• First off, congrats to the Mavericks for winning their first championship in franchise history. They played fantastic basketball, not only against the Heat but the entire playoffs. What I found most impressive about them as a team wasn’t the remarkable shooting expedition, the poise, or even the role players stepping up the way that they did. It’s how all those things combined to make every one of their post-season opponents look the same by the time the series ended: confused and defeated. No team could solve the riddle of how the Mavs pressured the paint through wonderful attacking schemes predicated off tremendous floor spacing. Kudos to them, they earned their place at the top of the mountain.
• Obviously any congratulations of the Mavs must also include the singling out of Dirk for his fantastic playoffs and his well deserved Finals MVP. The once “soft” player that “couldn’t close” changed the perception of him (which really wasn’t fair anyway) with a fantastic playoff run that will now put him on the list of great players that actually broke through and won a title. No more Malone, Stockton, Miller, Ewing, Barkley comparisons for the big German and whether he realizes it or not right now, a burden has been lifted off his shoulders as that’s a tough stigma to carry. Special acknowledgement as well to the fact that Dirk won in a truly tough era where the league is as strong as it’s been in decades with many elite players and some fantastic teams.
• Credit must also be given to Rick Carlisle. He pushed all the right buttons, made all the right substitutions and adjustments, called all the right timeouts. He got his team to defend on one end and play a steady, relentless style on the other that confounded the opposition. Just as some of his players, he’s elevated his status in this league and joined the ranks of Pop and Rivers as the active coaches that truly make a difference to their team in a way that led to the ultimate prize. He really was masterful.
• However, we can’t reflect on these Finals without discussing the Heat and their failure to achieve what they set out to do. They fell short in many ways and proved that their elite talent base wasn’t enough this time. Be it coaching, the play of LeBron (no explanation needed) and Wade (he was simultaneously great and mistake prone), or the media missteps they made along the way, this team struggled to rise to the occasion while Dallas capitalized on every mistake.
• That said, I don’t think anyone should be quick to dismiss the Heat as contenders for future championships. In several ways, they remind me of the 2008 Lakers. First off, there are the easy comparisons of Kobe/Wade (leader with experience that played excellent while still showing flaws), Pau/LeBron (the player with more talent than he showed), and Odom/Bosh (the front court player that had up and down performances but was outplayed by his direct counterpart). There’s also factors like the fact that they faced a team of hungry veterans that had fallen short so many times and looked at this series as (potentially) their last shot at a ring, the newness of their team and rapid ascension to elite status, and the need for some of the players who’d not yet seen this level of competition (Miller, Chalmers, Anthony) to get that needed seasoning. Obviously, this isn’t a perfectly parallel situation as I’m unsure who can be Miami’s Derek Fisher nor is it clear that there’s a player like Bynum or Ariza in the wings that can take a big step forward next year in helping this team win it all. Plus, and maybe most important, is that Coach Spoelstra is no Phil Jackson (who is?) and filling that void in coaching may be their biggest obstacle. Not to belittle what Spoelstra’s accomplished nor his coaching acumen, but it’s unclear if he’ll take that next step as a coach and this team needs a guy that certainly will. It’s interesting because Carlisle finally broke through as a head coach but that was after being fired in both Detroit and Indiana. Can Miami wait on Spoelstra?
• Interesting enough, the Mavericks win only cements my thoughts further that the Lakers should not be discounted going into next season as one of the top 2 or 3 clear favorites for the title. The Lakers’ formula (at least what we know of it) of well put together top level talent is a combination of what the Mavs and the Heat brought to the table. With a renewed sense of hunger and purpose, some tweaks to the roster, and some slight improvement from some of their core players (none of which is a stretch) this team could certainly be hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy next season. Obviously coaching will be key and how the players buy in will be an issue. But, the Lakers’ window is still very much open. (Now, if only the player’s union and team owners can hammer out a CBA, I think we’d all be a lot happier.)

No, the Lakers aren’t involved. There are no crucial moments to fret over; no stomach churning lead up to this contest. Instead, it’s two teams – the Mavs and the Heat – that will take center stage while we all watch.

I know many have a desired outcome to this series. Many would prefer the Mavs walk away victorious and claim that elusive Larry O’Brien trophy. After all, this could be the last chance for long time greats like Dirk and Kidd (two of my favorite non Lakers) to reach the mountain top and denying them this triumph would be some sort of cruelty. Meanwhile a team of young, in their prime stars like those on the Heat will have plenty of other chances to win this thing.

The other angle, obviously, is the dislike that many have for the Heat. Folks didn’t like “the decision”, the celebration that came after, or the swagger that it spawned – including all the media missteps along the way.

