The Lakers experienced an awkward play at the end of of Friday’s game against the Grizzlies. Memphis was up a single point with under twenty seconds remaining but Los Angeles elected not to foul immediately. Eventually, Kobe Bryant ran over and fouled Mike Conley. The Lakers eventually lost by three points. Some areas for improvement: L.A. did not seem to discuss who they would foul if this situation arose. Conley was the best free throw shooter on the court and it might have been possible to trap him in order to steal (hopefully) or force him to give up the …
Brock on Books: 11 Rings and Relentless
Recently, two key figures behind basketball dynasties of the 1990s and 2000s published books outlining their philosophies and paths to success. Sage coach Phil Jackson penned 11 Rings and determined trainer Tim Grover authored Relentless. Some may fine the tone of the books to be supercilious, as it should be easy to win when coaching and training Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. The average coach/trainer is unlikely to lead two of the ten best players of all-time but can learn from these works, which shed light on some of the most resolute personalities in basketball. Firstly, neither Jordan nor Bryant …
Running the Same Side Out Twice
Running the Same Side Out Twice: At the end of the game, running the same play or a similar play from the same look offers some advantages. During the first play, Al Horford sets a pindown screen for Kyle Korver and slips the screen, receiving a pass from Josh Smith and finishing with a dunk. Larry Drew tried to recapture lightning in a model and expose Dwight Howard – who was caught in no man’s land – by slipping another pindown for Korver, who is an excellent shooter in this sideline out of bounds play. The second time, Smith receives …
Before and After Mike Brown
6 Changes the Los Angeles Lakers have made since the start of the season: After Mike Brown was fired after five games and a 1-4 start, the Lakers have gone 4-1. Early reviews of Mike D’Antoni in practice have been positive but his offensive philosophy has not really changed how Los Angeles has performed. Offensive Efficiency and Effective Field Goal Percentage are about the same (still better than the league average) but defensive effort is much improved. The team is allowing less penetration into the paint and has committed fewer fouls. Turnover rate, perhaps because of new players, lack of …
Good Shooters
Don’t give a great shooter time and space to get a good shot off and don’t help off a great shooter and let them take an open shot. It seems as if the Lakers had not read the scouting report – as not only did Metta World Peace give Kevin Durant enough room to do whatever he wanted but left other viable options like James Harden and Russell Westbrook open – but were unaware of the time and the score. World Peace could have lowered Durant’s shooting percentage by making him dribble and rush a shot, or, even better, made …
What Metta Saw
Given the time (five seconds running down), space (defender six feet away, not looking) and difficulty of the pass (open passing lane), hitting Steve Blake was Metta World Peace’s best option. Unfortunately, Blake didn’t hit the shot like Steve Kerr or John Paxson did. The lob to Andrew Bynum or skip to Bryant (who had turned his back to the inbounder) would have required challenging passes.
Zen and the Art of the Playoffs
Playoff reality is fleeting: one moment a team is poised for Linsane success defined by fluid ball movement and excitement, before they have realized what has happened, a broken fire extinguisher case symbolizes the lost promise of another failure defined by selfish play and ball-stopping. One moment a team is first overall, the next last season’s Most Valuable Player is felled by another step in a series of unfortunate injuries. Teams which win – especially those who win consistently over the long-term – are those who remain true to their philosophies and rise above the fray. Acting without Thinking: Some …
Free Kobe
During a 102-96 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown was criticized for leaving Kobe Bryant on the bench for about four out of the final six minutes. During this time, Memphis continued their run and sealed the victory (the margin would have been nine points except Andrew Bynum made a three-point shot as time expired). As the Staples Centre crowd chanted for Kobe, Brown left the N.B.A.’s leading scorer on the bench. When Kobe went to the scorer’s table to check in, play did not stop so he waited an additional minute of …
Can 2:11 Define a Season?
Toronto led Los Angeles 88-84 with 2:11 left in Sunday’s game. Unfortunately, after the Lakers took timeout, the game took a turn for the worse for the Raptors, much like many other games this year. Consistent decision-making, toughness and teamwork is required to succeed throughout the season.
