I know there was a thread about this a while ago in the GARM, but I don't want to revive an old thread, and I don't want to post this in the GARM because discussion here in the Dish tends to be a lot more constructive than the GARM (this and the fact that it's really a Lakers thread, so it should be here).. so I was watching the Lakers today against Utah and it had me wondering, ignoring past games, how do we match up with the Lakers? I'm not getting ahead of myself here because we have a long way to go against Portland, but it really had me thinking about how we match up.. First off, the thing that killed the Jazz the most in this game was the Lakers' size.. Utah had no answer for the Gasol-Bynum punch down low and the Lakers really exploited the Utah's lack of size.. This is by far the most intriguing match up for us because I know for a fact that Yao is capable of dominating Bynum, but the biggest question is who's gonna stop Gasol.. there is no way Scola can keep Pau in check, and I don't even see Chuck Hayes being able to defend him because Pau is a finesse type of player rather than a bruiser, that and the fact that he's insanely taller than Chuck.. Lowry should be able to easily stop Fisher, and Brooks hsould give Fisher fits on the offensive end.. the two-headed monster of Battier and Artest should be able to neutralize Kobe, and the off guy should be able to keep Ariza in check as well.. so it's pretty clear that Gasol/Bynum vs. Yao is our biggest problem.. Bynum isn't nearly the low block threat that Gasol is, that's why I like Yao on him so he doesn't spend too much energy on the defensive end.. What do you guys think of the insane idea of putting Motumbo in along with Yao to battle Gasol/Bynum, then subbing in Hayes/Landry for him whenever Gasol goes out? granted, it leaves a huge hole on the offensive end and Deke's size 22's will clog the lane for any driving by our guards, but we don't get to worry about getting owned in the low block.. is it worth it? and would Adelman be crazy enough and willing to even consider this bold move?
Fisher really intimidated Brooks the last time we played them. Yao matches up better with them when Bynum is on the floor. Dikembe should get minutes in that series, which I like. The Rockets don't have anyone that matches up well with Odom, and Kobe is just an assassin when he plays us. If we do see them, I suspect it would be a short series. 5 games, I'd say.
Nov 09: LA Lakers 111, Rockets 82 Jan 13: LA Lakers 105, Rockets 100 Mar 11: LA Lakers 102, Rockets 96 Apr 03: LA Lakers 93, Rockets 81 I'd say not very well...
Deke and Yao on the floor together will make us too slow. Kobe seems to get geeked up when playing us this year, mainly to dispel the notion that Battier and Artest can be Kobe stoppers to the general media and fans.
The only way we can beat the Lakers is if Kobe gets injured or if we double team him in the last 7 minutes of every half and force him to give up the ball. Did you see what he did to the Jazz today? When he decides it is time to he is simply unstoppable- Artest, Battier, Lebron, Wade, your grandma- nobody is gonna prevent him from winning the game one on one.
I honestly think while they will feel they can beat anyone.. which they should that they would of prefered Blazers and Rockets to be the 4/5 matchup as I know Lakers fans think they pose the biggest problem. Anything can happen though ejections, injuries, suspensions, foul trouble etc can completely change a series. While they swept us in the regular season I wouldn't expect them to sweep us in a playoff series. The key obviously is Yao has to dominate on offense for us to have any shot... Kobe would be Kobe but we have to guys who may be able to contain him some what at times... the key is winning the other matchups.. AB has been out played by Fisher so needs to turn it around and use his speed to trouble Fish, we can't let Odom keep killing us off the bench and Scolandry have to take it to Gasol.... however we are still a long way from this matchup happening!
We need to get down on our collective knees and pray to the Basketball Gods to forgive us for thinking ahead to round two. We. Have. Only. Won. One. Game.
