(Note: Sorry for the sound delay and lack of sound in the videos that are not even embedded in this post. I had some extreme technical difficulties with both my personal and work computer, and due to time restraints, I was forced to leave them as they are in their current state. I’ll work on fixing them for you guys. Thanks for baring with me.)
THE GOOD
I’m just going to completely ignore the first half of last night’s game because I was infuriated and frustrated with the things the Lakers were doing both offensively and defensively in that half. Besides, there was enough good and bad in the second half for me to completely erase that half from my memory (I might not even save that half of video on my computer, well see). What I do want to pay special attention to was how the Lakers were not only able to come back in the third quarter, but how they were able to go into the fourth quarter with the lead – and it was through their defense.
Check out this video below. All the Lakers needed was 4 1/2 solid minutes of hard nosed defense to completely rattle the Nuggets and erase a 10-point half time deficit (which got up to 15 in the third). You’ll see the Lakers showing on every screen, bigs falling back to their assignments after the parameter defenders got through screens, guys rotating over when a teammate gets beat off of the dribble – and most importantly, they contested every shot except for an offensive put back from Chris Anderson, which happened to be the Nuggets only bucket of the stretch. One play in particular, stood out for me and it came around the 4:15 mark in the quarter game. The Nuggets finally move the ball around and the ball ends up in the hands of what looks like a wide open Aaron Afflalo. Thinking he has enough separation, he takes his time shooting the three, but Gasol hauls ass over to the corner, gets a piece of his shot, which forces Afflalo to force up a wild, off-balanced runner on the baseline as the shot clock expired. The ball bounced off of the side of the backboard. Lakers ball. This short stretch of basketball just gives us a glimpse of the Lakers potential if they played with any kind of effort.
Lakers-Nuggets 3rd Quarter Defense
THE BAD
This second clip shows why the Lakers weren’t able to leave Denver with the win: defensive collapses. The very first defensive possession shown on this clip shows very good initial defense. Denver isn’t moving the ball well, and Melo ends up taking a bad, contested shot over Ron Artest. However, no one boxes out, extending the possession for the Nuggets. Anderson kicks it out to Ty Lawson, who rotates it over to the hot shooting JR Smith who knocks down the game tying three-pointer. There is one or two sequences where the Nuggets don’t score, but I included them just to illustrate the good looks that they got. Completely unlike the third, the Lakers were lazy on the S&R, they allowed penetration, help didn’t come over when that penetration was allowed and there were just too many uncontested shots. A lot of this had to do with fatigue, but then again, the Lakers as a whole just seemed uninterested in playing defense after the Nuggets got a couple shots to go down. It seemed to deflate them, which allowed the game to get away.
Lakers-Nuggets 4th Quarter Defense
THE GOD-AWFUL FINAL POSSESSION
Now, let me begin this by saying Derek Fisher did a lot of good things in this game. I thought he played Chauncey Billups very well on the defensive end of the floor. After a couple consecutive turnovers from Pau and LO in the fourth quarter, he took the liberty of driving, putting his body in the defender and drawing the foul when the Lakers desperately needed the points, and he knocked down the free throws. I was aware that Fish was on the floor last night, and it was for MOSTLY good things. That final possession, not so much. I don’t care if it’s Kwame Brown or Michael Jordan, on a final possession, with 12 full seconds, I never want to see one player bring the ball up court, dribble with no purpose and shoot a contested jumpshot, especially not an ageing Derek Fisher. That’s just despicable. I was going to include the video clip, but I don’t want to be pissed for the rest of the day after watching that again. You all saw it, and I’m sure none of you want to see it again.
THE LINKS
From ESPN’s Daily Dime: Tough to learn anything from a Lakers-Nuggets game without Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Kenyon Martin. At least we learned the Nuggets learned what to do when one of their players gets hurt. On Thursday night, when Joey Graham sprained an ankle in the second quarter and stayed in the backcourt while the Lakers advanced the ball, the Nuggets at least had the presence of mind to foul and stop the clock. That’s more respect than they accorded to their leading scorer, Carmelo Anthony, on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City when he was knocked cold in a collision with the Thunder’s Kevin Durant. While Carmelo was on the deck, the Nuggets kept playing at the other end of the court, and then Denver guard J.R. Smith grabbed a rebound and steamed toward the basket, stepping right past the sprawled Anthony in the process. Anthony has no recollection of what happened from the time he hit the floor until he was walking off the court. He’s only heard about it from teasing teammates and doesn’t want to see a replay.
