Steve Nash Discussion: Epidural Nation

wcsoldier81 wrote:He has to step up and not just getting out of Kobe way in the clutch ... way too much predictable and has lost us a ton of games these latest 2+ seasons .

I'm not sure how this team can run the same play for 5 mins and not use one of the most efficient offensive players ever one single time ... MDA offensive genius

therealdeal wrote:Because it's working.

If it wasn't working, we wouldn't be doing it. Teams are single covering Kobe right now and Kobe is making them pay. Once teams start doubling him, he doesn't have any problem handing the ball back to Nash.

The only thing I'd like to see differently is some Kobe/Dwight off the ball actions. Just like Atlanta did to us with Korver and Horford, we should be able to do the same with Kobe and Dwight.

Lakerjones wrote:

therealdeal wrote:Because it's working.

If it wasn't working, we wouldn't be doing it. Teams are single covering Kobe right now and Kobe is making them pay. Once teams start doubling him, he doesn't have any problem handing the ball back to Nash.

The only thing I'd like to see differently is some Kobe/Dwight off the ball actions. Just like Atlanta did to us with Korver and Horford, we should be able to do the same with Kobe and Dwight.

It worked enough to get us by I'd say, realdeal. Kobe was 6- 15 in that second half. He wasn't red hot like he was in the fourth quarter at Dallas. It became extremely predictable quickly and those aren't the percentages I love. We have other options on the team and we are more effective when we diversify. I didn't love that execution down the stretch by any means, although I'm thankful that Kobe is superhuman and can still do incredible work to win the game. It was just the same thing over and over with Nash playing spectator. We can do much better than that. And frankly, I expect more out of D' Antoni than that. Mike Brown? Ok. That's what it resembled - Mike Brown ball. Nash got turned into Fisher for some reason. There's no reason to do that. Run some other plays.

therealdeal wrote:If he hits those shots in the first though the dynamics of the game change. Maybe we don't go Kobe-iso for almost the entire second half if he doesn't suck it up in that first half...

Sorry, but that to me was the game changer on our offensive side. If we were going to win that game, he can't do that in the first half and neither can Metta and neither can Clark.

Earlier this week, Steve Nash laid out how interconnected each man on the floor is on pick-and-roll sets.

His answers were prompted when I asked him if the screens Dwight Howard sets need to be different for him and for Kobe

"I don't think it's the types of picks, I think it's more where he's going to get the ball. What his next move is after setting a good pick. It's really multi-faceted. You can't really narrow it down. It's a commitment from both players, and all five players involved to do their part in making it successful. If a guy is supposed to be spacing the floor in the corner and he creeps up five or six feet and allows his defender to hang around, it congests things. Even as far as the guys standing in the corner have got a job to do in spacing the floor. So I think it's really something we have to get a feel for one another as far as me and Dwight and Kobe and Dwight, but it's also something I think we need to get a feel as five guys, trying to figure out how we can make them pay.

But it really isn't a matter of "Go set a pick." There's a read involved. Multiple reads.

"That's one part of it. Each of us have different reads. The corner guy has got to make sure he's in the corner, and if his man helps then he can slide into an open area. The point guard obviously has got to try and get his man off the screen and create pressure on the defense to make a decision, and the big's got to run into the screen, set a good screen, and roll down the paint and draw attention. There's lots of different things going on there."

He has said you want him out of that screen as fast as he can.

"Eventually, yeah. I think once he feels better. The quicker the better. But right now, he's done a better job lately. He's been really freeing me up for jump shots and penetration. I think that's difficult for the defense. The more he does that, the better we are offensively and the harder we are to play against."

therealdeal wrote:Anybody see him shoot the inbounds pass to Kobe?

Just a little subtle reminder: "Oh don't forget guys, I can shoot the ball when Kobe kicks to me."

Dave McMenamin
The Lakers have 20 games left. How many wins do they need for the playoffs? Steve Nash says 15 ...
"We got to win three out of four games, at least, the rest of the way," Nash said after Lakers shootaround Friday in advance of their game against the Toronto Raptors. "We have 20 games left, so three out of four would put us quite a ways over .500 by the end of it. If we hover around .500, we’re not going to get in."

themasterphil wrote:awful performance by Nash...he is completely useless out there....terrible