The Lakerhead

Wade, Heat, Hand Lakers 4th Loss

-  Kobe’s post up on Wade in the 1st quarter-setting up a layup by overpowering him backing in, was what Jordan did when his speed left him.  He physically dominated opponents.  The difference between MJ and Kobe is that MJ did that all game long.  That was Kobe’s only dominant back-in all game.

-  Miami big men fronting Bynum and Gasol has forced the Lakers to turn the ball over five times trying to get it inside in the first quarter.

-  Wade gets a foul on Kobe, and has the luxury of switching and letting Shawn Marion guard Kobe for the rest of the first quarter.  He does it again after Kobe burns Wade on a drive in the 2nd quarter.  Will the Lakers match this strategy with using Ariza on Wade for stretches?

-  No wonder Farmar is confused about Phil Jackson’s assigned playing time.  His line in the first half looks something like this: Checks in.  Turnover.  Great play.  Turnover. Great play.  Three pointer.  Botched 3 on 1 fast break.  Great left hand layup.  How long would you play this guy?  I have no idea.

-  You think Kobe’s new low-top shoes are working?  He’s passed people for layups for more times in a half than I can remember.  Talk about freer ankles and better change of direction.

-  What makes Dwayne Wade unstoppable on the drive besides blazing speed?  Insane lateral movement.  He plants his right foot almost sideways to scoot over before gliding to a layup to force a foul on Odom.

-  Ariza with great D on Wade, forcing Wade to throw a 33-footer that happens to splash in.  Sometimes, the greats are just that good.

-  Ariza’s impressive D has continued into the start of the 4th quarter.  He’s getting his hands on Wade’s dribble, and forced Wade into palming the ball.  The Lakers battling back, down 12 points.

-  The Laker bench playing insane D in the 4th to bring them within 4.

-  The Ariza/Kobe tag team on Wade doing well forcing tough shots.  Too bad Wade is good enough to make them tonight (probably every night? Gulp), but that’s all you can ask for.

-  The bench is being super supportive of the Laker players (especially to Gasol who missed a crucial free throw).  It’s not quite Celtics “let’s win or die” mentality, but it’s nice to see the games matter to them.

-  What did we learn from this game?  Fronting the Laker bigs on the post works if done correctly.  The Lakers scored the least amount of points this year.  Who finally proved this to us?  Only the youngest coach in the NBA, 38 year old Erik Spoelstra.  He put in serious hours as a video coordinator under Riley to get this position, and it shows in his face.  The dude hasn’t age because he hasn’t seen sun in a decade.  Impressive.  But seriously, his defense was pure masterwork.  Fronting the Laker bigs effectively (you know, having someone in the back prevent the lob) took L.A. completely out of what they wanted to do.  Now it’s up to the Lakers to make the necessary adjusments.

- The Los Angeles Lakers, 21-4.  A record to be proud of.  A record to also worry about since the Celtics (and Cavs) might lose less and have home court advantage again in the Finals.