Cru’s Corner: Lakers vs. Bulls (Game 9 11/18/08)

Meanwhile… Back In The Win Column

It’s not just a circus trip but it’s also an aim of the Bulls tonight to make the game a circus. The structured strong in the middle game the Lakers are geared for is something the Bulls simply can’t handle. So coming into this game the Lakers had to keep an eye out for the Bulls looking to make this a ragtag slop-fest whenever possible.

It wasn’t a picturesque game. In fact it wasn’t the motivated butt whooping I kind of expected after the first home loss. There was plenty the Lakers did strangely or wrong, but in the end it was a return to the win column for the NBA’s best team.

Part of Andrew’s desire for more aggression in his game has to involve him getting stronger hands. “He loses it on the way up” is a phrase heard way too much when Andrew has the ball in the deep post.

There were points you felt like slapping Andrew back into the game. He has got to get early position on both ends if he expects to be more involved in play. There was way too much easy position for Noah and Gooden around him. Come the 3rd quarter and Andrew got into the post, then voila – the Lakers found him. Everyone agrees he needs more touches but you can’t get him those touches when he hangs out at free throw line level.

To Andrew’s credit though there were a few times in the 4th where he had the position yet the Lakers weren’t giving it to him for some reason or another.

A great thing to see tonight was the head fake he threw Thomas’ way in the 2nd quarter. That simple little look up top the rim had Thomas jumping far out of time and just tore open the bucket for Bynum. Simple plays like that will go a long way to Andrew straightening out his post play.

You see Pau in the post with the ball is always hunched over (sure his game derives more from the high post, but the case is still valid) and he creates space for himself by getting his elbows out to the side when swings to the hoop. Bynum’s got to start doing the same.

Pau was running the floor with some real speed tonight. He’s usually in pace with a break but he looked especially motivated to keep with or ahead of the pack. Now that he’s had a game with some consistent touches in the post, you saw Pau getting back to that brutally versatile game he has. There were plenty of swing through lay-ins and some nice turns in the post to both left and right that had the Bulls looking truly outclassed on the block.

It was about time that Pau had a big ol’ scoring binge. With the Lakers sputtering the last couple games, tonight was as good a time as any for it.

The surprising good play tonight came from Derek. There were of course times he got beat by Rose, but he did real well in cutting off his drives down the middle of the paint.

Kobe’s help defense came to life again tonight with a sweet block on Gooden in the 1st. He was also much more active on jumping out to mid-range players rather than getting planted.

That step-through dribble with the wraparound pass to Pau for the dunk in the 1st didn’t stink. Kobe was looking for the middle quite a bit which is exactly what the Lakers had to do. A lot had to do with Pau’s running the floor so well, but a good amount of Pau’s 1st quarter frenzy should go to Kobe for using himself as a distraction to perfection.

Kobe was doing a fantastic job in captaining the team and keeping the ship afloat when they looked like they were going to capsize at times. From the 5 quick points in the 3rd quarter, to the fleet footed help D, to the amazing amount of breaking down he did to the Bulls interior, he was truly the leader of the team tonight.

Lamar did an interesting thing tonight. He came in, missed some easy shots, made some lazy mistakes, but then managed to get himself back into the game through strong defense. His help on the post and activity through the paint was unexpected.

Usually players will try to force their game on offense or dominate the ball, but Odom did real well in firing himself up through hustle. The main problem was the old ref-obsessed Lamar poking his head out. Once he let the refs really get to him, his motivation he had for a quarter there faded.

The Lakers still need to learn that when they play young fast teams that long shots lead to long boards and more transition for their opponent – something the Lakers are still not expert at defending.

Now suddenly in the last 2 games, the Laker bench has looked confused on offense. Everything is rushed and easily telegraphed, the defense is slow to react to inside play and their spacing on both ends of the floor is downright odd.

The Lakers were still lacking that defensive pop they had the first 7 games. Spacing was off and on for the most part. There were moments of good help, but recovery was lacking. When the Lakers did recover they were hacking away at the ball, letting the Bulls creep back into the game when they should have been putting them away.

If there was a defensive highlight to this game, it was keeping Deng completely out of the game. At no time did the Lakers let him get to his comfort spots or get into a rhythm.

For the most part this game was wrought with the Lakers getting into cruise control mode too often and too early. They still have to realize (and I’m sure they do) that any team can come up and bite them at any time.

The Lakers definitely do have that Jacksonian presence about them on the court. No run, no wave of momentum or switch in pace bothers them for the long run. They’ve rolled with the punches so far and dealt with them with composure and a confident game plan.

Sound off in the Lakers Forum!

One Response to “Cru’s Corner: Lakers vs. Bulls (Game 9 11/18/08)”

1. BDG Says:
   November 19th, 2008 at 12:37 am

   Great read.

   It’s somewhat comforting to know that the Lakers really didn’t play their best basketball but found a way to beat Chicago.

   Derrick Rose looked phenomenal. He’s going to be among the league’s elite in a couple of years.

   Pau was absolutely unstoppable on the offensive end. It seemed like he couldn’t miss. Kobe’s jumper looked crisp after a couple of games where it seemed a bit off.

   The Lakers hopefully should have a decent amount of rest for Thursday’s contest in Phoenix.

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