Aloha,
Wow this is fun. It is the mark of a great team when you win a game against a quality team that you probably should have lost. Through the first 3 quarters we couldn’t hit the ocean from the beach. Then at the buzzer Dalton hit that 3 and it seemed to provide a real momentum boost heading into the 4th, where our defense picked up the intensity and the shots finally began to fall.
The defense has been special holding the Knicks to 99 points in regulation. While adding DFS, Vando returning, Gabe becoming Miami Gabe again and the play of our two way guys is important, the game plans have been elite. I honestly believe that the expectations early on were unrealistic. There is a learning curve with a new coaching staff. Not only do the players have to learn the new schemes but the coaches have to learn more about the players as well and make adjustments. So it was bound to take time. But we are hitting on all cylinders now. And we should be mentioned in the same breath as the other great defenses in the league.
The defense has been really unconventional when it comes to guarding scoring bigs. The first Knicks game Rui was assigned to Kat and he did a really good job. With Rui out, Lebron was on Kat and he did a great job as well. Kat scored a total of 23 points in the two games combined. This has freed Hayes to roam. We saw this approach against the Joker. Even in the Celtics game, Max was on Porzingas most of the time.
I keep hearing how it will be different in the playoffs because teams will adjust. But teams will have to figure out us as well. This team has a ton of fire power. We didn’t have Rui, who scored 21 the last time we played the Knicks and Austin was coming back from an injury and didn’t have a good game. We were also missing Goodwin. The Knicks were completely healthy. With this kind of depth, we will be a problem for anyone in the playoffs. While the Luka/Lebron combo poses so many problems that teams just cover all of our other options.
One thing I may have enjoyed more than the game was how angry Barkley is because the Lakers are good 🙂 He went bolistic in the pre-game and after the game. That is soooooo much fun.
Aloha, Michael, great post.
It’s hard not to be drunkenly giddy right now if you’re a Lakers fan. I was so excited about how our defense totally shut down the Knicks in the fourth quarter and overtime that I barely slept all night and had to get up early for the NBA on Sirius.
This was a great test for our patience and perseverance. And you’re absolutely correct about building a champioship rapport and chemistry will take time. Frankly, I thought it would take a lot more time than it has.
That’s what’s been mostly overlooked and underappreciated about what JJ has done. Whilt the big trade was being negotiated, Redick transformed how the Lakers were going to play defense. The previous drop coverage, switch everything 1-4 defense was dead. Can’t let offenses switch hunt Reaves and Doncic.
No more leaving guys on an island. Try to switch hunt Reaves or Luka and the Lakers will bite back by trapping, rotating, and swarming. The strategy is to be proactive rather than reactive. To attack and force turnovers and fast break and early transition opportunities for their offense.
With a 6-pack of new plus defenders in Finney-Smith, Vanderbilt, Vincent, Goodwin, Jemison, and a repurposed James, the Lakers suddenly have a 10-man rotation that is legitimately defense-first.
While the Lakers are still a raw and unfinished product, it’s becoming obvious to everybody around the NBA that Luka and LeBron are going to be a lethal combination in the playoffs and that the Lakers #1 ranked trapping, rotating, and swarming defense is for real and perfectly designed for the playoffs
Thanks Tom,
The one thing i am concerned with is JJ’s fondness for a nine man rotation. The way we are playing takes a lot of energy. I think he would be better served going 10, maybe even 11 deep when Goodwin returns, at least for the rest of the regular season. We have the players to do it.
Michael, I agree with you 100%, especially during the long regular season, although the Lakers are probably looking at the remaining 20 games as if they were playoffs.
The smart argument is it’s not how many minutes you play but maintaining it consistently and not having peaks that could end up contributing to getting injured.
Nevertheless, like to see our offense start clicking so well that LeBron and Luka could take off fourth quarters and average low 30’s in minutes.