Personally, those things never bothered me much as games are decided on the court and the team would have to prove that they were worthy when the ball was jumped at center court, regardless of what I (or anyone else) thought of them. Winning isn’t easy and they would learn that and either reach the pinnacle or fall short like many others do. So far they’ve done well for themselves in getting to this point, but they’ve again found what we’ve already known and said. Winning is, indeed, hard.

In any event, game 6 is here and I’ll be watching. For the great basketball, the extremely talented players, and the chance to see the joy of one team and the despair of the other. We’re at the point where a team can taste that championship and those moments are the ones that I enjoy the most, even if they don’t involve the team that I call my own.

I’ll also be watching because this could be the last basketball we see for some time. The league owners are set to lock out the players next month and we could be in for a long, bitter negotiation that puts some, most, or all of next season in jeopardy. All of this saddens and upsets me to no end, as I’m sure it does to many of you (especially if you’re checking in on a basketball blog on a late Sunday afternoon).

But tonight, I’ll be watching to see if one team can claim the trophy while the other fights for their basketball lives. This game means something to me, even without the Lakers participating. I hope it’s a good one. Though, from what we’ve seen so far these playoffs, my hopes probably aren’t needed.

When critiquing his game, I said that it wasn’t so much that LeBron played poorly; it was that he played passively. And as one of the truly great players, you don’t get a pass for playing that way. After I expressed my thoughts on twitter, an interesting comparison came up. First it was our friend Brian Kamenetzky from Land O’ Lakers and then it was another smart commentator on the Lakers, Gary Collard. But both said the same thing.

They said that this reminded them of Pau Gasol. And you know what, they were right. Instantly a multitude of thoughts ran through my mind as the comparison was too perfect.

Against this same Mavericks team, both Gasol and James had seemingly shrunk from the moment of the big game and not played nearly as well as expected. Gasol had been handled in both the post and the shallow wing and hadn’t impacted the game in any of the other ways that he normally would. Meanwhile, LeBron had become a spectator on the majority of the Heat’s 4th quarter possessions, standing idly in the corner as if he was James Jones, not LeBron James. Even when LeBron did touch the ball he was probing, not attacking.

But the question still looms. Why?

We may never know the real reasons, but my first guess is the cerebral nature of both players’ games. Both, throughout their careers, have been known as high IQ players that think the game. Gasol has thrived as an offensive initiator in the hub of the Triangle offense, making the right reads on whether he should pass or shoot. LeBron, on the other hand, has long been an offensive initiator and (rightfully) hailed as one of the best passing wings in the league. Both players are most effective when they’re able to survey the floor, pick out teammates, and make the right read on what to do with the ball.

However, it now seems that their best trait has become the root of their biggest critiques as both players have the dreaded passive label attached to their games. The fact that these performances have come in some of the biggest games only enhances the view that they’re failing their teams in trying to play a certain way.

Don’t get me wrong, when you’re one of the very best players in the world the expectation is that you’ll impact the game in some way that helps your team win. And the fact that neither Gasol or (to a lesser extent) LeBron (at least in these Finals) found a way to help their team win games that were there for the taking deserves critical discussion in the same way that their strong play would invite praise. But as the conversation shifts from criticism to damning, I wonder where we go from here.

The funny thing about being a fan is that we often use our judgment and our wants to critique a team, a coach, or a player. “Why didn’t we use a timeout?” we ask. “He should have passed! He had a teammate wide open!” we shout at our TV’s and type on twitter and in the comment sections of sites just like this one. It’s an every day occurrence and, in a lot of ways, it’s what makes being a fan an experience that we all enjoy. After all, watching the game also means that we are, some how, a part of the action. And with that inclusion comes a desire to see what we think is best; what we think will work.

We then take these critiques a step further and use comparisons to other great players (past or present) to hammer home our point. “LeBron needs to be more like Jordan (or Kobe) and attack!”. “Pau needs to demand the ball more, like Shaq would!”.  The problem with this approach is that we lose the nuance of what makes the players we critique unique and excellent in their current form.

It also handcuffs players into a vision and path of progression that we think is best for them rather than letting their games evolve (or, for some, stagnate) the way that they’re meant to. We limit players and confine them into the narrative that we create because as fans we want what we want.

There is no easy answer here. We want the players we root for to achieve at the highest levels but each step of the way we want them doing it in the manner that we choose. When they do succeed by doing it a different way, we applaud. But if they fail that next time, we’re right back letting them know that their approach is wrong. It’s why Gasol will forever be the “white swan” to some and why LeBron will probably always struggle to escape the perception that he’s not “the man”.

Meanwhile, both will continue to have a lot of success as cerebral players that think the game and making the plays that they feel will help their teams win. Sometimes it will work, other times they’ll fail. And through it all we’ll be there to point out what they should have done. For better or for worse.

.

The Lakers season. Phil Jackson pacing the Laker sidelines. The hope of another three-peat. All of it.