From Silver Screen and Roll: Phil Jackson should’ve called the timeout. Why he didn’t, with the Lakers down two to the Denver Nuggets with 12 seconds to play, I have no idea. If Kobe Bryant had been in the game, that’s one thing. In that situation, you know where your shot is coming from. The guys on the floor know their roles. But Kobe sat out tonight – for reasons that, depended on whom you asked, ranged mysteriously from fatigue to swelling in his right knee, though I personally suspect he didn’t respond quickly enough to Brian Shaw’s Facebook friend request – so the normal endgame playbook was unavailable. You have to call the timeout, to set up a play and to make sure everyone understands what their assignments are. If you don’t, you might end up with a farcically inept offensive possession, something with essentially no hope of success. Like, oh I don’t know, an isolation set for Derek Fisher. Let’s be clear about this: never at any point this season did I expect to type the words an isolation set for Derek Fisher. That’s not an offensive play that should be run by the Lakers under any circumstances. It’s not an offensive play that should exist in theory or practice. It’s not really an offensive play, period, in that it doesn’t offer a more than de minimus expectation of producing any points. It’s Derek Fisher. He has trouble scoring when there’s no one guarding him and he has four seconds to line up a wide-open jumper. When he has an actual, athletic defender on him, like, say, Carmelo Anthony? And he’s forced to create his own shot – I really can’t believe I’m typing this – off the dribble? At some point you cross the line from the sport of basketball into science fiction, or avant-garde surrealist theater.
From Land O’ Lakers: The final play was, to be frank, a disaster from the start. With 12.7 seconds remaining and the Lakers down by two to the Nuggets in Denver, Pau Gasol inbounded the ball to Derek Fisher, who quickly pushed up court against Chauncey Billups. With about seven seconds to go, Lamar Odom popped out and set a screen for Fish, blocking off Billups. The other three Lakers –Gasol, Sasha Vujacic and Ron Artest (you’ll notice an important name missing) — were closely guarded. Here Fisher missed what would be his best chance to fire away. It would have been a deep three, but compared to what followed would have been ideal. Off the screen and heading right at the wing, Fish was picked up by Carmelo Anthony on a switch. Six seconds to go. Fish tries to find space to make an entry to Odom, who is fronted by Billups, but can’t do it over/around the much larger Anthony. Fish tries to probe with the dribble, but it’s hardly his strength. With about 3.5 to play, Artest flashes high beyond the top of the arc. Maybe Fish could have hit him there? Moving away from the bucket and with J.R. Smith in the vicinity, it would have been a tough look.
From SLC Dunk: I hope you weren’t expecting any help from the Lakers last night. And this is the total fanatical/conspiracy side of me with no rationale and nothing to back it up, but I think Phil Johnson Jackson loves sticking it to the Jazz. He knows what it at stake in the playoffs. He “rested” Kobe last night on purpose against the Nuggets, giving Denver a better chance to win. LA had nothing to gain last night by beating Denver. Sure, another win might get them HCA if they make it to the finals, but it’s likely that Cleveland is coming out of the East anyway and they’re not going to get HCA. If he was looking just to rest Kobe, there are three cupcakes left on their schedule where he could have sat Kobe. Maybe it wasn’t to stick it to the Jazz, but it was a strategic move so that they wouldn’t have to face Denver until the WCF instead of possible in the second round.
From the LA Times: Shannon Brown winced in pain in the second quarter and after the game, his sprained right thumb giving him so much pain. Sasha Vujacic was happy and sad. He was happy because he was out of the “doghouse” in a big way, starting in place of the injured Kobe Bryant (swelling in his right knee). Vujacic was sad because he was unable to perform the way he preferred and because the Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets, 98-96, Thursday night Pepsi Center. Even though they didn’t shoot the basketball well, Brown and Vujacic played a role in helping the Lakers come from 15 points down in the third quarter.
