In the Western Conference semifinals G2, the Lakers lost miserably to the Warriors. On the morning of May 7, Beijing time, the Lakers returned home to face the Warriors, how should they win and defend their home court? Obviously, you have to start from the two points of attacking the basket and defending.
Regarding the attacking basket, to put it bluntly, Ham has to help Anthony Davis and LeBron James create more opportunities to easily attack the basket and create fouls. The duo's performance in the last game fell short of expectations, and the Lakers' proud interior offense was limited.
But considering that the Lakers encountered the same problem when they played the Grizzlies in the first round, Hamm found a trick to help Davis and James open the situation from the inside in the next game, and the problem of attacking the basket does not need to be too worried, even if Davis continues to face the Draymond Green defense. The Lakers need to play both attitude and strategy, and G3 should have little problem playing on the inside.
The key is how the Lakers limit the Warriors' offense. In my opinion, this is the key to the Lakers' last loss. In both games, the Lakers did not hold the Warriors' three-point projection, the G1 Lakers at least guarded the inside, and the G2 they didn't even hold the inside, and both bottles of poison were poured down. What adjustments should the Lakers make on the defensive end?
Regarding the reason why the Lakers' defense was exploded in the last game, it was interpreted in the last issue of "Insight Commentary", click here for details
Simply put, Jamekau Green replaced Looney to open up space, and Davis was walked by the Warriors' blocking, ball offense, and high-post hand cooperation when he chased his dreams. When Davis saved to defend the first line, the Lakers were not in place inside and the rotation was extremely poor, missing a lot of layups and open three-point positions to opponents.
The Warriors take this style of play, starting most of the time with Curry's (or even Thompson's) blocking. In the first round, the King chose to force Curry to single, and Curry launched 42 blocks to cut 50 points. In the second round of G2, the Lakers chose to bag Curry, and as a result, Curry made only 12 shots but 12 assists in 24 blocks. In the two games, the Kings and Lakers had different choices, but the result was the same - a fiasco.
The question of what adjustments the Lakers should make on the defensive end is essentially how they should defend against Curry's blocking. In the face of a team with a variety of playing styles like the Warriors, no defensive strategy is perfect, and the Lakers need to make certain trade-offs, even big bets.
In the original expectation, even if the Warriors play a small lineup, as long as Davis faces the Warriors' starting lineup to pursue his dreams, rotate time to pick one of the non-spatial points such as Kuminga and Payton Jr., giving full play to Davis' advantages of large coverage and strong defense ability. But the Lakers' wishful thinking failed, and Kerr arranged a lot of dreams to cover and move Davis off the basket. Rotation Time Peyton Jr. and Kuminga didn't play before garbage time, and the Warriors filled the space.
G3, the Lakers first have to figure out a way from the alignment.
Option 1: Davis remains the same in position, but his defensive aggressiveness increases
It is not impossible for Davis to continue to chase dreams in position, but Davis has to tighten the restrictions on outside three-point shots and ball carriers, and can no longer let Thompson easily shoot three-pointers and Curry easily send pocket passes. At the same time, the Lakers' off-line defense must be done well, especially James (as well as Hachimura, Gabriel and others) who are responsible for protecting the basket. In terms of rotation, the Lakers have to try to take care of outside shooters, but can appropriately empty relatively unstable points, such as Wiggins, Moody, Jamekau Green. If they do enter, then the Lakers can only recognize it.
Option 2: Davis vs. Jamekau Green, James vs. Dream
After watching G2, most people may feel that this choice is more reasonable, let James go to the opposite to chase the dream, participate in the blocking defense on the line. Keep Davis under the basket and maximize his role as a co-protective basket. Given Davis' ability to move, he's also a Lakers player who maximizes defense at the basket and bottom-corner shooters.
Of course, this plan must be a drain on James' physical fitness.
There's also a problem, assuming Davis plays against Jamekau Green and the Warriors use Jamekau Green to cover, which goes back to Choice 1, and James still has to protect the basket, which he did average in the last game.
The analysis of these two sets of counterpoint play is based on the premise of the defensive strategy of "bag Curry" or "strong delay Curry".
There is also a strategy to consider - change defense.
Assuming the Lakers intend to switch defenses, the Lakers have the following options:
Option 1: Keep the alignment of G2 unchanged, Vanderbilt chasing Curry, Davis chasing dreams.
When Curry and Dream Block are removed, Davis and Vanderbilt switch defenses, Davis saves out, and Vanderbilt defends Dreams without the ability to attack. At this time, the Lakers can test Curry's ability to play small. The hidden danger lies in Davis' physical strength and potential foul crisis.
Option 2: James vs. Dreams, Davis vs. Jamekau Green.
No matter who Curry blocks with, he is either James or Davis in front of him. In the 2016 Finals, when the Warriors played five, James once faced the Dream and used a change of defense to remove the Warriors' blocking offense. However, 7 years have passed since 2016, and the current James is the 38-year-old James, and it may be very difficult to ask him to switch to Curry.
Option 3: Vanderbilt vs. Dreams, Reeves vs. Curry, Russell vs. Thompson.
Let Vanderbilt face off to chase dreams, and when Curry and Chasing Dreams block apart, Vanderbilt can change to Curry. The hidden danger is that Curry and Thompson can directly block and dismantle against Russell. In the first 2 games, the Lakers "hid" Russell in Wiggins, and Wiggins did not burst Russell. But if the Lakers swap Russell in front of Thompson, it may not turn out well.
Again, no set of alignments, which strategy is perfect, the Lakers have to use all the routines together, and even need to try a four-way in some rounds. Defense has always been the basic plate of the Lakers, and they can't make the G2 mistake of pouring all two bottles of poison down anyway.
There are trade-offs, the execution is full, and the rest is left to Providence.