The Mavs completed what seemed improbable a week ago, sweeping the Lakers out of the playoffs with a dominant performance. 122-86 was the final count and that 36 point margin actually does sum up the game. The Lakers had their hats handed to them by the better team; the team that wanted it more. As I’ve said before, Dirk, Kidd, and Terry are three veteran players that have all been on the losing ends of countless high stakes battles and they weren’t going to fold this time. All congratulations go to them and the rest of the Mavs players and coaches for pulling out this series win.

This game truly was a microcosm of the entire series. Dallas’ ability to spread the floor with shooters and using the resulting spacing to beat the Lakers off the dribble was again the difference. Seemingly every Maverick was able to get by his man consistently and it collapsed the Lakers D, ultimately opening up shooters all over the court. The Mavs made 20 three pointers on the day with Terry (9-10!) and Peja (6-6!!) consistently reaping the benefits of a defense that had to be in too many places at once. The fact that no Laker could effectively contain his man off the bounce completely ruined any semblance of cohesiveness on the defensive end. The fact that the Mavs put on a shooting performance for the ages was just the rancid cherry on the Lakers’ poisonous sundae. They could have made only have their three pointers and the result in this game would have been the same.

To make matters worse however, is the fact that certain Lakers decided their frustration was too much to handle and sought out vigilante justice rather focusing that energy into playing hard down the stretch. Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum both got ejected on needlessly hard fouls, with Bynum’s being especially egregious as he threw a forearm shiver into the ribs of an airborne JJ Barrea that leveled him instantly.  Losing is never easy, but losing while committing the type of dangerous foul that Bynum did is even tougher to swallow as it paints him and his team in a terrible light. No one likes sore losers and that’s exactly what Bynum looked like.

In the end, this wasn’t the Lakers day, series, or ultimately, their season. They lost to a better team and while it was unfathomable to think that would be the case just a couple of weeks ago, it is the truth. Dallas had the ingredients to beat this Laker group and with players underperforming (Gasol, Odom, the bench in general) this team didn’t have enough to win this year.

For now, though, my disappointment turns to reflection. The core of this Laker team has brought us so many highs that I feel the need to take some time and let this loss settle before I think about the future. Despite performing poorly, the core of this team brought us fans back to back championships and three straight trips to the Finals. They were at the top of the league and spoiled us all with great success that we’ll all be able to look back on and appreciate one day. I must also give a special thanks to Phil Jackson. Despite this awful sendoff, his 5 championships and 7 Finals appearances in 11 seasons will live with me forever. His calm demeanor soothed me in the hard moments of games and his quips at post game pressers and interview sessions were the best. He’s truly been a special coach and the best I’ve ever seen. I’m truly sad to see him go.

I know that it’s hard right now – the shadows of a terrible loss are dark and cold. But I think back on what this team has given and I simply can’t throw them under the bus right now. Not with Phil on his way out and with big changes potentially looming. There will be time to discuss all that. But for now, I give a round of applause to the Mavs, but an even bigger one to our Lakers. At least this one last time.

Over at Land O’ Lakers, there is a sobering post (that’s well worth your time) that speaks to this fact; a post that I think sums up exactly what many of us think and feel at this very moment. The fact that the Lakers are in this bind now but really have been in this bind all season. That Dallas is more than a worthy foe, that they have shown to be the better team. In exploring this, Brian Kamenetzky does an excellent job of summarizing how the mind and heart can be on two different pages:

The image of greatness is hard to erase, especially when obscured by near-greatness and familiarity.

For this season’s Lakers, the alchemy of timing and performance appears to have eluded them, despite the lofty expectations. Gasol’s postseason collapse has robbed them of critical production, the outside shooting has gone almost comically cold, even relative to the team’s own middling track record on that front. Meanwhile, Dallas has raised their game to a level the Lakers can’t match.

All that remains now is the chance for a miracle, the idea the Lakers might do what nearly 100 teams before them couldn’t, and recover from a 3-0 hole. I know it won’t happen, but even then it’s hard to completely kill the memory of how good this group has been. Some team will some day be the first to pull it off, right?

But while we who root for the players to win find a balance between what we think will happen and what is likely to happen, the players themselves have no such luxury. They have no other recourse to believe that they will in fact be that team that defies the odds.

Earlier today, Andrew Bynum’s twitter account lit up with the simple phrase “MAKE HISTORY!”. And at Lakers’ practice, Kobe Bryant still speaks like a man possessed to win and one who sees no other option but to do so.

Which brings me back to the nature of being a fan. As I stated yesterday this series is not, technically, over. Dallas is in firm control, make no mistake, but the Lakers are still alive. And while I’m not saying they’ll win the series, my focus isn’t on that ultimate goal but only on one game and what they can do in this single contest.

