In beating the Bulls, the Lakers really showed how they can manipulate very good defenses with screen actions designed to get their best players makable shots. This was especially true late in the game where the Lakers picked on Carlos Boozer on multiple consecutive possessions in order to close out the game. Of all the […]
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How the Lakers Beat the Hawks: The Evolution of a Defensive Stop
Last night’s win over the Hawks was both frustrating and exhilarating. Watching the Lakers commit careless turnovers and have stalled offensive possessions in the process of giving up a 16 point lead was worthy of multiple anger induced curse words. Watching Kobe close the game with a monster dunk and a tremendous finish over one […]
Happy Birthday James Worthy
Historically, James Worthy sort of gets lost in the shuffle. He was third in line behind Magic and Kareem. A vital part of “Showtime” and a guy known for rising to the occasion in big games (hence the nickname), but still someone who, will likely never be remembered as fondly by national observers as his […]
Classic Kobe Performance Downs Portland
Last night’s game against the Blazers seemed to hang in the balance the entire night. The game was tied countless times and it really didn’t seem like the Lakers would ever get over the hump and create the separation they needed to win the game. In the first half, the Lakers found some success playing […]
The Breakdown: Antawn Jamison and the Art of the Slip Screen
When the Lakers signed Antawn Jamison, there was a great hope that he’d be able to help the team offensively. The thought was that he could be the type of stretch power forward the team would need to play off of the Lakers’ big men while also providing some sorely needed scoring punch to the […]
Wednesday Storylines
Steve Nash said Kobe was “brilliant” when describing the dunk. Kobe, meanwhile, is “very, very concerned” about Pau’s foot injury. Such is the up and down nature of the Lakers’ season to this point. The breaks the team catches have mostly been bad ones this year, especially on the injury front. Describing the season to […]
Excited For Kobe vs. LeBron Tonight?
If not, watch the video above a time or fifteen and answer again. Tonight’s Lakers/Heat game should be a good one simply to watch these two all-timers go at it again. (h/t to @meir21 for the great work on this one)
Sunday Morning Video: Kobe Lights Up Philadelphia
I can watch videos like this all day. The super slo-mo allows you to see the all the little things that you never get during a live broadcast. The anguish on a player’s face when he’s rushing to close out. The big man thinking he has a play bottled up only to realize his defense […]
Encapsulating Kobe, In Three Plays
For Lakers observers — both those that root for their success and don’t — there’s long been the phrase “you live by the Kobe, you die by the Kobe.” Last night, against the Bobcats, we definitely got a sequence of plays in which that phrase applied perfectly. With a little over a minute and half left, […]
The Breakdown: D’Antoni Channels Mike Brown
One of the enduring critiques of Mike D’Antoni’s coaching career is that he’s not very adaptive to his personnel. He’s seen as a spread pick and roll devotee, and those players who don’t fit into that model aren’t very useful. While I don’t fully accept the premise of this critique, it’s also not completely off […]