From the LA Daily News: The Lakers hit the road once more, knowing a victory Thursday night over the Denver Nuggets would give them the best record in the Western Conference standings for the third consecutive season. The Lakers also realized they had five regular-season games to play in seven days before beginning their defense of their NBA championship. They had to balance rest versus readiness in the final days before the playoffs start April 18. So, Kobe Bryant didn’t play a minute and didn’t put on his uniform for the Lakers in their 98-96 loss to the Nuggets in front of a sellout crowd of 20,044 at the Pepsi Center. The Lakers said right knee swelling had sidelined Bryant. Denver rallied from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Lakers for the third time in four games this season. The game wasn’t secure until the Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony blocked Derek Fisher’s 3-point try at the buzzer.
From Lakers of Fire: The Lakers came up just shy of upsetting the Nuggets tonight. But why would that have been an upset you say? Well, because Phil Jackson surprised us all by holding Kobe Bryant out of the game without so much as a heads up to anyone. Oh, Phil, you clever little devil you. Even in a narrow loss, that crafty bit of gamesmanship was either a stroke of genius… or perhaps it was just cowardice in disguise. On one hand, benching Kobe for the night was brilliant tactic by the Zen Master. This game had a playoff atmosphere around it, especially from the Nugget fans, but by sitting Kobe, that intensity was negated. Any sense of rivalry was removed right then and there. This went from a potential message game for both teams to a no-lose situation for the Lakers. If they lose, well, of course they did, they didn’t have Kobe. If they win, suddenly Denver has to be feeling pretty lousy about their post-season chances if they can’t beat a Kobe-less Laker team on their own court.
From T.J. Simers: Unless the Lakers are trying to make the case they are better without Kobe Bryant, they have bagged the rest of the regular season, but then you’ve known that for weeks. No more phony baloney about gaining momentum as they go into the playoffs, it’s all about flipping the switch on April 18, and by Phil Jackson’s calculations the Lakers will be opening against Oklahoma City. The tiebreakers and the schedule favor Portland, he said, and so the Lakers have the Blazers finishing sixth when the season ends next week. San Antonio has the tiebreaker over Oklahoma City, which would leave one of the hottest teams in the Western Conference in the Thunder taking on the defending champs. Young legs versus playoff know-how.
lil' pau says
re: the appalling last possession:
why not have LO bring it upcourt in that situation? isn’t there a better chance he could beat his man off the dribble (coast to coast)? and if not, then he could make the pass to fish (or ron or sasha) that would lead to a three point attempt.
I mean, as bad as that shot was, wouldn’t it have been even less likely that fish would have managed to successfully drive to the rim and score (like, say, a real PG)? so why not own up to the fact, at least on that possession, he’s a 2-guard masquerading as a 1? I don’t even mind the awful shot as much as what happened that led to the shot.
Don says
1. LO was so out of it last night I don’t think that would’ve been a good idea. I would’ve drawn a play for a Pau 3 pointer a la the Spurs for Duncan to surprise teams at the end of games. Switch Billups onto Pau? No problem.
D Myers says
The Lakers coaching staff has forgotten that Ron Artest has been the “Go to Guy” on ever team he has ever played for. Now he comes to the Lakers and he is all of a sudden a “Roll Player” or the fourth option. When Kobe is out of the game and Pau is choking from the pressure of a close game; give Ron the ball. He will get an open shot and make clutch shots. We dont need Ron to be our Defensive specialist; we need Ron to be Ron, which is an all around great player who use to be an all star.
If Sasha was benched for yelling at Brian Shaw then Derek Fisher should be benched for that final possession!!
D..
Anon says
anyone think phil wanted to lose this game? i mean the first seed is all but locked up (twolves next rite?)..? perhaps he sees something in the standings that we don’t.
