A few hours after the Lakers returned from practice on Wednesday evening, they were instructed to meet in their hotel lobby to climb back onto the team bus. Attendance was mandatory. Here’s how Luke Walton described the event - which ended up being a trip to see Denzel Washington’s “The Taking of Pelham 123” - in his NBA.com blog:
Destination Unknown: At the end of practice today, Phil called us to the middle circle. He said everybody meet in the hotel lobby at 7:30 for a mandatory team bus tonight. Where are we going? Good question. I have no idea. Maybe we’ll see Mickey at Disney World or visit Epcot, go see a movie. Who knows?
The surprise trips are not uncommon. One time this season, we were in D.C. and we all got on the bus for a shootaround and next thing we know we were touring the city for two hours. Or another time in training camp in Hawaii, everyone thought we were going to practice and instead, Phil took us to a military field and we did paint ball for about four or five hours. I can’t imagine we’re doing paint ball tonight but you never know with Phil. Most of the time when Phil schedules these excursions, they end up pretty cool.
As it turned out, seeing what Josh Powell called “the Denzel joint” ended up being an ideal way for the Lakers to calm their collective mind prior to Thursday evening’s Game 4. As a point of fact, L.A. is 6-0 in the 2009 playoffs after a loss, and at the same time, is pretty confident that they know what to expect from the Magic.
We’ll see how Phil Jackson’s plan worked out at 6 p.m. Pacific.
While the Magic were the team that made more adjustments heading into Game 2 (they had to after getting blown out of the building by 25 in Game 1) the Lakers feel like they’re the team that can change a few critical things before Game 3 in Orlando tips off at 6 p.m.
Most prominently, according to assistant coach Brian Shaw, will be L.A.’s focus on keeping the ball out of the middle of the floor defensively, which hurt the Lakers in Game 2 and led to more open jump shots than were afforded in the first meeting.
Shaw said L.A.’s mindset it not to just steal a road game, but to win Game 3 and close it out in Game 4. Simply put, the Lakers aren’t planning on giving anything away.
Shaw also talked about L.A.’s success on the road throughout the season, featuring wins in Boston, Cleveland, and all three Western Conference Playoff cities, addressed what to expect from Kobe Bryant after a “sub par” Game 2 and explained how the Lakers’ scheme is designed to throw multiple different looks at Dwight Howard to confuse his offensive movement.
You can watch the full video on our Gameday Page by CLICKING HERE and scrolling down.
Assistant coach Brian Shaw joined us at the arena to preview Game 1, emphasizing L.A.’s need to play its game as opposed to reacting to Orlando’s, detailing how the Lakers plan on using their length to disrupt the Magic in the paint and around the perimeter and explaining why he’s going to turn his shirt inside-out in the pregame locker room.
To watch, head to our Gameday Page by CLICKING HERE.
If you want to focus on one thing in particular that could determine who wins Wednesday’s Game 5 between L.A. and Denver, check the boards.
Assistant coach Frank Hamblen joined us to talk about the importance of cleaning the glass (Denver won that battle 58-40 in Game 2), getting the ball into the post, containing the Nuggets’ bench and more.
CLICK HERE to get to the Lakers.com Gameday Page and scroll down for the video.
Assistant coach Frank Hamblen joined us to preview L.A.’s second game in Denver, detailing his team’s focus on stopping the Nuggets’ penetration, controlling Denver’s bench and keeping the home team off the free throw line.
Hamblen also talked about how L.A. was able to twice steal key Denver inbound passes, and the importance of getting quality possessions on offense and matching the Nuggets’ energy.
To watch, CLICK HERE.
Frank Hamblen joined us once again to talk about countering Denver’s Game 1 advantage on the low block, defending Carmelo Anthony and the importance of winning the bench battle.
You can watch from our Gameday page by CLICKING HERE.
A few other things upon which to keep an eye:
A) Andrew Bynum’s presence early, and how it affects what Pau Gasol’s able to do at both ends of the floor.
B) L.A.’s defensive adjustment, which should be designed to limit the easy buckets Denver got early on: As Hamblen pointed out, 19 of Denver’s first 20 field goals in the first half came from their starting front line, and the Lakers coaches aren’t planning a repeat.
C) How quickly the ball moves within L.A.’s offense as Denver sends multiple defenders at Bryant, which should create more touches in better position for Bynum and Gasol. Furthermore, when Odom’s in the game, the interior passing becomes even more dangerous.
Remember, tip time is again early, at 6 p.m.
Lakers assistant coach Frank Hamblen sat down with us to preview Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, explaining why Denver’s improved defensively, talking about George Karl’s 30-30-30 formula and the importance of Chauncey Billups.
Hamblen also detailed how unlike Houston and Utah, Denver doesn’t run many clearly defined offensive sets, focusing more on simple pick and rolls and isolation post ups.
To watch the video, CLICK HERE.
Eight down, eight to go for the purple and gold.
While the Rockets surely gave L.A. all it wanted in a tough 7-game series that concluded with Sunday’s 19-point Game 7 win, Kobe Bryant’s team may have discovered something about itself in the process: The Lakers can play some seriously suffocating defense when properly inspired.
That’s precisely what they did in Games 5 and 7 at home, and the second half of Game 6 on the road, sparked by the presence of 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol on the interior and some highly-active perimeter defense led by Bryant.
“Our effort could be much better in Game 4 and Game 6, but still, Houston played extremely well,” said Bryant. “(But) in Game 6 at halftime we made a decision to get more aggressive - to get up in passing lanes - and we just turned it up another notch. After that game we understood that there was another level still that we could go to defensively.”
Playing that way defensively will be necessary against a Nuggets’ team that boasts a good deal of offensive firepower, led by Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and sub J.R. Smith. Though Denver lacks a classic low post scorer, it has played much better defensively than at any other point of Anthony’s career. The question is how the Rocky Mountain dwellers will fare against a Lakers team that’s far more talented than a beat up New Orleans squad (4-1 Denver) or a Dallas team with an injured Josh Howard that still battled quite well (remember the Game 3 non call?). Surely the Lakers are at another level.
TO READ THE FULL PREVIEW, CLICK HERE.
Lakers advance scout and assistant coach Rasheed Hazzard sat down with us to preview Game 7 on a step-by-step basis.
We picked ‘Sheed’s brain about what to expect from an adjustment perspective, the defensive focus of the Lakers, how Houston’s managed to be effective at times, how to involve Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol on the block and more.
Rasheed Hazzard - Game 7 Scouting Report [6:04m]:
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Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons sat down to talk about the adjustment’s L.A.’s making heading into Tuesday evening’s Game 5.
CLICK HERE to watch.
