I said after Game 1, when I found out the Lakers were going to bench Bynum and start Odom that we should counter that move by starting Hayes and bringing Yao off the bench. I still think I was right as we lost the 1st quarter of Game 2 and Hayes came in, got us quicker defensively, and got us back on track until we went back to the same beginning of the game matchups for the start of the 3rd quarter and got toasted once again. Now, here is my Game 7 radical suggestion: START VON WAFER AND BENCH LUIS SCOLA Why? Well, it's pretty simple. It looks like the Lakers are going to start Farmar. There are two reason why they would do that: 1. They want a better shooter on the floor; and 2. They want a quicker defender on the floor because they are going to try to get the ball out of Brooks' hand by using Farmar and then shading and helping Farmar out on him. So, with our current starting lineup of Brooks, Battier, Artest, Hayes, Scola, where do you think the perimeter help on Brooks is going to come from? If you guessed Ron Artest's defender, you've got it right. Ariza is going to cheat off Artest and help on Brooks until Artest can prove he can hit the jumper out there. Right now, he is stinking it up from outside this series. The Lakers would much rather Artest be jacking up 3 balls than Brooks penetrating and killing them. And here comes the 2nd part of it. What do you think the Lakers are going to do to Scola when he catches the ball in the block? You bet. They are going to bring help to Gasol and force Scola to get rid of the ball. They may give him the wide open 18 footer but they are not going to let him go one on one against Gasol in the post. So, they are going to take away what worked for us the last game. So, the solution is to start Wafer and bring Scola off the bench against Bynum, another mismatch in our favor. This gives us a starting 5 of Brooks, Wafer, Battier, Hayes, and Artest. How do you play them? Well, defensively you let Wafer take Ariza. Yes, Ariza will have some size on him but Ariza has a one dimensional game based on his speed and athleticism. Wafer negates Ariza's speed advantage. Wafer is faster than Ariza. All the rest of the defensive matchups remain the same. But offensively, the adjustment you have is Artest running the low block and the high block instead of Scola. Why? Well, he is shooting so terrible from distance. And what better player could you get to stick in the pick and roll or to isolate on the high post up than Artest? Whoever takes him, if it is anybody besides Kobe, Artest has the advantage on them. And if Kobe defends him in the block, we just took away LA's best perimeter defender and opened it up better for Wafer and Brooks to attack and/or shoot. Both teams are going to be doing the same routine defensively in game 7. Both teams are going to come out collapsing the paint, especially against Kobe and Brooks, and trying to force the other players to have to shoot the ball from distance. Are we better off with Scola running around there all bottled up? Or are we better off with a shooter/slasher on the perimeter and a player that has shot terribly from the perimeter running in the post? I think when you study this, the answer is obvious. Wafer should start and Scola should come off the bench for Hayes or Artest, whichever one gets in foul trouble first. This leaves Scola coming off the bench and hopefully matching up againt Bynum. Scola will have the advantage there, and it also leaves us with a good pick and roll combo of Scola and Lowry coming off the bench together. Now tell me I am crazy again.
Yeah, well if we go back to Scola in game 7, you can count on about 3 turnovers and 3-5 missed shots because Scola is going to have to force everything because they are going to double the ball out of his hands.
I don't know what you are smoking, but I just can't even begin to fathom your suggestion. I tried hard to go with your analysis and give you the benefit of the doubt, but starting Wafer over Scola is the most ridiculous suggestion I have heard this playoffs. I could understand even the Hayes for Defense over Yao starting, although even with the results that happened, I still would not have done it. But this is just utterly crazy. Without Scola, there isn't even a series here.
I can see your logic behind this idea, but no way, dude. Until Von Wafer figures out he doesn't need to jack up a shot every time he touches the ball I don't want him near the starting lineup. Plus, we have to minimize turnovers(scola's BB IQ helps us there) and hold our own on the glass(scola helps here too) to win tomorrow. Let them leave Ron open tomorrow as far as I'm concerned. He's way overdue, and I feel he's going to shoot it well just like in game 6 vs the Blazers.
I agree we would be nowhere without Scola. And I am crazy. That is why I put Radical in this thread title, because my suggestion is RADICAL. And most everybody blew me off and thought I was nuts after game 1 when I said Hayes should start game 2. But I was right then. If we had started Hayes and if we had brought Yao off the bench and if we would have started Hayes at the beginning of the 3rd quarter again, there is no doubt in my mind we would have taken game 2.
I'll add a crazy suggestion of my own. Normally Shane likes to hang around the 3 point line and wait for the ball. I think this is fine when we are playing with Yao on the court but now I think we need have more movement in our offense so that they cannot play zone effectively on the strong side of the ball. In order to give different look for their defense, I am thinking if we should create couple of plays where Shane goes through several screens to get open for a 3pt shot like Rudy Farnandez and Ray Allen do for their team. Does anyone else think this could be effective?
Yes it is a possibility that if they leave Ron open, he will torch them. I hope it happens. But, if he continues his current series shooting slump, then we are going to be deep-fried toast real quick.
You make decent points on the matchups, assuming that's the way the Lakers play it. I'm all about "Dancing with the date you came with". This is the lineup that got us here, stick with it. Having said that, I wouldn't mind making an early switch if the Lakers prove successful with this strategy. Von could play a key role, and so could Barry. Barry is the pure shooter (historically). If it's a matter of standing on the perimeter and waiting for the kickout, I'd almost prefer Barry. I think the best way to get around all of this is to dish it to Landry at the FT line and let him dunk it. Pretty simple.
I understand your logic about the Hayes deal, but you just can't do it because at anytime Yao can start a game and go 8 for 8 and 6 for 6 on fts. He still rebounds and clogs up the paint against the other team on defense. The logic is there, but NO coach in the league, now or previous would EVER start Chuck Hayes over Yao Ming!
Not even a big fan of Wafer. I just see the story unfolding. Watch LA gang up on Scola and prevent him from having his way. And watch us stubbornly refuse to make the adjustment and pile up turnovers and bad possessions trying to force the ball to Scola. And then remember I told you so.
No, this is not the lineup that got us here. This is a makeshift lineup. Everything from here on out is makeshift. We gotta change parts and make adjustments on the fly. Once again, this is not the lineup that got us here.
But if they double Scola, somebody else is open, and Scola is a good and willing passer. I think we still work it inside-out, and start down low. Artest will start hitting, especially if his man is rotating off him to help down low. You don't really want Artest in the block against much taller guys, they will block his shot consistently as he doesn't get much elevation. So no, don't start Wafer over Scola.
Well, this coach would have. You have to remember, a 7 game series is simply a series of adjustments by each team. If LA adjusts with Farmar, and they adjust their D to double Brooks and Scola, we gotta adjust back, and not play into their hands with Artest doing the dribblemania and then launching poor long distance shots. You can't play right into their hands. This is game 7 guys.
If we want to win tomorrow, Ron Ron has to shoot well no matter what. We were never going to win this series with Ron struggling with his shot even Yao was playing, so it is a moot point to me. One thing I would do is give the lakers a different look by using Artest more in the post offensively. Another idea would be to work scola at the high post and have one of battier or Ron cut to the bucket with the other spaced at the three point line along with Aaron Brooks.
I do think that Scola will turn the ball over ,but Wafer's poor defense negates things. Nothing wrong in having out of the box thinking though.