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Shaq: The Big Retrospective
Sport fans and the public at large will remember Shaquille O’Neal because of how he combined athleticism, skill, and charisma on and off the court. From his first season in 1992 until his seventeenth in 2009, the Big Cactus remained an impact player in the Association. Sustaining his place atop the pyramid of post players required the Big Aristotle to develop his game constantly, growing from a powerful force inside to a well-rounded basketball player. Shaq-Fu may have been initially known for breaking backboards (compelling the Association to reinforce the basket supports) as a rookie and losing a memorable battle …
Parallels
Rick Carlisle, who preceded Phil Jackson at the post game press conference Sunday, was drafted by Red Auerbach and contributed to one of the two Association dynasties of the 1980s. Jackson was drafted by Red Holzman and served as a bench player for one of two dynasties of the 1970s. Neither possessed exceptional skill although they were able to fill a role and enhance team chemistry for the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks respectively. Both espouse a similar coaching style: fluid motion offence and tough man-to-man defence, as adept at cajoling superstars as building teams. Both coaches have adapted …
The Decision
Miami compiled their trifecta of superstars and boasts high hopes for the next six years. Certainly, the concept of three top players has worked in the past, on both a short (Boston 2008: Allen, Pierce, Garnett and Philadelphia 1983: Malone, Erving, Toney) and long-term (Boston 1980s: Bird, McHale, Parrish and San Antonio 2000s: Duncan, Ginboli, Parker) basis. The concept of elite trios has also fallen short just as frequently (Los Angeles 1970s: West, Chamberlain, Baylor and 2004 Minnesota: Garnett, Spreewell, Cassells). While the transactions of July 8th will give the Heat a very strong chance, it is no guarantee. There …
Post-Game 7 (2010) Thoughts
The Lakers may have played a poor game, Kobe Bryant may have forced too many bad shots, and Pau Gasol taken too many fadeaways. For forty minutes, Ron Artest may have kept Los Angeles in the game with key plays (despite how unlikely that may have seemed based on his play throughout the season). But when it counted, the Lakers got to the line, found the open shooter, and made clutch baskets. Whatever happened earlier in the game – and it was terribly ugly – is irrelevant now. Like the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000, the Boston Celtics blew a …
Pre-Game 7 (2010) Thoughts
Association Finals have proved anticlimactic in recent memory; even the Spurs-Pistons and Rockets-Knicks series that went the distance were tedious and tiresome. Yet I have higher hopes for tonight’s game between the Lakers and Celtics. None of the games in the series so far have been truly exciting. There have been excellent individual performances but no true back-and-forth battles between equal squads, like the 1984 or 1969 Finals. The series has been a disappointment but the increase in intensity shown in Game 6 offers a chance for redemption tonight. Both teams are banged up but others stepped forward, especially the …
Stream of Consciousness, Part VI
According to ESPN.com, Doc Rivers’ run onto the court to call timeout before an eight-second violation was a critical moment of Game 2 (Forsberg, 2010). Certainly, it was an alert manoeuvre that saved a possession but why didn’t any of the players call timeout first? All five Celtics on the court abdicated leadership by doing nothing, like the Orlando Magic did in their series in the Conference Finals (J.J. Redick dribbled the ball up the court instead of calling timeout; Vince Carter had the attention of the referee but used the opportunity to raise his arms and complain about a …
Phoenix Actually Has a Good Chance
Pundits have made the Lakers favourites ahead of the Suns in the 2010 Western Conference Finals but I do not think that Phoenix’s predicament is as dire as it first seems. One of the main arguments in favour of Los Angeles is the matchups in the paint. In previous years, the Suns had lost because other teams outmanned them in the paint but I don’t think the matchups are that unfavourable. Phoenix boasts a playoff defensive rebounding percentage of .757, compared to .717 for the Lakers. While San Antonio and Portland do not have an elite post rotation like Bynum, …