There has been a lot of handwringing over the Lakers’ offense. I know, I have been doing it myself. And while I stand by my criticisms of how the team’s worst tendencies have been too present to start the season, we are beginning to see a slight shift in how the team attacks.
Since the Nuggets game, the Lakers have been running more quick hitting actions, getting into their sets faster, and using more integrated pick and rolls throughout any given set. This has all led to a more fluid looking attack. Granted, the team has played two very poor defenses, but I’ll take any progress I can get.
But even when the team has been running some of the actions they have been running all season, the execution and attention to detail has been better than what we saw in the preseason or the team’s first few games. An example of this was a Triangle action from the Brooklyn game on Friday night:
This is basic Triangle stuff. Rather than start with the normal guard to guard or high post entry of the Lakers’ Princeton sets, Russell pushes Clarkson to the corner and dribbles to the wing. Hibbert then fills the post to set up a sideline triangle. Russell then enters the ball into the post with both he and Clarkson executing top and bottom side cuts respectively.
The next action is one the Lakers have run a fair amount this year, though to a different result. When Russell cuts top side, he sets a cross screen for Kobe who comes off the screen into the paint. Earlier in the year, it would normally be Randle who is in Kobe’s spot and Hibbert would look for his frontcourt mate ducking in to get a short shot inside. This option was, typically, the only one explored out of this set.
This time, though, when Kobe comes off the screen, Russell’s man tries to disrupt any attempted pass to Kobe flashing by stepping into the passing lane. When he does, Russell quickly recognizes it and slips back door to make himself available for a pass. Hibbert, reading the play just as Russell has, drops off a perfectly timed pass to Russell who gets a layup. Two points.
This sort of incremental growth is good to see. Note the interchangeability here. On this play, Clarkson isn’t the other guard in the two-guard front, but instead is on the wing. Kobe, isn’t on the wing (where Clarkson is), but is down low where Julius Randle would normally be. And Randle, with his perimeter skill and face up ability, is standing near the arc where Clarkson normally would be. Combine all this with a secondary option being explored and executed with good recognition and timing by all the players and it’s a small, but meaningful nod to the players starting to get it.
This is only one play, of course. And, through the first part of the season, I have seen several actions be broken out almost naturally and see them disappear not only in that game, but in future ones as well. But seeing the players execute this set was nice to see. And as a fan of the Triangle in general, it brought back some nice memories. Hopefully we see more of this play specifically, but more actions like this in general where the team explores more options — and seamlessly — more often.
rubenowski says
I believe in Russell!
mud says
could it be that the principles are starting to become habit instead of requiring conscious thought?
could it be that the young players are starting to feel a little more comfortable?
every single NBA team uses Triangle and Princeton sets.
BigCitySid says
“Byron Scott threatens to bench players unless they improve on defensive end”
Latest piece from Baxter Holmes, ESPN Staff Writer
When I saw this headline I must admit I got excited. Made one think Scott was going to finally assert himself as coach. Then I read the first line of the article and saw he’s only addressing half the team, only talking about young players…unbelievable.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14070057/byron-scott-says-bench-younger-players-progress-defensive-end
mud says
always with the negative waves, Moriarty….
Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves. Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?
harold says
He made the statement, then benched Bass, Kelly and Huertos. Lakers played better defense and won. Let’s see what happens against the Knicks.
Rham says
All that happened so far is part of the critical curve of development. Things will fall in aline according to plan. It’s just a matter of time and lots of patience guys. We’ll get there ??
Fern says
The team played a garbage team granted, but it shown improvement Russell had his best pro game so far it was a good effort in the defensive end because BS tweaked the rotation with good results but of course got to complain about it, we all know the team is not a world beater but this is the 1st sign of improvement we seen the question now is, can it be sustained? That was a good coaching, at least managing the personel, must drive some people here crazy…
Craig W. says
This is the way Byron does things – good or bad. He puts out lineups and leaves them alone for several games. If they show no improvement or are well below par, the players have at least had a chance to show what they can do. He then moves on to a different combination. I suspect someone like Kelly will get another run, perhaps in a different combination, later this year. If he is contributing, he will continue to get some minutes. This is what development looks like.
kareeme says
Fern,
Not to nitpick, but Bass and Kelley was a bad idea from the get. Bass is more of a traditional PF, and in all of his minutes at small ball C, he looked awful. Everyone saw it. But it took Scott three games to see and get it (if we’re not counting preseason, where the combination also looked pretty bad). So giving Scott credit for doing what every fan knew needed to happen is like applauding the sky for staying blue. I think benching Kelly in favor of Nance is a great idea, so props to that. However, again, most of the Lakers world has felt that Kelly is redundant and time should go to our rookies. I’m not sure we need to applaud Scott for ending his poor coaching decisions… That said, I hope for the sake of our franchise, he continues to improve his personnel management to maximize development opportunities for our young core and prospects.
Fern says
What happened to the site? It was down for a couple of hours, @kareeme i understand where you coming from, but it only took 4 games at the beggining if the season, he made the adjustment withing a week, im aware of all BS shortcomings but coaches can’t make changes like that in a game to game basis, he gave it a fair shot, it didn’t work so he adjust, Bass can help, about Kelly he earned those minutes because he played fairly well in the preseason i liked he was attacking the rim more than in the past didn’t work well that happens. The tweak worked on the NJ game, i hope it keeps working. Btw, people complain about the Lakers mess, boy that’s nothing compared with the Nets, let’s see if we can make it 2 in a row, the Knicks are another garbage eastern team we can win this game. GO LAKERS!!!!!
Baylor Fan says
It was great to see Hibbert looking over the defense and making a pass that took advantage of his height. He came to the Lakers with a reputation of being a good passing big and the triangle takes advantage of that. The other aspect of the play is the shot attempt did not lead to a long rebound and fast break opportunity for the other team. Good offense leads to good defense.
Fern says
Looks like we are going to blow this game, Randle chucking a 3 in a 1 point game? Ugh haven’t score in 6 minutes. Play better especially on D but the offense went ice cold at the end, frustrating…