Crucifido’s Corner: Lakers vs. Sonics (Game 69 3/21/08)

Back Home Again

Without Gasol going 2-2 on that road trip is nothing to scoff at. The Lakers hung tough pulled out two wins that were needed, important, impressive and inspiring. Now they get to come back home and play a not-so-hot Seattle team that’s playing nothing but the spoiler for the rest of the year.

The team ball movement was right on the money in the 1st quarter. They showed a quickness to get in the frontcourt and more importantly, the paint that was a pleasant surprise. Often coming off of a rough road trip teams tend to relax and let game like this slide a bit, but the Lakers showed some really sharp hustle as soon as the ball was jumped up.

Once again Radmanovic looked locked in on defense. You can see it in his posture – hunched over eyes focused on his assignment and moving really well laterally. These are all things that at one time Vladi looked completely incapable of. The forced turnover from jumping into the p[assign lane in the 1st was a jaw dropping play for Vladi.

Radmanovic’s curl to the hoop for the lay-in in the 1st quarter off of the high post pass from Lamar was gorgeous. There’s an assertion in the movement of Vladi on offense that shows that he looks to have finally clicked into where he needs to be offensively. All of this sudden success from Vladi is stemming from one thing – active feet. He’s not planting himself in a spot waiting for a pass or waiting for a drive any more. There’s a bounce in his step that’s having an effect on both ends for Radmanovic.

An unexpected element in Radman’s game tonight was the passing on the give and go’s. His dimes were perfectly timed and placed. Oh yeah, and how ‘bout that put back dunk off of Mbenga’s miss in the 2nd? This is a Vladi that was nowhere to be found before, but has luckily found his game within the system – finally.

Lamar’s board work is becoming instinctive. Not only is he getting himself involved in the mix every time underneath tonight, he’s really learned how to create space underneath. Odom’s early in the shot footwork has been the key. If you watch as Lamar works himself into rebounding position, he’s always on the balls of his feet. He’s keeping his arms up from mid-range to high, allowing himself room to go up for the board without making contact on the opposition. Tonight, against a good rebounding team and a team the Lakers tend to give a lot of second chances to, Lamar was a major factor in getting the Lakers off to the scorching start.

Limiting second chances has been a bane to the Lakers existence at times, but tonight Lamar proved that the dent he’s made in that hitch isn’t a fluke any more. If you’re not seeing or appreciating the amount of work Lamar has put in the last 10 or 11 games, then you’re not watching the same game I am. This hustling determined play looks like it just may stick.

Just like with Vladi, this footwork of Odom is having far reaching effects. Low and behold the confidence he’s getting from controlling the boards is giving him confidence in his shot.

Derek made me a happy guy tonight. Instead of just instantly settling for the 3, there were a couple instances where Fish actually took it to the hoop. Unfortunately it just isn’t as much as it should be from your point guard. There’s nobody on the Sonics in the paint that should be obstructing Fish from getting where he wants to go.

Don’t get me wrong, I like that Derek has added the long range jumper to his game, but in the last 20 games or so, he’s been a one trick pony when in actuality he has more than a 3 point shot offense within him. It should be an element to his game, not his entire game. Also, in the most basic terms, for Derek to keep his shot open from the outside he has to drive or at the least probe the paint with a dribble. He knows it, we know it, but the thing is will Derek do it consistently?

There was one moment in the 1st quarter where Derek played Watson on the perimeter, but when Watson picked up his dribble he stayed back. However, within 2 seconds Derek closed the space and took away the shot that could’ve been there. That closing out of space on perimeter shooters is one of the best things to see right now – especially from the point guard position. It didn’t really happen with Farmar on the court. It seems like Farmar is following Fisher’s lead on both ends, but at some point one of them has got to start putting more pressure on slow moving offense on the perimeter.

As far as Farmar goes, its good to see his shot come alive, but I hope that with every made 3 it doesn’t take away another chunk of Farmar’s driving instinct. For the shot to keep being open and keep falling, Jordan, like Derek, has got to remember to break down the defense as enthusiastically as he shoots the 3.

Ronny had his hands at the ready in this one. That may be one of Ronny’s biggest positives this year (next to getting to his spots quicker than most on the floor). Off of that Ronny’s passing has seen a sudden burst. It started in Dallas really with a couple decent passes out of pressure in the paint. Then it developed even more in Utah, dishing the ball off in traffic sometimes instead of throwing up contested shots. Now in this game Ronny continued his great passing work. The big highlights though come from his readiness. You rarely, if ever, see Ronny caught blind on a pass.

He’s everyone’s favorite whipping boy right now, though I think if everyone knew how hurt Luke’s been this year and the way he’s played through it opinions may change. It was fantastic to see Luke finally knock the lid off the basket. He did well shooting through it tonight, but even more so he dove to the rim on a couple rolls and got some easy buckets that got some confidence and lift back in his shot. He hasn’t a good year to be sure, but he did well staying alive on his feet tonight even when the shot wasn’t falling.

What I didn’t like was the lazy inbounds pass in the 3rd to Ronny. Whether you’re hurt or not you can’t pull off lackadaisical plays like that.

Kobe played some good harassing defense on Durant. When he got the chance to stay with him through screens, Kobe pushed up into him constantly. Whenever there was a tiny bit of breathing room Kobe closed it up. That close made Durant backpedal or give the ball up. There was no room for shot that Durant was trying to get going.

That was a picture perfect trap on Ridnour in the 3rd. That occasional trap defense of Phil was active tonight and it paid off more than not.

With the Sonics being who they are and crippled even further without Wilcox, the Lakers really should be looking to attack the middle on almost every play. At the very least they need to set up every other play or so coming form the post. There was ball movement on the outside, but the problem was it never saw anything but the arc. That makes the Lakers easy to defend and it absolutely stalls the Laker offense.

Run the curl play (mostly with shooters) more often. It worked well tonight with Radmanovic and Sasha and there’s no reason it can’t work to at least move a stagnant offense. Even if it’s used as a decoy play, the dive down the middle (particularly versus the zone) can scramble a defense much better than simply hoisting it up every time there’s any glimpse of an open look. When the defense gets put back on their heels, the long jumpers will be there, but the easy lay-ins will also crop up.

It was spotty energy on defense tonight. The 1st quarter was lively, the 2nd saw the Lakers play slow and lazy at times, especially when the ball moved around the mid-range. The 3rd quarter had the Lakers moving a little better but looking like they had to ramp the energy of the 1st back up to speed. The transition lost some speed there. And the 4th was alright, but still lacked the pop they had in the 1st. Different defensive profiles were evident tonight. That could be fatigue from the road trip, a let down mentality playing Seattle after tough teams or miscommunication. Needless to say consistent hustle defense is what the Lakers have banked more wins on this year. That’s what’s got to show up, no matter who the opponent.

It was a good palette cleanser kind of game. It was the saltine at the Pepsi Challenge. Now that the cobwebs of the late arrival at home are shaken off, its time to get re-focused for Sunday and Monday and the home and away with the Warriors. With or without Gasol, it’s not going to be easy as the Warriors are still fighting for their playoff lives. Above all else, remember that consistent defense will lead to consistent offense and energy begets energy on all fronts.