Lakers have to win tonite!
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“We’re about to see Giannis play with a Miami Heat uniform on next year.”
https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1302686138293989378
Vogel’s move to play Rondo with a big to start the 4th cost Lakers Game 1!
Lakers tried something new and the Rockets made them pay: 'It's super tough' https://t.co/tm1W4mBi6K
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 6, 2020
The Lakers trailed the Houston Rockets by only six points at the start of the fourth quarter when they tried a lineup that had never played together in a game.
Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, LeBron James, Markieff Morris and Dwight Howard took the court together.
Against that lineup, the Rockets quickly increased their lead to 12 before the Lakers made substitutions. Houston ultimately put together a 16-3 run to start the quarter on the way to winning Game 1 of their second-round playoff series, with the Lakers’ only points coming from a three-pointer by Rondo, who was playing his first game in the bubble after having surgery on a broken thumb.
“It’s super tough,” Morris said when asked about the difficulties of learning a new lineup during the playoffs. “But in the playoffs anything can happen, you’ve just gotta be ready to play when your number’s called. Coach trusts us, that’s why he put us out there. We’ve just gotta be better. If we can’t score the ball, we at least gotta be able to get stops … be physical.”
Howard played the first 2:53 of the quarter as the Lakers’ deficit grew to 15 by the time he left the court. Both Howard and Rondo declined to speak with reporters.
At the end of that run, the Rockets had a 19-point lead. The Lakers’ inexperience together, though, was not something they chose to emphasize.
HOW THE LAKERS CAN BEAT THE ROCKETS!
The way to beat Houston’s defense is to unpack the paint and eliminate any rim protection by playing 5-out sets positioning five players who can effectively shoot the three and attack the basket behind the 3-point line.https://t.co/1JTJWbCs3z
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 6, 2020
What the Lakers need to do to beat Houston’s switch-everything defense is abandon trying to take advantage of their height in the post and instead spread the defense to open the floor for LeBron and AD to attack the rim.https://t.co/1JTJWbCs3z
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 6, 2020
While the Rockets offense is revolutionary, their strategy on defense uses simple time-tested traditional tactics of packing the paint, keeping their opponents from getting to the rim, and forcing them to shoot long jumpers.https://t.co/1JTJWbCs3z
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 5, 2020
AD leaked he’s willing to play center more against Rockets
One thing that jumped out at me watching these highlights is the chemistry between Schroder and Dedmon, who played together in 2017-18 for the Hawks. Love to see that on Lakers.