JP says
4. I think it was more mind games from phil like they said on Lakers of fire. If the lakers lose, no big deal, you’re expected to lose on the road without kobe & bynum, plus kobe gets some rest. If you win, you most definitely put some doubt in the nuggets head about their chances to beat the lakers in a 7 game series. If they cannot beat the lakers without kobe & bynum at home with the #2 seed on the line, forget about it.
Darius says
The T’Wolves game preview and chat is up.
http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2010/04/09/preview-and-chat-the-minnesota-timberwolves-3/
ken says
As I said on Laker talk last night Phil blew that game. You have two ego driven people in Fisher and Phil. Fisher thinks he can shoot in spite of the worst percentage for a PG in the NBA and another 2 for 11 game. He wasted 6 of the 12 seconds by snailing it up the court.
Phil thinks he is smarter then he is and that he has Jordan, Pippin, Harper , Grant etc running down the court.
Note to Phil: Sasha, Odom, Brown and Fisher are not card carrying members of Mensa. The smart one is Pau and he of course didn’t touch the ball in that last shot. Phil clearly did not want overtime which would mean he would have to sit and watch more of the game. Hence no timeout and low basketball IQ’s on the court.
Then again maybe Phil is helping Denver so he dosen’t want to see them in the second round. Maybe Phil should have Shaw bench him for poor coaching.
Darius says
Hate to say it Ken, but the one person that I’m seeing that thinks he’s smarter than he is is you. I mean, you’re the one that can seemingly read everyone’s mind (“Phil thinks this, Phil thinks that”). And you’re the one with all the answers *after* something happens. Give me some insight as to what would have happened if the time out was called. Tell me what play would have worked. Give us something besides the complaints about the thing that did happen that was unsuccessful. I’m not a genius, but I’m pretty sure that any play that was unsuccessful would have drawn your ire and someone (likely Phil) would have caught the heat.
robinred says
Hollinger:
Samson (Windsor)
On a scale of 1 to puking-up-last-nights-dinner, how bad were the Laker guards yesterday?
John Hollinger (1:22 PM)
Somebody get out a mop. That last possession by Fisher was baffling. But actually I thought Farmar had some bright moments, and has played pretty decently for most of the past month or two. At some point Phil has to think about a change there. Everyone loves Fisher the man, but Fisher the player is killing them right now.
Aaron says
Re: Hollinger on Fisher
This late in the season I don’t think Phil should bench Fisher. I think that might cause some issues with the confidence of the team and put a lot of pressure on Farmar or Shannon. I think we need (and maybe Phil wants) to have Derek step down. And that might be the unselfish move that ignites this team along with the return of Kobe and Bynum. It will be interesting to see what Phil does. As you might remember he was always the coach that made “odd”choices and was fast to make “interesting” lineup switches. As he has aged it appears he is more averse to change which is normal for aging men and women.
Simonoid says
robinred:
I hear you on the MPG issue between Popovich and Jackson – and I definitely think that it holds merit. However, age plays a part here too – consider the respective ages of the stars.
Duncan & Ginobili are what, 33 or 34? Bryant and Gasol are hovering around 30 (Kobe past, Gasol almost there).
We will see if Phil adjusts his mindset in the upcoming seasons when Kobe and Pau age, but as it is now (and the way it has always been), Phil is a win-now, in-the-moment coach.
robinred says
Duncan & Ginobili are what, 33 or 34? Bryant and Gasol are hovering around 30 (Kobe past, Gasol almost there).
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Yes, but this is Kobe’s 14th year in the NBA and I think he is 4th or 5th all-time in league history in MPG, and Gasol, like Ginobili, (who is 32) has played a lot of minutes internationally. Also, Kobe has been on six Finals teams and only one lottery team. He has had few injuries that have caused him to miss time. The man has an enormous amount of mileage on his legs.
I know about his training regimen, so he may be able to overcome a lot of these issues, and as I have said, I am not a trainer, nor a PT, much less a doctor, so I am not claiming to know anything for sure.
