Things I was anxious to see before the series began:
-Would we play a solid 48 minutes? Nope…not in game 2
-How does MEM respond to the injuries? I was talking about Adams & Clarke but now Ja as well. Folded in Game 1 but came out strong in Game 2
-Who holds the “experience” advantage? Hasn’t really come into play yet
-MEM backcourt advantage vs LAL froncourt advantage. MEM won both sides in Game 2. Somebody mentioned earlier…this ain’t the 1st time Tillman has balled out against us. Definitely no excuse for us to be getting outplayed by MEM backcourt with Ja out. Is Dennis injured?
-Who can switch to playoff basketball mode the quickest? MEM for sure in Game 2. Much more aggressive & physical knowing the refs let em play that way this time of year. Felt like AD got more passive after getting clocked in the head with that elbow during the jump ball. We can’t expect to have that huge free throw disparity we had in the regular season. Austin is getting in the habit of making easy shots harder by seeking out contact for the “and 1”. We’ve seen Harden fail at that time & again in the playoffs; just play the game straight up.
-Adjustments. AD will see more & more doubles as this series wears on. He’s gotta be quick & decisive when that happens instead of holding the ball and letting the defence set up. Embiid has done well in the same situation in the PHI/BRK series. Make your move immediately or quickly find the open man causing the defence to scramble. It ain’t rocket surgery (or brain science…lol)
Great points, Mongo. Disappointing to see the Lakers come out flat. LeBron and AD both disappointed. Rui balled out. Dennis disappeared. Vando turned into Ben Simmons. Grizzies answered every time we got close. Lakers need to respect them. And then crush them. They won a gentlemen’s sweep with Game 2. That’s all.
The only thing LBJ messed up was 3’s. Lead team in scoring and Rebounds. He’s 38 dudes, get off him and ride the other NO-SHOW’S like AD, Reaves, DLO! Rui did!
I mistakenly called this series a wrap once Ja got hurt. But I’d forgotten that MEM actually has a winning record when he doesn’t play…mostly because they’re better defensively. If JJJ is gonna continue to stay outta foul trouble then this thing can get dicey for the Lakers. And now the schedule begins to speed up as well with a game every other day along with travel mixed in. This is why you can’t mess around and let teams extend the series.
Also…Lebron is getting his numbers but he doesn’t seem to have any explosiveness. That usually shows up when he’s settling for alotta jumpers…10 shots from outside the paint last night. Plus, he’s getting worked on defense in the post.