With the way the players are talking, I turn not to logic (as I so often do when breaking down the X’s and O’s of the game) but to hope. Hope that they can pull out the victory that’s eluded them in the first three contests. Hope that one of the game turning plays goes in the Lakers direction. Hope that in this dark corner of the Lakers season they’ll rally one more time to show us that they can pull it out. For some reason, I still have confidence that they can do this tomorrow and take the series back to Staples for one more crack at it.

Maybe I’m as crazy as Kobe Bryant for believing such things. After all, the plays that have needed to be made have all been made by the Mavericks. And is often the case in the playoffs, those plays go to the team that’s better (think back to Gasol and Artest’s tip-ins from last year’s playoffs). But in a make or break game, I still have faith in this Laker group. The odds say I’m wrong and maybe I will be. But tomorrow I’ll be watching to cheer this team on, hoping that we’ll all see Tuesday together.

And while playing hard and with poise will be a big part in winning this game, there were too many tactical errors in game 2 to think that adjustments can’t be made to put the Lakers in a better position to win. That starts with who will start for the suspended Ron Artest at SF. While early reports pointed to the Lakers throwing Shannon Brown into a small lineup, the word is actually that the Lakers will go big and start Lamar Odom at SF. In an email exchange, Reed gave his endorsement of this decision:

I would play try Odom at SF for stretches. Although that specific 5-man lineup hasn’t been on the court together, they are all very familiar playing together. Odom is certainly best utilized as a PF — we’ve confirmed that through prior failed experiments — but I still feel he’s our best option at SF given the other options. Dusting Walton off would reek of desperation. Barnes is simply not playing well. Odom is better at every aspect of the game, even 3PT shooting (despite the common perception). Odom is also smart enough to adapt his role to the needs of the lineup. Basically, I think there’s such a massive talent drop off from Odom to Barnes (or Walton) that I’d much prefer to put him on the court and trust him to make it work.

I think the plan should be to put your best players on the court together to the degree you avoid really bad matchups or skill deficiencies. Odom can defend any Dallas SF, and his help defense with Dirk would be helpful. If we had a traditional SF that could stretch the court on offense, I’d be worried about losing that, but we don’t.

Meanwhile, over at Pro Basketball Talk, Kurt gives some insight into how this might play out on the court:

It gives the Lakers options in dealing with Dirk Nowitzki, who has been the best player in this series. Odom has had more success as a defender on him than Gasol. On offense, this moves Kobe to more of a wing attack position, where bringing help defenders could be harder. Kobe has gotten just one shot at the rim in two games, this could give him more room to attack (if his ankle can support it). It also pretty much forces Dallas to guard Kobe with Kidd.

Not everything comes up roses should this be carried out, however. As Phillip notes, moving towards this line up definitely disrupts Phil’s normal rotations:

Who stays on the floor for the extra minutes when others get that 1st breather? This could cause some serious rotation problems and lead to fatigue during the waning minutes of the game — minutes that the Lakers haven’t played particularly well in the last month. I do believe that the Lakers have to be in that “nothing held back” mentality, but I fear this could backfire if bigs don’t get normal rest times. Pau has looked dreadful at the end of games, not just his play, but he looks downright gassed and he seems like the most likely candidate to get those extra minutes. Hopefully I’m completely wrong about all of this, but I do think this is one of the main reasons Phil hasn’t gone to this lineup more often.

Personally, I see both positives and negatives to this approach. As Phillip states, this does throw off the rotations and it leaves the Lakers thin in back up big men. Also, this is a line up that Phil’s  mostlyavoided for as long as it’s been an option and I feel like there’s some desperation/no where else to turn feel to this type of move.

That said, there are benefits to the move that the Lakers can exploit. As Kurt mentioned, this would allow Odom to guard Dirk for longer stretches. This behind Odom there would be two big men protecting the paint and that lends itself to better help on penetration as well as the ability to throw strong side zone looks at the Mavs should Dirk isolate on the wing. Offensively, Kobe not only moves to the wing but Odom plays up high with multiple post options to play off of with dive cuts and slashes into the gaps of the defense. Odom offers the best finishing option in these situations and his ability to get into the creases of the defense when Pau or Bynum post up offer potential benefits in big to big passing and better offensive rebounding.

Beyond the line up changes though, there are other tactical changes that need to be made tonight. Defensively, the Lakers need to do a better job of containing the Mavs pick and roll attack. In the last game J.J. Barrea carved up the Laker D, getting baskets for himself and his teammates. As you see in the video below, the Lakers coverage the P&R when Barrea handled the ball was dreadful:

In order to better contain this action I hope to see the Lakers go under the screen more often. Whether it’s Barrea or Kidd running this action, the Lakers want them shooting long jumpers, not getting into the pait to finish at the rim or collapse the D and hit open cutters/shooters. Even when defending Terry, I believe going under the screen is an option, if only to show him a different look than he’s been shown so far this series. Going under the screen also limits the hedge/recover action of the man defending Dirk. If the Laker bigs can better stick to Dirk while having guards recover to the ball handler, this will allow the ball to stay in front of the defense while also limiting Dirks ability to get wide open looks.