I do know, however, that Ginobili has been great lately and Kobe put up a 13/47 over 2 games against playoff teams and is now sitting out with swelling in his knee. In his chat today, Hollinger got many Lakers’ questions, and he says health will be the key in the west.
robinred says
This late in the season I don’t think Phil should bench Fisher.
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I don’t either, but as I said a few months ago, I think the minutes should be redistributed so Fisher gets fewer of them. I know how many mistakes Farmar makes. I still think he should get more burn.
Hollinger, I’m sure, is really getting it from Laker fans in his email account as we speak. He is very negative about the team right now and if they draw either San Antonio or Portland, rather than OKC, I suspect that he will pick the Lakers to lose RD1.
robinred says
Phil is a win-now, in-the-moment coach.
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Indeed. Also, I think there is a chance that if the Lakers go down pre-Finals, he will not be back in 2010/11.
R says
Maybe I’m just as smart as Hollinger then (for what THAT’s worth) because I’m smelling a first round loss for LA too.
I’m not so sure vs. OKC would be a walk in the park, either, although I guess their youth might work against them. On the other hand, the Lakers seem to be playing “old” right now.
robinred says
I’m not so sure vs. OKC would be a walk in the park, either, although I guess their youth might work against them.
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Hollinger said the same thing, but sees POR or SA as tougher matchups. I agree with him on that.
ken says
Darius I feel as did the Lakers broadcasters, the TNT people and the post game radio people that a play for Pau, who was shooting over 60% would make sense. As a second option Ron was a go to guy in his career.
You save 5 or 6 secconds by taking it out at half court which allows you more options. I am guessing Fish did this on his own and most of the players did not want to go to OT do to travel and time.
My position is why end the game with 2 Time Outs’s unless the game was meaninless to Phil. I am not the Laker coach I just play one on the radio but I have played collage ball and coached at several levels and it did not appear he played to tie that game at the end.
Darius says
#17. Ken,
Arguing that Phil doens’t want to go to overtime is quite different than arguing that Phil doesn’t care or want to win the game or isn’t a smart coach. That game was the first night of a back to back, on the road, and with a short handed team. Not that I’m the coach, but I’d likely go for the win as well considering those circumstances.
That said, we don’t know what the play was. To me it looked like we ran a P&R for LO to get the ball and it turned into a broken play after the defensive switch. I’ve been thinking long and hard on what would have been a good option in that instance and it’s actually a bit more complicated than just going to Pau. I mean, on the two previous possessions, Nene (who was guarding Pau) had made key defensive plays that forced turnovers (the steal on Pau and the tipped pass that led to the 24 second vioation) – plus Nene is one of the better defensive Centers in the league. Artest was guarded by Afflalo who is no slouch on defense and is a player that gives (even) Kobe problems. And Odom was being guarded by ‘Melo, who is a player that that limits the advantages that LO typically has over the defenders that guard him (kind of like Posey did in the 2008 Finals).
So, while I agree that our first three options likely should have been Pau/Artest/Odom, none of those guys were actually *great* options. That’s not to say that they wouldn’t have worked better than what we got (which obviously didn’t work at all), but that is hindsight and Monday morning quarterbacking. It’s easy to complain that something else should have been done when you already know the result. It’s like saying I should have played different numbers on the lotto the day after the winning numbers are announced. Yeah, okay. thanks for that.
My last point is that you focus on ego, but of course they have egos. They have to think what they’re doing is going to work. How else do you survive in an environment where confidence and self belief can be a major difference between success and failure? If you don’t think that Phil is doing what he thinks will work, I don’t know what to tell you. The fact that it doesn’t always work is what makes sports, sports. You don’t get them all right. Sometimes the players don’t do what you ask. Sometimes that’s because they’re not listening, sometimes it’s becuase they try and fail, sometimes it’s because they don’t have the belief in themselves to do it, etc, etc. But to sit back and judge like “oh he should have just done *this*” is a twisted approach, in my opinion.
Anon says
As of today there remain 3 candidates for the 8th seed.. (PHX owns tiebreakers with both POR/SAS)..
OKC, POR, SAS. Who would the lakers prefer? I vote OKC.