New Album & The Beginning of Basketball Season

[FrantzM]

Ron
I agree to a point.. What did happen was that the person guarding CP3 was constantly being picked up by the screen and no ONE but no one did rotate.. while figting through the screen is the best option no one expects a 6.2 guard to fight through a 6.11 center screen .. The rotation has to picked up the (temporarily) freed player until his man comes back from the pick .. The lakers didn't do that at all so Gasol found himself constantly in front of CP3 .. I do agree with you that the Lakers defense is poor on pick and roll... It also occurs to me that teams who play the best pick and roll are also very adept at defending it .. Boston being the culmination of such .. I believe it is a matter of tradition and of philosophy of play .. The Lakers never have played the best pick and roll they didn't need during the 80's and later with Shaq and Kobe .. They defend it adequately though ... wasn't the case on Sunday

 

[Ron Party]

Ron
I agree to a point.. What did happen was that the person guarding CP3 was constantly being picked up by the screen and no ONE but no one did rotate.. while figting through the screen is the best option no one expects a 6.2 guard to fight through a 6.11 center screen .. The rotation has to picked up the (temporarily) freed player until his man comes back from the pick .. The lakers didn't do that at all so Gasol found himself constantly in front of CP3 .. I do agree with you that the Lakers defense is poor on pick and roll... It also occurs to me that teams who play the best pick and roll are also very adept at defending it .. Boston being the culmination of such .. I believe it is a matter of tradition and of philosophy of play .. The Lakers never have played the best pick and roll they didn't need during the 80's and later with Shaq and Kobe .. They defend it adequately though ... wasn't the case on Sunday

Rotating is not the way to go. Gasol has to trap the pick and roll. Period. No need for rotation. Once trapped, the man guarding CP3 has enough time to fight the pick and re-establish defensive position on CP3.

 

[FrantzM]

Ron


Will look more into your point of view ... Learning everyday ..

 

[steve williams]

Ron

I agree with everything you said. Only problem with fighting through the screen is the large number of fouls that come with it

 

[jadis]

I have seen Phil Jackson come out with tons of adjustments after a loss. One of the most memorable was putting one Tyron Lue on Allen Iverson of the Sixers after Allen burned them for 48 points in game 1 where LA lost. If I'm not mistaken, the Lakers never lost a game after that and bagged the title. NO was playing very relaxed and handing down those smooth drop passes inside the paint almost at will. I heard one analyst saying NO's advantage inside the paint was 54-38. Shocking. Considering the interior defense of the Lakers boasts of 3 seven footers. Phil will make adjustments to that too. I see what Ron means by a shallow bench. And Blake is out, so they would need lots of scoring from Odom, Barnes and Shannon. Amazingly, I see lots of the lower seeded teams like Indiana and Philly with a 4 or 5 players deep bench playing 20 minutes and some scoring in double figures. Honestly, I'm seeing most of them for the first time in the playoffs. I was telling my son with so much talent of the bench, why did these 2 teams lose so many games in the regular season. LOL As for the C's, the surprise was the strong showing of Jermaine in Game 1, 4 blocked shots, 12 points, and some rebounds. They are playing with the mentality of not wanting to lose and making the plays in the clutch. I really feel that if Shaq comes in, even in the latter rounds, things would be better for them as their bench will have grown to 5 deep. And how easy their wins were in the first 2 months with Shaq making those easy alley oop dunks from Rondo. But of course, his presence is the big question mark. Miami has delivered. And finally James is playing loose because Wade and Bosh are helping. As to how they will fare in the second round if they advance remains to be seen. So far, most games I've watched have been thrilling and exciting. What a start.

 

[Ron Party]

Ron

I agree with everything you said. Only problem with fighting through the screen is the large number of fouls that come with it

If Gasol traps the pick and roll, there will be no fouls. Trapping gives time for the player guarding CP3 to come around the screen and re-establish defensive position. Where there are fouls is when the player in Gasol's position does not aggressively commit to the trap: in this situation CP3 will attempt to dribble around Gasol, who will end up fouling CP3 or, worse, CP3 will just simply dribble around Gasol, leaving two Lakers behind him in his wake to guard the pick, creating an open lane; or, CP3 can split the double team and drive straight down the lane. This is not complex, it just requires proper execution. Again, when the Celtics play Game 2, pay close attention to how KG traps the pick and roll. When KG traps, the point guard ends up dribbling backwards toward the center court line. Textbook execution.

 

[steve williams]

Jadis

you and Ron should be NBA sportswriters because the two of you have such great insight into the game. You would write a good column.

Speaking of bench strength I was shocked to see someone come off the bench early in the 2nd period called Trey Johnson before Barnes etc. I guess he came from the D League. Does anyone know what the rule is for padding your bench on the last day of the season with D League players. Several playoff teams have done this

 

[jadis]

Jadis

you and Ron should be NBA sportswriters because the two of you have such great insight into the game. You would write a good column.