Offensively, the Lakers need to go continue to go into the paint even if the results aren’t pretty early on. Standard post ups for Gasol and Bynum (and Odom, if he’s starting) will put pressure on the interior of the Mavs defense to control the paint without fouling. Chandler is known for reaching in when beat but the Lakers did little to force his reactions beyond a handful of plays in the first half. Let Bynum go to work on Chandler early to see if he can get him into foul trouble and then when Haywood comes into the game, do the same thing. Dallas’ big men have held up well so far this series, but make them continue to prove that this is the norm and not the exception.

The Lakers also need to move the ball from side to side in order to get better post up chances. Too often the ball is getting stuck on one side of the floor and it’s allowing the Mavs D to set up shop ball side and make finishing difficult. What the Lakers need more of is quick post ups off ball reversals where the big men duck in to seal their man and get the ball in prime position to score. The clip below shows a perfect example of how the Lakers were able to accomplish this the last game:

As you can see, Pau started on the wing and then ran the standard cuts to the weak side. Once the ball was kicked back out and swung to the other side of the floor, he ducked in against Dirk, sealed him, and got the short jumper to fall. This should be a staple of the Lakers’ sets tonight to get Gasol and Bynum going.

Most of these things are simple to accomplish, but with the weight of a must win on their shoulders the Lakers will need everyone to be focused and prepared to perform tonight. That’s the beauty of a game like tonight’s, it really will be a team effort and if everyone brings their best effort and execution, there’s no reason to think the Lakers won’t win this game. The only thing left to do is to go on the court and accomplish it.

Few envisioned this series unfolding the way that it has and it’s a credit to the Mavericks for turning the perceptions of their team – and thus their match up with the Lakers – upside down. Not that people didn’t recognize how great a player Dirk is nor the effectiveness of Tyson Chandler as an interior presence, but if you were to ask most observers who had the better “closer” or the “advantage inside” most would have said the Lakers. So far, that’s been wrong. Very wrong.

That said, those conceptions coming into this series existed for a reason. The Lakers do possess those aforementioned ingredients but have not been able to put them on display effectively in this series. Credit the Mavericks for playing as well as they have. At the same time, discredit the Lakers for playing as poorly as they have. There’s certainly a connection between these events but for the Lakers to fight their way back into this series, they need to start with what they can control; they need to start with themselves.

After last night’s game, Andrew Bynum mentioned that this team has trust issues. Stepping away from the psychiatrist’s couch and towards the grease board, it’s easy to see what he means. The Lakers aren’t helping each other on either end of the floor. Defensive rotations are late or non-existent. Players are often scrambling to find a man to guard only to find that another teammate has already moved into that position, or worse yet that the original man that should have gone somewhere else is still there.

Offensively, the ball goes into the post only for no one to cut or screen. The ball gets kicked out to the perimeter only to have that player either not shoot on time (thus eliminating the effectiveness of a good kick out) or shoot too quickly rather than looking back the big man for a re-post. On the wing, the ball is entered but with little urgency to follow the plan and hit the next option. The lack of execution is obvious, especially when compared to what the other team is providing and the fact we’ve seen better for so long this season from the team we root for.

Everything described falls into that category of lack of trust; that lack of chemistry that, for a championship contender with a long together nucleus, is kind of jarring to observe.

But, here they are. Forget dissention in the locker room and move your focus to dysfunction on the court. The Lakers need to play better (obvious statement alert), and I truthfully believe that they can. You see, when observing the Lakers play what’s frustrating isn’t the lack of effort, it’s the misapplied effort into doing things incorrectly.

When Lamar Odom doesn’t hedge correctly, that’s a tactical mistake. When the secondary help doesn’t come on penetration, that’s a tactical mistake. When Derek Fisher fights over a screen at 30 feet, that’s a tactical mistake. I could go on and on, but you likely get the picture by now. Dallas is beating the Lakers by playing excellent basketball. The Lakers, too, are beating themselves by not doing the things they know to work and instead getting frazzled in witnessing that what the Mavs are doing is.

Understand that there is no easy solution. There is no magic formula to make Dirk’s jumper less accurate or to make the Mavs frontline less imposing.

There is only what the Lakers can control: their effort, their execution, their adherence to the details that are put before them by the coaches. I’m a big believer that this series is not over. The Lakers are not any less talented, smart, or dedicated a team than they were when they terrorized the league after the All-Star break. What they need to do is get back to the basics of running their sets and start to impose their will on the Mavs rather than constantly reacting to the premise that they set on each possession.

A win is all that’s needed to take that step forward towards regaining a footing in this series. As everyone begins to count them out, there’s no better time to rally together and take that step forward together. Personally, I think the Lakers have it in them.

