Crucifido’s Corner: Lakers vs. Hornets (Game 80 4/11/08)

The Los Angeles Lakers: 2007-08 Pacific Division Champs

It was a big game, one of the more exciting atmospheres in Staples Center since the 3-peat days and the Lakers came out with a sense of purpose. It was great to see the Lakers come into this game with that sense. There wasn’t one player that came onto the court that wasn’t looking to take this game to heart and show the league exactly why the Lakers are a force to reckon with.

There were so many incredible elements to the Lakers game (and in that 1st quarter) that its hard to isolate just one or two of them and fit them in. I’ll just run through some stuff, but this game was so big for the Lakers, one article couldn’t contain it.

The primary difference in this game was experience. The Lakers showed why teams that know the kind of intensity it takes to win big games often do just that.

Another key difference was not only getting Chandler in foul trouble, but moving plays through Gasol. While Chandler was out from the 7.26 mark in the 1st quarter to the 9.37 mark in the 2nd, the Lakers had 9 drives and posted the ball up 3 times. That right there had the Hornets on their heels defensively. That run gave the Lakers the big lead simply by reaping the benefits of what they sowed with using Gasol in the post like he should be used.

If that wasn’t an MVP caliber performance from Kobe then I don’t know what would be. Not only did Kobe fill up the scoring column, he did a fantastic job of helping out defensively everywhere again. About 5 games ago Kobe kicked in this all over the place kind of hustle defense and it hasn’t let down one bit. Tonight saw Kobe helping out on the boards in both boxing out and in just grabbing some towering rebounds from all spots. You had to love the strong handed strips and attempts Kobe had tonight too. He was rotating perfectly on drives (at least in the first half) to help out with quick guards along the side and baseline.

Offensively Kobe was brilliant on the drive and kick. It started immediately with some real good breakdowns and looks to Derek for good looks. The best way I can put it is that Kobe was deadly precise tonight.

The key thing to Kobe’s game – when he was walking the sideline in the game, calling players over to give them hints, going over to guys when a play went awry to get them pumped up and showing why his leadership is a huge component to the Lakers’ success this year.

The surprise of the game for me was the decent defense that Fisher threw down on Paul in the first half. He was really keeping perfect space between him and Paul, allowing that extra step of room for him to drop down with Paul on his drives. It was a pleasant surprise to seethe focus of Derek primarily on the defensive end, especially when he is over matched like he was.

The defense on Paul was also helped out by some surprisingly quick swarming of him every time he got the ball in the mid-range or deeper.

Pau showed one of his real good qualities tonight – composure. In the meat of the game or in any intense situation, there was never a moment of panic from Pau. When he missed a couple rotations on defense down low, there wasn’t a manic attempt to recover the next time. It was a very deliberate adjustment. The key defensive play for Pau was that nicely controlled block he had in the 4th when the Hornets were uncomfortably close late in the game. Pau also ran the floor really well tonight. He made himself more than merely available on breaks. Methodical, calm play like what Gasol did tonight shows just why he is such a valuable acquisition.

Aside from that Pau did real well getting back to helping on the defensive boards. He was playing a coy position alongside the post, ducking in to grab soft rebounds that were rolling away from Odom’s spot. Offensively, Pau patience was the difference. When he got the ball in the post you could see that he both knew what to do with it within the context of the play and what he could do if the play changed.

I loved the retaliation foul from Radmanovic after getting pushed to the ground. That kind of fire was great to see from him. Though he had a terrible shooting night and that play may have taken his focus away, it added an element of passion to the Lakers immediately afterwards that catapulted them to that massive 30 point spread.

Lost in the shuffle of a great game from Kobe and Pau is Lamar. The guy played with amazing intensity on both ends every minute he was in. His positioning on rebounds was stupendous and his work getting after every missed shot was amazing to watch. He had some beautiful rotations on defense, helping out on drives to get the block or force a pass out of the paint. The telling point in Odom’s game for me was in the 4th quarter when he was standing in front of the bench staring at Phil, hoping to get back in the game when the Lakers were slipping. That kind of drive to play is something we’ve been begging for since day one of Odom in a Laker uniform.

That drive is now a permanent part of Lamar’s game.

Luke really used mismatches well tonight too. Though he wasn’t big in the scoring column, he did well in breaking down the defensive posts of the Hornets and using his size to create room for stronger passing angles out of the post.

Some things that reared their ugly little heads in the 3rd / 4th quarters (and during the season at other times as well):

The Lakers can’t relax – ever. A 10 point lead should go to 20, 20 to 30 and so on. No lead is safe, no lead is ever too much and no team can be taken lightly.

The one to two pass offense took the place of some really fine ball movement in the first half (mostly in the 1st quarter). The Lakers tend to anticipate a change in their opponent’s defense, instead of using something that’s working until the defense adjusts to it. The Lakers have so many strengths on offense that they have got to realize that those strengths should dictate pace, not

There was a fantastic run of the Lakers pounding the ball inside while Chandler was on the bench riddled with fouls. That same advantage opened up again, but for some reason or another the Lakers decided that this time they weren’t going to use it. Cue point number 3…

Settling for the 3 when the inside was free to exploit on a ton of levels. Lamar, Pau, Kobe, practically anyone could get inside while Chandler was in serious foul trouble. Although the Lakers have decent shooters like Sasha, Radmanovic and Fisher and Farmar to some extent, there is no way in any game that this should be their first option. The Lakers are so strong on the posts at times that its beyond frustrating to watch them mysteriously look to be a shooting team.

The Lakers were also caught playing in a straight line. At their best the Lakers were establishing the ball on one side, then swinging it through off ball movement to the other side, making New Orleans fall one to two steps behind at all times. Then came the 3rd when for some reason, the Lakers decided that they have had enough of moving the ball to perfection and decided to play flat-footed.

And again, the Lakers let Stojakovic get too many looks. Lamar and Radmanovic were falling for jab fakes when they knew that Peja wouldn’t drive the ball into the Laker paint. All he needs is that tiny step to create space for his shot and the Lakers should know that by now. So it comes down to a mantra heard all year – stay at home on shooters!

It feels so ridiculous to have so many complaints on such an important win. You knew the Hornets wouldn’t be down that big all game. What you saw though was that the Hornets’ runs came when the Lakers played outside of what they do best. That right there is the huge positive to take out of this game. When the Lakers are beat by some of the better teams in the league, they wind up beating themselves more than the other team beats them. There have been a fair amount of outright losses this year, but most of the losses are avoidable.

I think Byron Scott put it bets in his comments after the game. The Lakers came out with a sense of purpose and got the Hornets playing scared. Now the key is for the Lakers have got to use that kind of intimidation through intensity every night against every team.

It’s incredible that the Lakers won the Pacific, but they can’t hang their season on a division banner. The only banner that the Lakers can rest on is a championship one.