probably be best. A Steve Blake type perhaps.
Or else reverse Odom's + Bynum's roles around. Odom's quickness, passing ability, movement, and shooting ability help ease the situation. Unfortunately, I don't think Bynum's fragile ego could handle coming off the bench. It would be very difficult for LA to trade Artest for a better offensive player without losing just as much if not more defensively.
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Topic: Lakers @ Cavaliers game thread (Read 9080 times)