Lakers lose to the Rockets 104 – 92
In reference to the previous post, on the keys to winning without Gasol:
1. Focus: Failed. Second quarter breakdown: Leading by 1 at the end of the 1st quarter, the Rockets’ reserves led a charge that extended the lead to 15 by halftime. Fourth quarter collapse: Down by only 2 with 6 minutes to play, the Lakers folded down the stretch. The deficit grew to 10 points in 3 minutes. Individually, Lamar Odom and Vladimir Radmanovic’s failed to control their emotions, drawing technical fouls. Odom’s kicking the ball into the stands and Radmanovic’s arguing a call show a lack of composure.
2. Defense – solid post defense, poor point guard defense. Ronny Turiaf did an admirable job protecting the basket (3 blocks, including one on Dikembe Mutumbo). The Lakers effectively took away any interior game from the Rockets, outscoring them 48-32 in the paint. Didn’t matter because Rafer Alston had a career night, hitting 8-11 threes. The Lakers didn’t close out on shooters, namely Rafer Alston, and it cost them the game. Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar overplayed Alston’s drive – a costly mistake. They consistently went under the pick, allowing Alston to shoot behind screens. The adjustment came too late, and when it did happen later in the fourth, Alston found the open lane for the layup, as the big man didn’t pick him up, the miscommunication adding insult to injury.
3. Turiaf stepped up. Mutumbo’s presence was effectively marginalized. We won the center position tonight, and Turiaf deserves credit for acclimating himself to his role after his surprising stinker in the last game.
4. Farmar still didn’t get enough minutes. Not quite sure why Fish got so much burn, considering he wasn’t having a good game. Farmar was marginally better in fewer minutes, but probably had a better chance of being a more viable option in our stagnant offense. Farmar’s main mistake is falling in love with the 3-pointer, instead of using his athleticism to attack the basket.
5. Walton was quite productive, 9 points in 14 minutes, and I’m not quite sure why he didn’t get more playing time over Radmanovic, who had 5 points in 25 minutes, and generally looked like he didn’t care about the game.
6. Fish and Vujacic – mixed reviews. Fish didn’t take many shots this game; he wasn’t taking bad shots so much as being generally ineffective. Vujacic had 7 points in less than 20 minutes, on a fairly efficient 2-5.
7. Lamar Odom had a Lamar Odom game. 17 points, 11 rebounds. What was different about this game is that against his smaller opponents, he scored on post-ups and also had 2 blocks. The Lakers should have exploited Odom in the post more often, although Odom could have been more assertive in getting position and asking for the ball. He had a solid game, but he needs to be more aggressive in order to be a decisive factor in the game.
8. Kobe ran out of gas. Hounded by Battier on offense, shutting down T-Mac on defense, playing 48 minutes robbed him of his energy down the stretch, leading to jumpers that fell short and layups that weren’t converted. His legs were gone. His confidence and sense of the moment still gave him the will to take over the game, but his body betrayed him at the end. The mind is willing, but the body is weak.
=============
How would the Lakers have beaten the Rockets? Focus better, keep their composure. On defense, close out on Rafer Alston’s three-point shooting, and point guards need to go over the screen. Farmar needed more minutes to take some of the scoring pressure off Kobe, and Odom needed to get more touches in the post. Kobe was searching for somebody to help him on offense, even feeding Mbenga on slip screens. He simply needs more help, since he was also shutting McGrady down. He needs something left in the tank to close out the game in the 4th, but he won’t if the Lakers keep placing such heavy responsibilities on him.
May 20th, 2008 at 1:05 am
you can’t win ‘em all. in a long season, there will be games with diminished focus.
at this point, it is the coaches job to keep the players fresh n focused.
and wasn’t houston fighting hungrily for a playoff spot?
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