After my in-depth
recap of Game 1 it was clear that the Los Angeles Lakers were smashed and pounded into submission by the Oklahoma City Thunder by a combination of endless energy and precision shooting. The time off had not rusted the younger legs of Russell Westbrook or James Harden at all. The Lakers were visibly fatigued but in the end simply over-matched in every phase of the game despite their efforts. Now what can they do to tie up the series before heading back to the Staples Center?
The key to winning Game 2 for the Lakers is too simply emphasize fundamental defensive schemes and provide maximum effort in all the intangible areas. Sounds easy but the Lakers have struggled to defend the pick&roll, protect the perimeter and committed careless turnovers. This is not championship-level basketball. There has to be a consistent commitment to communicate on defense and move the ball on offense. These are fundamental tenets.
PICK AND ROLL
This is how Russell Westbrook made the most damage. Since the Lakers didn't voice the switches on defense Westbrook had options;a clear path to the basket, an open jumper at the elbow or a wide open man on the wing to pass the ball to. When Kobe guarded him and didn't fight through the pick Westbrook entered the paint for an easy shot with no other Laker rotating to put a hand in his face. It's going to take more communication just to keep track of Westbrook alone. Many times Andrew Bynum would jump out to guard him out of the pick but again no one rotated to cover his man. Result: clear passing lane to Bynum's man for a lay-up or dunk. Even the hobbled Kendrick Perkins got an open dunk out of one possession like this. Lakers have to engage the ball-handler sooner, crowd his passing lanes and shout out to teammates the switches every time. Every time.
ONE-ON-ONE MATCH-UPS
The hardest dilemma for the Lakers is matching up with the Thunder's backcourt size and speed. Team defense will have to take precedence but it will be impossible to avoid one-on-one match-ups. Westbrook was guarded by Kobe, Steve Blake, and Ramon Sessions with little success. Only Kobe has the size to body-him up but expends a ton of energy trying to match his speed. The speedier duo of Blake and Sessions simply are too light and small to deny Westbrook position and eventually get over powered and watch him drive to the basket. James Harden also creates the same problem for Laker guards. Stronger and bigger than Blake and Sessions with the talent to create his shot from anywhere on the floor. The duty will have to fall on Matt Barnes, Metta World Peace, Devin Ebanks, and anyone else Coach Mike Brown can throw at Harden to push him around a little.
TURNOVERS AND PHYSICALITY
The Thunder are talented enough to outscore you with their sharp shooting and fast break tempo. There's no need to hand them more opportunities by turning over the ball. Kobe and Bynum had 3 turnovers each and 15 as a team which led to 22 Thunder points. They have to protect the ball better to keep the game within reach. The Thunder only committed 4 turnovers. The way to force more is to be more aggressive.
One way to force turnovers and limit hot shooting is too be more physical with the Thunder. Basketball wisdom says don't allow anyone to come into the paint without putting a body on them and boxing out. Pau Gasol and Bynum are big enough to own the middle and discourage easy attempts. Make slashers pay with a hard foul once in a while. Play solid defense without fouling as well. Lakers can't and shouldn't try to run with OKC but they need to try and slow them down by making them physically uncomfortable.
BALL MOVEMENT AND ENERGY
I know the easy excuse is that the Lakers were tired and contributed to them playing poorly. It's a factor but not the whole story. They were outplayed by Thunder's pent up energy and focus on executing their plays. Which they did unabated. This is why it's vitally important for the Lakers to execute their game plan and at least match OKC's hustle on the floor.
Fighting for loose balls, rebounding and rotating on defense takes effort and energy. Lakers need to show more of it to take Game 2. Lakers can't match the Thunder's rim-to-rim foot speed but they outmatch them in the half-court where on offense they can move the ball to find a good shot and on defense fight for position and scramble for every ball possible.
It's all about the fundamentals.
BENCH
With James Harden disguised as a bench player playing like a starter the Lakers don't have that luxury. While Jordan Hill has provided some energy off the bench and Steve Blake has had hot shooting moments in the playoffs no one has done it consistently. It's all hands on deck in my opinion. If you're not getting enough from Barnes or Ebanks it could be time to look down the bench for a desperate gamble. May not come in the first half but if the third quarter starts to get away Brown may have to take a chance to spark a run. May not happen. May not be necessary but you can't stubbornly maintain the status quo when the walls fall in like in Game 1.
The Lakers task at hand is extremely difficult. A younger, faster, fresher, more cohesive group of players makes the first-year, lockout shortened season of Mike Brown all the more challenging. They can beat the Thunder. They did it once this year. No reason they can't do it again tonight if they remember the fundamentals with the utmost urgency.
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