Crucifido’s Corner: Lakers vs. Blazers (Game 78 4/8/08)

The Journey To The Dreaded Rose Garden

It hasn’t been a kind or fun place for the Lakers for the last 3 years, but maybe things would change this time. Maybe the Lakers could finally dredge a win out of the Rose Garden and close in on the Hornets for that #1 spot.

Or maybe not.

Pau’s mobility is an asset that gets overlooked too much. Starting early in the 1st half, Gasol was looking to fill the lane on every break that he had room to do so. The mobility he showed (again) tonight is just a small piece of the overall awareness that Gasol plays and played with. Offensively Pau did a bit of everything. Most notably his work on the offensive boards was real good.

Pau’s face-up shot slowly improved tonight, but he’s got to be able to consistently knock down that little 8 to 10 footer from the sides off of the pass from the post. Overall, he played far too hesitantly against a team that had no answer for him whatsoever.

Not only is Lamar’s recognition of scoring opportunities getting / gotten better, its his intelligence around the rim that’s really paying dividends. He isn’t making the foolish turnovers he was earlier this year. Between the up and under move he pulled on Aldridge in the 1st quarter and the various passes out of bad situations on the high post, Odom’s court awareness looked as sharp tonight as it has since the arrival of Gasol.

Radmanovic, though a step slow on defense picked up his offense where he left off. It’s his footwork that’s really getting him the shots. He looks like he finally knows the offense and where he has to be off the ball. Once he dishes the ball if he gets it up high he’s diving to the corners off screens. When he dove to the side or the corners in this one, the Blazers lost him in the shuffle and make it or not, Vladi got some quality looks.

Don’t get me wrong, his help defense (especially along the baseline was good), it’s just the speed of this Blazer team (and other speedy teams) that give Vladi fits.

Sasha did alright, but he had a tendency to play like a caffeinated puppy on offense. He’s moving off the ball well, but the control factor just isn’t there. There’s a noticeable difference in the team from that too. In this one, during Sasha’s 2nd quarter stint, he shot well and was where he had to be, but his semi-floundering movement in the paint tended to get the Lakers into an unnecessary scramble mode. Its no major deal, the enthusiasm was great, it’s just a matter of Sasha learning to temper energy with control.

Defensively Sasha played with some nice hustle. A little over-zealous at times but he kept his stance wide and his spacing on Blake at a good distance. The turnover he caused in the 4th and the steal in the 3rd were good to see.

Kobe was trying to work the drive and kick but got very little help in the way of movement to pass option spots or dives. Lamar was there for the dive more than anyone, but the problem was that once Kobe got it into the post the stand and watch game took over a bit. It’s a pass and move off the ball offense. Against an active team like these Blazers, the Lakers can’t hope to get the open pass from Kobe’s work on the drive by standing pat.

Kobe was giving full effort, though settling for the 3 a bit too much like everyone else. He seemed to be the only one looking to get inside on a consistent basis. The problem was that once he got there, there was little movement on the outside. When there was movement Kobe looked like he shut the pass option off, forcing the ball amongst too many Blazers too many times.

Radmanovic proved this point more than anyone tonight, as mentioned above, in his movement to option spots immediately after the initial drive/jab/pass.

When Ronny was in, the Blazers had trouble getting position inside or getting dives to turn into points. His contesting of Frye and Aldridge in the paint made the Blazers think twice about waltzing down the lane for a lay-up or kick to the perimeter. He had a place in this one once the Blazers started pushing (literally) their way into the deep post. Unfortunately with Ronny not feeling well, his effectiveness was cut all too short in a game where the Lakers desperately needed his energy.

I don’t know why the Lakers abandoned the pick and roll for the long periods of time they did. It was working every time with Portland having little to no help in the paint. They’ve got to stick with what’s working, milking it until the other team catches on. The Blazers weren’t catching onto the pick and roll at all, so abuse it.

Along with that, they got a decent shot when they went inside

Point guard defense is still struggling. They’re crowding the drivers and stepping off of the shooters. At this point in the season, you’d hope that wouldn’t be happening as much as it is, but unfortunately its still going on.

One thing I need to see happening is the Lakers looking to hold teams further under 30 points in the 1st quarter. They’re doing themselves no favor by letting teams get into early rhythm. Yes they closed out defense on Sacramento, but you’re playing a dangerous game when you let teams get into their groove as easily and soon as they do. This game is case in point number 300 to that fact. Every team plays their best versus the Lakers, whether they admit it or not, so the Lakers have got to know that any space you spot teams is doubly hard to overcome.

In this game they were collectively biting on the first head fake of every player. The Blazers look to circulate the ball for the open shot or jab dribble enough to open the posts for Outlaw or Aldridge. The drives they pull are from mid-range, but only when given the room. You have to make the Blazers force the issue on drives. If they use that knowledge they can stay at home and on their feet more often against the Blazers sharp shooters.

Chronically late help on all penetration didn’t help much either.

WTF Of The Game: By now, I hope its known that I’m not one to blame the refs for game outcomes. In this terrible game the Lakers made the ugly bed they slept (being the operative word here) in, but… this thing was poorly called (both ways) from the get go. The big one came in the 3rd with the flagrant on Lamar. This, along with countless other flagrant fouls was absolutely preposterous! I’m sick to death of the refs calling flagrants based on how people fall, rather than whether there was a play on the ball or the body. If they insist on calling flagrants this way, they had better even the playing field and call every single fall as a flagrant. To me, it reeks of refs getting caught up in the crowd noise level rather than making a call according to what the actual rules state. A flagrant foul is a foul played on the body with no intention of playing the ball – Lamar’s foul was not that in the slightest.

This habit of calling flagrant fouls around the wrong basis has to either be terminated or the rulebook should be amended to support this ridiculous manufactured facet to the already deteriorating state of NBA officials.

This kind of performance is inexcusable at this point of the season for the Lakers to play this unstable, weak and easy to read. They ran away from things that worked (pick and roll), got caught up in a pace that wasn’t theirs (the 3 point frenzy in the 2nd half) and worst of all they played without any kind of intensity. This kind of lackluster effort has no place from a team that is competing for the top spot in the West. This was the kind of game you expect from a mid-level team that is looking at a lottery berth. They played like a team without a goal or clue.

There’s no damn reason for this loss to happen.

Sound off in the Los Angeles Lakers Forums!