First off, you don't need to double Kobe. He's turning into more of a perimeter and mid-range oriented player that noticeably does not drive or take shots inside 10-feet of the basket as much as he used to. Play him one-on-one and do your best to match his minutes with Artest and Battier's in order to negate any advantages the Lakers will try to get on a screen-and-switch. The Lakers like to run their high screens so having a second quality defender like Artest capable of checking Kobe is absolutely essential in case Battier is forced to switch. Second, I like our chances better with more Bynum and less Odom. When Odom is "on" the Lakers are nearly unbeatable with his scoring/rebounding punch off the bench. With Bynum back and starting Odom's minutes have decreased somewhat. Nothing against Bynum either. He's a decent player but he's simply no match for Yao. In addition to decreasing Odom's minutes, having Bynum back means Gasol, who either has outplayed or canceled Yao out this season, slides back to the four and thereby becomes Scola/Landry/Hayes' problem. We would also need to factor Deke into the steady rotation given the tremendous size/athletic advantage the Lakers have. Deke, amazingly, can still outjump and outrebound pretty much anybody even at his age. His minutes off of the bench would be vital in a series like this. Third, Artest has a tendency to try to do too much whenever challenged by a trash talker or premier defender. We've seen it happen plenty of times and he's definitely been in one or two trash talking matches with Kobe, who essentially dared him to take over the game. A "dare" that usually results in plenty of bad shots, turnovers and head-scratching plays. We need Artest playing exactly like he played in game one against Portland: letting the PG's handle the rock, moving without the ball and flashing to the 3-pt line for spot-up's. Artest playing with his head screwed on for 48 minutes is absolutely essential. Fourth, [and this goes along with what I was saying earlier about NOT doubling Kobe] you can't let their role players kill you. The best way to present an opportunity for them to do so is not respect their shooting. Fisher, Vujacic, Walton, Brown, Farmar and all those guys are absolutely lethal if you leave them open. We have enough problems with Kobe/Gasol/Odom to factor in a Trevor Ariza-type killing us. Easier said than done, I realize that, just saying don't double or play with your head down thus enabling one of those guys to cut, move or find an open spot. We've has issues in the past with athletic wings like the Ronnie Brewer types killing us on cuts and going backdoor. That's precisely the way Ariza plays. Fifth, use the JVG "feed the big man til he can't eat anymore" philosophy with Yao. Yao [obviously] needs to be the guy to carry us and the one player the Lakers SHOULD have no answer for. I really think things might be a little different now with Yao no longer having to guard Gasol. That's a huge plus for us. Feed Yao and get the Lakers to start thinking. They'll start doubling, in which case we absolutely HAVE to have our shooters punish them. This is the type of series the stars all have to essentially align if we're going to seriously contend with this team. We can't afford any Luther-Head-esque performances from the field. We won't even come close to beating this team, if that's the case. If the Lakers counter by trying the dreaded "fronting" approach, do what Adelman has been doing lately: bring Yao out to the high post and further. It gives you a variety of options (PnR, PnPop, Yao's seemingly automatic 20-footer).
We never double teamed Kobe with Battier + Artest during crunch time. It was either one of the two. I would like to see that. Also Von Wafer is a big factor in the Laker games. If he can play well we could win a game or two. As far as guarding Gasol, I don't know. Yao owns Bynum though.
Right. During the rest of the game we usually double or cheat which creates opportunities for others to burn us. I'm saying don't even bother with that. If anything, it should be the complete opposite: play him single coverage up until the last two minutes, double him before he reaches half court if he's in one of his "I'm simply not missing no matter what you do" modes to get the ball out of his hands. We've all seen him victimize plenty of teams inside the last two minutes with his impossible shots. Given that he brings the ball up the court in that scenario 90% of the time, I never understood why teams don't double him initially before he reaches half court while he's walking the ball up. If you double quickly you're going to get the ball out of his hands. Then, at least the onus is on him to get open again and after that you TRY everything humanly possible to deny the pass.
double kobe. with different ways, in different situations, and at different times. that's worth a try for one game and see what happens. force him to give up the ball.
AB needs to hit his shots so that Fisher closes in on him and AB can blaze by him. Last game, AB could not penetrate and get past Fisher. Fisher should not be able to stay with AB without drawing another defender. In general Yao needs to set harder picks. Recently it seems that he cant take out the defender. He needs to set his feet wider and lean his body outward to close the gap and take out that defender.