Tomorrow: Some X’s and O’s that the Lakers can implement to get that win.

Well, I’m here to tell you that if you’re expecting that to be a key component of the Lakers winning this series, you’re out of luck. I’ve come to this conclusion for a variety of reasons but mostly because the evidence is right in front of our faces speaking to the contrary. When many picked the Mavs to lose in the first round to the ‘Blazers, this was one of the common reasons. However, after enduring one of the most remarkable kick-in-the-stomach losses in recent memory, these Mavs won the next two games including a close out game on the road in the raucous Rose Garden. Last night was no different as they calmly came back from a 16 point 3rd quarter deficit by executing their sets on both sides of the ball and then closed out the game with even better execution in the final minutes.

This team is experienced, poised, and is made up of the types of veterans that have tasted defeat and don’t want to deal with anymore let downs. Beyond the clichés however, the proof is in the actual performances of these players. Dirk is simply one of the best closers in the game, scoring at elite levels with the game on the line. In the playoffs, in the last 5 minutes of a 5 point game, Dirk’s true shooting percentage is 79% and his individual offensive rating is 143.7, per NBA’s Stat’s Cube. Those are insane numbers. During the regular season, Jason Terry was among the leaders in 4th quarter scoring and has been a top performer in closing out games for years (especially against the Lakers). You add to those guys, Jason Kidd’s floor generalship and Tyson Chandler’s defense and you have the ingredients of a team that will not only score well but will defend too. Those are the exact ingredients that win games, especially close games.

Long story short, don’t expect the Mavs to hand the Lakers this series. You’ll be waiting a long time if that’s the case. The Lakers will need to win these games on their own merit; something that I’m pretty confident that they can still do.

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With all that said, some adjustments I’m looking for the next game:

*The Lakers must be more physical with the Mavs off the ball and especially with Dirk. Too often the Mavs were able to move to their preferred spots on the floor and take jumpers within the flow of the game. Dirk was especially brilliant in navigating the Laker defense, simply using a bunch of rub screens and flare cuts off the P&R to find his space and then get his shot up. The Lakers need to better stay connected to Dirk to force his catches further from sweet spots to make him use more energy to get where he wants to go before shooting. Pau can especially be more disruptive as he was the main culprit in allowing Dirk the kind of easy catches that he feasts on.

*Pau can also be more aggressive on offense. Believe me, I love that his stat line included 7 assists and I’ll never complain about Pau’s passing or how he helps his teammates succeed by setting them up for easy scores. However, his 10 shots and 5 free throw attempts aren’t enough. And while I fully support him getting more touches at the expense of the trigger happy guards to help boost these numbers, some of the time that he’s looking to initiate for others needs to be dedicated to hunting his own shots. Again, I love that he’s such a good passer but if he were to take 3-5 more shots a game while his assist number drops to his season average (nearly 4 a contest), I’d be quite happy with the result. In the first half, Gasol was extremely active looking for his own baskets but that seemed to dry up for him in the 2nd half. A lot of that blame needs to go to the guards (starters and reserves) and in an offensive attack that saw poor spacing and over dribbling rule. But, when he has the ball in his hands he needs to think attack more often.

*While there is a practice what you preach element to this, Kobe called out the reserves for not passing the ball to the post and I couldn’t agree with his statement (at least that portion of it) more. Blake and Odom are the only reserves with a mentality that the ball needs to go inside consistently. Both Shannon (most guilty) and Barnes (somewhat quick with his jumper) need to understand that they’ll get better looks later in the clock if the ball simply goes into the post on nearly every possession. There’s a reason that they find themselves open from the perimeter so often – the Mavs want them shooting jumpers. If they work the ball inside and stay away from over dribbling, the 2nd unit’s performance will skyrocket.

The game started with the Mavs doing what they do best, knocking down jumpers. They isolated Dirk on the left side of the floor (just as Phillip said they would) and the big German went to work, canning all variety of jumpers against whatever defense the Lakers threw at him. And when Dirk wasn’t hitting jumpers, the pick and roll actions that Dallas used with him was opening up the weak side of the floor when defenders would rotate to Dirk and leave their man open to do so. Dallas quickly recognized this Laker tactic and subbed out their non-shooters (Stevenson and Marion) for guys that were threats to make shots and space the floor (Terry and Peja) in order to fully capitalize against this strategy. And when those guys came in, they too joined the shot making parade to make L.A. pay.

Meanwhile, the Lakers hung tough through aggressive play from Kobe Bryant. Seeing an advantage against Stevenson early, Kobe was quick to look for his own offense and fired away with pretty good results. His jumper was falling (for the most part) and his activity set the tone early for his team. When Kobe wasn’t shooting however, Gasol was trying to match Dirk bucket for bucket and doing a decent job of doing so. The big Spaniard started out with a driving lay in, then hit a nice turn around after a strong post up, and finished off his brief flurry with a corner J that looked as sweet as the ones he knocked down all year long.