Speaking of bench strength I was shocked to see someone come off the bench early in the 2nd period called Trey Johnson before Barnes etc. I guess he came from the D League. Does anyone know what the rule is for padding your bench on the last day of the season with D League players. Several playoff teams have done this

Thanks Steve. I guess the habit came when I got an interest in the game in my young teen age, and I had the chance to watch games on TV with 2 of my uncles where had great liking for the sport as well and thy would start analyzing the game and from there, I learned a thing or 2 about getting deeper into the game. This is a game that I actually played in high school and college so the love is skin deep. I love baseball and pro football too, but basketball is my first love.

No idea about the D leaguers getting into a line-up now, but how bout that bit that the NBA claims the tip in of Perk when they were down one to put them on top was actually an offensing goal tend? Boy, it does hurt Denver to know that.

 

[Ron Party]

It was offensive interference. No doubt about it. Atrocious swallowing of the whistle. NBA refs need to grow some you know whats so that they can make proper calls in the last minute of a game.

 

[steve williams]

It was offensive interference. No doubt about it. Atrocious swallowing of the whistle. NBA refs need to grow some you know whats so that they can make proper calls in the last minute of a game.

you must be talking about Kendrick Perkins basket through the net

 

[jadis]

wow, melo taking the game over hitting 40 somethng points!

i recall my first trip to the states, it was around this month, 1984 boston vs knicks eastern semis, the c's of bird, mchale and parish were trying to prevent bernard king from scoring 60 points each game. lol

 

[jadis]

C's escape again with a similar cardiac game ending. Rondo has 30 points. I wouldn't have believed that box score. But what a move by Doc to exploit his quickness over Douglas, and a post up move down the stretch was brilliant. The C's prove that even at their age, their weapons are reliable, this time it's Garnett hitting crucial 2 and stealing the ball down the last few seconds. I love this game!

 

[steve williams]

Yeh

Celts escape again and proves the point that with most games the outcome isn't decided until the last 2 minutes, (certainly in a lot of playoff games so far)

Lakers play tomorrow eve but I'm going to the Rod Stewart/Stevie Nix Concert at Oracle so I'll DVR it , and watch it before I read this thread as you guys, I am sure will be discussing the outcome before I can watch the game

 

[jadis]

Yeh

Celts escape again and proves the point that with most games the outcome isn't decided until the last 2 minutes, (certainly in a lot of playoff games so far)

Lakers play tomorrow eve but I'm going to the Rod Stewart/Stevie Nix Concert at Oracle so I'll DVR it , and watch it before I read this thread as you guys, I am sure will be discussing the outcome before I can watch the game

That's a nice alternative to watching the LA game, Steve. I envy you. LAL in must win situation. And their veterans, like the C's veterans, should step up and guard the home court. Enjoy your concert and good luck to the Lakers.

 

[steve williams]

As an aside, I have noticed and been impressed with a shot that more and more players are using including Jason Kidd as I sit and watch the Mavs-Blazers. That shot is what the announcers are calling "a floater". Here the player jumps to the basket but releases the ball like a little lob in soft ball. The last person who I remember so well who used that shot was Jamaal "the Silk" Wilkes who was the small forward for the Lakers in that great era of Bird-Johnson.

Now more and more players are using this shot.

And then there is Shawn Marion who is entirely different than anything else I have seen

 

[jadis]

AFAIR, Tony Parker used the floater efffectively in those Spurs championship runs. Rondo has it too but he doesn't use it much this year than in the '08 run. Marion - my teen son gets a kick out of his foul shooting style. Sort of like a Rick Barry cradle in reverse. LOL. And yeah, Silk Wilkes was one smooth player. I was rooting for him and the Lakers in the '82 Finals against Philly, mainly bec Philly just knocked off the C's the eastern finals. LOL

As speaking of Kidd. I am amazed at how he got his shot back. 3 pointers at that. He seemed to have lost his touch the last 2 years and what a time to assert himself. At 38, he can still sprint down the court, as he shown tonight.

 

[jadis]

All home teams won their Game 2s today. The element of surprise of game 1 has now been set aside. Adjustments were made particularly by LA in guarding Paul. They were denying him the ball from the start and throwing 3 different players to guard him. That can frustrate a key player like him. NO should find away to counter this on Game 3, being at home, they have to explode quickly and hold a big lead and hope to win it. Surprisingly, Spurs are having a tough time with the Grizzlies. OKC is really OK.

 

[steve williams]

well I finally watched the game. A nail biter in spite of the outcome. Where was Pau and Kobe. Thank goodness for Drew and Artest to pick up the slack.

Chris Paul looked unstoppable with those three pointers

This series is far from over. NOH are tougher than I thought

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

Parity is strong in the league ... NOH is tough but will be beaten. Lakers won despite looking bored and with Kobe and Gasol having an Off night .. Bynum is waking up and has begun (slowly) to play to his potential ...
Celtics were mourning but victory has a sweet taste and they had forgotten that...
Denver was never more in need of Melo as last night. They needed a superstar and had none (Melo games against the Celtics with Chauncy Billups and Amarre out was one for the ages) ... They were getting burned by speed and sputtering (atrocious shooting) offense ...
OKC looks real ...They'll sweep Denver

 

[steve williams]

Not so sure Denver will be swept but I agree OKC will win