After a series of breakthrough performances by several Los Angeles Lakers under pressure to deliver -- think Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace -- the team can breathe a sigh of relief in the wake of dispatching a talented Denver Nuggets team that fought bitterly to the end.
But there was one huge takeaway from the series that the Lakers must address if they are going to make it to the NBA Finals: The Lakers were absolutely burned by Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson, who turned in individual games of 25, 25, 32 and 24 points. The diminutive, third-year speedster carved up the Lakers' defense in both the half court and transition with quickness, smarts and some surprisingly hot shooting. The Lakers simply had no answer for him.
Lawson's mesmerizing performance magnified a season-long weakness of the Lakers: athletic, attacking point guards. Turns out such players are the purple and gold's very Kryptonite.
Reality check: From here on out it gets only tougher at the position. In the second round, the Lakers face the Oklahoma City Thunder and All-Star Russell Westbrook. The conference finals would pit them against either Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers or Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs. Lawson taught Los Angeles a lesson, but he's in the past now. The Lakers' immediate attention will now fall on how to contain Westbrook, the Thunder's dangerous lead guard who was named second team All-NBA last season. What they learn from Lawson may well determine how far the Lakers go.
"He's just so explosive," said Lakers starting point guard Ramon Sessions, who will be the first line of defense against Westbrook. "It's going to take a total team effort to stop him."
Stopping him might be wishful thinking, but they can try in earnest to prevent Westbrook from determining the course of the series. Shutting down opposing point guards is more than just about trying to prevent video game-like box scores. For the Lakers, it's crucial. When opposing guards score 20 or more points against them, they are just 13-13 this season. Hardly championship caliber.
Lawson dominated Game 6 in Denver, drilling five of six shots from behind the arc and routinely getting into the lane for pull-ups or conversions at the rim. He finished with 32 points on 13-for-18 shooting as the Nuggets won in a laughable rout. In Game 7, he notched 24 points on 11-for-19 shooting, single-handedly bringing the Nuggets back from a 16-point third-quarter deficit.
The Lakers are committed to studying film of how Lawson torched them in the first round in the short time they have before Monday's tipoff with OKC. But let's look at a few possible scenarios they'll face against Westbrook and how the lessons of Lawson will carry them.
Defensive scenario No. 1: Half court (perimeter)
Because of Westbrook's superior speed, Sessions will have to play off of him and completely shut down at least one of his driving lanes. His goal is to make Westbrook one dimensional, at least for stretches of each game. Sessions doesn't have blazing lateral foot speed, but his intelligence makes him an adequate defender. And you don't need great foot speed to overplay your opponent's dribble and send him to one direction, preferably his off hand.
But against Lawson, Sessions and reserve Steve Blake failed to do this throughout the series, resulting in numerous easy looks at the basket for the Nuggets' point guard. Since the Nuggets, much like the Thunder, thrive in up-tempo situations that feature lots of broken plays resulting in a chaotic brand of basketball, Blake and Sessions routinely found themselves backpedaling or standing flat-footed with Lawson charging directly at them. In other words, Lawson's constant aggression left them in poor position defensively.
Against Westbrook, they'll find themselves in a similar predicament against a bigger, faster and more athletic guard with something to prove. The Lakers' best bet is to force Westbrook into perimeter double-teams -- featuring World Peace or the long-armed Matt Barnes -- to keep him out of the lane and shut off his passing lanes.
Defensive scenario No. 2: Half court (at the rim)
Sessions' talk about containing Westbrook being a team effort is exactly right. When he gets beat (and it will happen), it's the job of the Lakers' bigs to rotate over and thwart Westbrook's attempts to finish at the rim. As tough an assignment as Westbrook is, it's made even tougher by the fact he's an even better finisher than Lawson. This year he shot 62 percent at the rim and ranked in the top three among all guards in dunks.
Enter Andrew Bynum. He clearly knows what he has to do. "My job is to protect the rim," Bynum said after Game 7. "I have to go hard to stop all traffic."
Easier said than done. In Game 1, Bynum had a franchise-record 10 blocks by showing complete aggression and rarely being late on help assignments, thereby striking fear in the heart of Denver's bigs and smalls alike. Three of those rejections came against Lawson. Bynum played a vital role in being the Lakers' last line of defense against the breakout star.
But in the next five games of the series, he blocked just one of Lawson's shots and often appeared disengaged and uninterested. His help defense was consistently late and uninspired. Not coincidentally, Lawson was rejected just five times on 88 shot attempts in the last six games of the series.
One particular set the Nuggets ran, which gave Bynum trouble, was what could be best described as a 1-4 clear out. Lawson controlled the dribble out top (with Sessions guarding) and got a pick at the top of the key from Nuggets center Timofey Mozgov. After Sessions was picked, Lawson would find himself on the foul line where he had easy pull-up opportunities. Bynum (Mozgov's defender) failed to step up, often leaving five or six feet between himself and Lawson, who shot the easy 16-footer.
Bynum's lax attitude toward pressuring the shooter in that situation would be a huge mistake against the Thunder. A common refrain concerning Westbrook is that if he ever develops a consistent midrange jump shot, he'll be unguardable. Guess what? Westbrook shot a career-best 43 percent from 16-23 feet, and his preferred shot after his initial move happens to be a foul line pull-up. Against the Thunder, Bynum can ill afford to sit under the rim while Westbrook tees up for uncontested shots at the foul line. He must contest on every possession.
Defensive scenario No. 3: Transition
Poor transition defense is one of the most common causes of playoff deaths. Rarely is a team more vulnerable than when it's getting back on defense. Often players' backs are turned, and they're not paying attention to what's happening behind them. In a playoff series where each aspect of the game is hyper-scouted, many teams often chart which players pay the least attention in transition. This is something point guards are highly aware of.
Distractions on the break can come in many forms -- arguing a no-call, celebrating a basket or the general confusion that comes with being unable to locate your man in transition. While you're running back, your assignment may be 30 feet from you. Oftentimes players dart across court to pick up their man, unaware they've left alone a shooter spotting up in the corner. Against up-tempo teams, these breakdowns are frequent.
This is a prime opportunity for a savvy point guard to quickly advance the ball with the dribble, catching the defense on its heels. In the Lakers' case, bigs like Bynum and Pau Gasol are prime candidates to exploit because big men often focus on getting up court and can't make adjustments on the fly as quickly in open space.
Getting back quickly is the key. The Lakers -- especially the defensive-minded players like Kobe Bryant, Barnes and World Peace -- have to sprint back on defense. They would also be well served having Sessions ready to leak out to prevent two-on-one and three-on-two breaks where Westbrook has the ball in his hands and options to work with. Since Sessions (and Blake) rarely penetrates, this is a ready solution.
However, Westbrook gets a high volume of steals on the perimeter, which leads to uncontested points on the break. Translation: ball security on offense is a key to stopping Westbrook from exploiting them in transition.
Lawson put up huge numbers (19 points and six assists on 51 percent shooting in the series), but in turn taught the Lakers a few valuable lessons on which they can base their all-important playoff adjustments.
If Westbrook torches Sessions and Blake, the blame cannot lie solely on their shoulders. One individual defender -- no matter how tenacious -- just can't handle the speed of today's elite guards. The Lakers must employ a total team approach and throw as many long-armed defenders at Westbrook as possible. No less than their survival in these playoffs depends on it.
@ the responses due to the thread title
Lakeshow taking this in 7. Paul Gasol flipped that switch. nikkas don't want problems.