What started as a back and forth affair though, soon became the Lakers game to control. Near the end of the first half, the Lakers turned some silly fouls by the Mavs into made FT’s and put the Mavs behind the 8 ball. Jason Terry’s awful foul on a Lamar Odom half court heave gave the Lakers an 8 point cushion and then a Dirk technical foul after the last FT sent Kobe to the line to push the margin to 9.

When the 3rd quarter started, the Lakers took and even tighter grasp on the game by turning the the Mavs over multiple times and turning those steals into easy baskets. Soon enough, the Lakers found themselves up by 16 and the Mavs looked to be on their last legs. Before the priests could be called in to give Dallas their last rites however, a furious come back began. Bad shots and poor all around decision making led to easy Dallas baskets. Phil decided to let the group try to figure it out on their own (as is his m.o.) but sadly they never did. In the blink of an eye, the Laker lead was cut to three and the game would be a dog fight until the very end.

And down the stretch of a close game, the Lakers – as has been all to frequent this year – couldn’t seal the deal. The starters did a good enough job of matching baskets with the Mavs but the shots they were getting became overly dependent on Kobe creating in isolation and less to do with any semblance of an offense being run. Even when the Lakers tried to go inside (which wasn’t nearly enough) the spacing was bad and either turnovers or bad shots against the shot clock resulted. Meanwhile the Mavs just kept plugging away and running their sets. Dirk would hit a jumper or the ball would swing from one side of the court to other, quickly go inside, and the Mavs would get any easy basket.

In the closing minutes, the Lakers tried to go to what had worked the entire game (Kobe making shots) but on one possession a jumper went woefully long and on another (with under 30 seconds to go) Kobe drove to the paint and got caught in the air with no passing angle and committed a turnover. After the timeout and the Mavs only down by a single point, they ran an inbound play to get the ball to Dirk only Gasol fouled him to put him on the line. After sinking both freebies, the Lakers ran a hand-off play for Kobe but he got held/tripped up coming off the screen and the Lakers committed another turnover. (And yes, it looked like a foul. But, for the 100th time, if you allow the game to be that close at the end – as the Lakers did – you have to live with a missed call. The Lakers had many chances for the game to not come down to a single possession and didn’t do enough in those chances. I can understand the importance of that one call, but I also understand the importance of a 16-4 Dallas run in the 3rd quarter.) After more FT’s by the Mavs (Kidd sunk 1 of 2), the Lakers had one last chance but Kobe missed a great look at a three pointer and the Mavs held on.

And really, that’s the story to this game: the Mavs held on. When they were down big, the Lakers allowed them to get back in the game quickly enough that it was like that big lead never happened. With the game close, the Mavs found ways to make shots and get stops to ensure that in the closing minutes they’d have a chance to get the ball to their closer and he delivered. It’s not that Kobe couldn’t match Dirk (because for the most part he did) but instead it was about the Lakers over-reliance on Kobe making those shots for them to win this game. And when you rely on one player in isolation the way the Lakers did, sometimes the shots just won’t fall. The Mavs proved as much by moving the ball in and out of Nowitzki’s hands in those final minutes to both get him good looks but also set up other players. The Lakers never adjusted and it hurt them in the end.

If the Lakers would have shown more discipline by going to the post more often to both Gasol and Bynum (especially when Drew was playing with the 2nd unit) the Lakers likely would have gotten better possessions and not taken so many bad jumpers that fueled the Mavs comeback. But, alas, that’s not the way the game unfolded. If there’s one lesson from this game it’s that the Lakers didn’t salt away the game when they had the chance. I don’t know if they expected the Mavs to fold or if their lack of patience simply yielded the worst results possible but it all ended up leading to the same conclusion. The Mavs fought their way back and the Lakers left the door open for them to do so. At this point, they can either sulk about it or come back the next game and not make the same mistake.

And in the end, I expect the latter. By now, the Lakers understand that the Mavericks are not a team that will go quietly into the night. In order to beat them, the execution must be game long not just something that comes and goes. Each possession needs to be valued or this team can and will take advantage of the mishaps. Falling behind in a series is a tough way to learn this lesson but hopefully now it sticks. The Lakers will have their chance to prove that they know better on Wednesday.

*The forgotten “big” man in this series is Shawn Marion. He’ll have a lot of responsibility this series on both sides of the ball, likely spending a fair amount of time defending Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, and Lamar Odom. He’ll be depended upon to be a defensive stopper on the wing and will need to rebound well in the Mavs’ small line ups to ensure that the Lakers don’t rack up offensive rebounds. But where he’ll be just as important is on the offensive side of the ball. The Mavs primary scorers are Dirk and Terry, but in the games that they played the Lakers close Marion was a key contributor on that side of the ball. The Lakers must be aware of him running the floor as Jason Kidd will often reward a streaking Marion with an on time and on target pass to set him up for an easy finish. Plus, in the half court, his in-between offensive game where he uses his good first step to get by a defender and then flips up a floater before the second defender can rotate to him is something to watch for. The Lakers need to lay off Marion (think about how they’ve played Kenyon Martin over the years) to make him a jump shooter or to at least make his first dribble not be one that goes by the defender, but rather into the sagging D. This will allow his man to better contest his shot and also let the secondary big man stay home and grab defensive rebounds rather than having to help on Marion’s penetration.

*The Lakers (as every team) have had loads of trouble dealing with small, quick guards and the Mavs sport 3 of these types of players that fit this description to a “T”. We’ve covered notorious Laker-killer Jason Terry a lot already, but Barrea and (potentially) Roddy Beaubois offer similar types of games. Both of these guys love to attack off the bounce and the Lakers will need to protect against their dribble penetration in order to avoid getting collapsed and having shooters and slashers break open when the help comes. Expect Phil to use Steve Blake extensively against Jason Terry and that means Shannon Brown will spend a lot of time on Barea and Beaubois (should he play). Shannon must effectively use his size advantage to lay off Barea and then challenge shots only when he leaves his feet. The Laker bigs must also be aware of Barea’s penetration coming off the P&R as he loves to keep the ball on a string and not give up his dribble until he’s going to shoot or pass (much like Nash/Paul). I understand it’s difficult to imagine such a small player having such a big impact, but Barea is capable if allowed to run free. He must be marked consistently as he can push the Mavs 2nd unit to another level offensively.

*We briefly touched on the Mavs’ zone defense in our previews but didn’t go into a ton of detail into how the Lakers need to attack it should the Mavs deploy it in the series. As Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook breaks down, the Lakers must continue to run their offense against the zone as good looks can come out of it. The Lakers can not get lazy by simply swinging the ball around the perimeter and then settling for jumpers. That’s what the zone wants, and the Lakers would be doing Mavs a great favor by taking this approach. Instead, the Lakers must make direct entries into the post and to the flash man coming from the weak side in order to get into the gaps of the defense. After the entry is made, the cuts and screen actions of the Triangle will force the zone to move and players will break open for easy shots both going to the rim and in spot up situations around the arc. Odom and Gasol will be key players against the zone as they both have a great feel for space and movement while also showing great chemistry together. If both are in the game together when this defense is implemented, I’d love for Odom to find the creases at the FT line and along the shallow baseline and play some two man game with Gasol to hunt easy scores. If this fails, understand that Kobe can always attack the zone from the top of the key as the Mavs love to run this D with one or both of Terry and Barrea in the game. Against such a smallish backcourt, Kobe can easily go into his back down game, get to the elbow, and elevate for the shot or hit an open teammate when the help comes.

*Can either team make the opponent’s star work on both ends? I’m greatly intrigued by the big man battle for European supremacy (Pau vs. Dirk) and hope to see our Spaniard take it the big German on both ends of the floor. If Gasol can consistently force Dirk to defend (especially in the post), I think it can go a long way to taking away some of Dirk’s leg strength for all those jumpers he’ll be taking. On the flip side, I wonder how the Mavs are going to attack Kobe and his still not 100% ankle. Stevenson is not an offensive threat and if Kobe guards him, we’ll likely see our #24 look like Willie Mays (another #24), playing a lot of center field trying to disrupt Dallas’ sets. If Kobe is on Kidd, expect to see him sag off and make him bury the three pointer, but do so off the dribble ducking behind screens rather than just leaving him alone in spot up situations. If the Lakers know what’s best for them, they’ll treat Kidd like the capable shooter he is when given time and space to set his feet and fire away.

*Speaking of Kidd, the Lakers must try to keep him (and Terry) to one side of the floor in the half court. Kidd has no issues with going baseline and then leaving his feet to hit the cross court wing spotting up, but the Lakers offer enough size in the paint to obstruct passing angles and enough recovery speed to close out on those shooters. What the Lakers can’t do is allow Dallas ball handlers to attack the middle of the floor from the wing as it will destroy the team’s defensive integrity. Discipline must be shown here; this is no time for gambling as the Mavs’ smart guards will make the Lakers pay.

There’s certainly more to cover but in the end, there’s only so much to say as the game will be decided on the floor and not on a grease board. Game one sets the tone of the series and like the Lakers learned against the Hornets, a loss in this first game can mean a hard fought, uphill climb the remainder of the series. The Lakers need to strike first, hold their home court, and instantly instill doubt in the minds of the Mavs. Effort and discipline are needed tonight. Let’s hope the Lakers do what’s needed.

Where you can watch: 7:30pm start on TNT.