The Suns stunned the Lakers last night in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. Their bench exploded for 54 points, but the real key is the Lakers Triangle versus the Suns 2-3 Zone. Coach Nick will show you the problems the Lakers are running into, and also reveal the Secret strategy that will win the series for the Suns.
almost 2 years ago
CoachNick
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People are going to think you're a Suns fan!
Because of your lighthearted mockery of Kobe. But don’t listen to them.
Great analysis.
I don’t blame Kobe too much for putting his hands down as Fish gets stuck in the corner with the shot clock winding down, it’s frustrating when you’re hot and you don’t get the ball, and he knew Fisher was going to shoot, plus he has to be concerned about the Suns’ run-out on a rebound.
I think the simplest thing to do is to have Odom just run the baseline back and forth – instead of having the players get too confused with instructions, just tell whoever is playing the small forward position to run back and forth on the baseline – it’s a broad approximation of what many zone offenses do.
The players seem to have heard the coaching message as “pass the ball around”, but as you show, swinging the ball around the perimeter is ineffective. Luke Walton, from postgame comments, seems to understand what is needed. He should get some more playing time.
As far as the “secret” defense … I think it would be interesting to see the results of that.
Also, I was hoping to see some lowlights of the Lakers defense …
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
Gil, you and me have the same exact feelings about what Odom's execution should look like
hang around the elbow, or just run the shit out of baseline screens.
by rickfox on May 26, 2010 4:34 PM PDT up reply actions
Elbow is too crowded - Just hide behind the zone and make your living on the baseline
Back and forth all game
He will also scoop up a ton of offensive rebounds this way
And he should only shoot that corner three when wiiiide open
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
This
The players seem to have heard the coaching message as "pass the ball around", but as you show, swinging the ball around the perimeter is ineffective. Luke Walton, from postgame comments, seems to understand what is needed. He should get some more playing time.
I hardly see them making cuts to the basket, especially Odom. Just passing the ball around and settling for a jumpshot at the end of the clock.
"Just by the aura of D.J. Mbenga being there, the shot missed."
Odom did it for a min, but stopped at the end of the
1st even though his first basket was pretty much based on doing it.
It doesn't have to just be one person.
They should all be cutting through the zone from the high post anyway. Its not that hard to beat it. They’re just playing stupidly. Plus when we do get penetration we do things like what Fisher did and drive and then pull out and wait for the shot clock to go down and then try to either shoot or pass when its too late. We don’t swing or pass nearly quick or smart enough as well. Its just ridiculous how bad they look. They look like a middle school team that hasn’t learned what zone defense is yet.
+1
The zone is so basic I just don’t get how they can’t beat it. At this point they need to put Sasha in the game because he’s fast with dribble-penetration, swing Odom baseline and Gasol clean the boards. It’s 4th grade basketball.
by kingofatlanta on May 26, 2010 5:42 PM PDT up reply actions
+2 agreed
not only that but drive to the hoop, drive to the hoop, it doesn’t have to be the point guard, anyone bringing up the damn ball needs to suck the defense in then make the extra pass to a cutting man, this is so simple that’s why the Lakers are looking stupid. Lakers passing aren’t quick enough, they aren’t making the right reads quick enough, I see them have players open all the damn time but then the pass it back to the three point line then where is the damn aggressivenes from all players, they all need to attack the zone and stop settling then play D, Lakers would of moved on by now it’s ridiculous they are tied up.
There are basic Fundamentals that are needed to move forward in this game. Always keep your guard up at all times to avoid being caught in a trap. Overcome the fouls that will be committed against you REBOUND AND PRESS ON. ADJUST to the Limelight: ALL-STAR PLAYERS ARE ALWAYS THE CENTER OF ATTENTION. Know what your role is and play your position. Find a game plan and execute it. REMEMBER YOU ONLY GET OUT OF THE GAME WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT.
If the defense is so effective
why don’t they use it against the Suns and see how the Suns handle it, then copy it?
Magic made me a Laker fan.
Different personnel
Suns wouldn’t be as bothered with a zone because they like taking threes anyway and they have the players for shooting threes
So if the Suns can easily beat a certain type of defense
and the Lakers cannot, then the Suns are a better basketball team.
If the Lakers cannot exploit the zone, then what defense can the Suns not exploit?
Magic made me a Laker fan.
a lot of shooters from the suns
when you have lots of shooters, the zone will be ineffective. because it will create some space inside to cover the outside shooters.
...too shy to post comments on SS&R...
Box and 1? That's a garbage defense, having run it before on my team
PJ should come and check this blog every now and then seeing as everyone else seems to know how to break the zone except him! Jesus its so frustrating to watch a team crash and burn against a defense they should be destroying
Phil continually told them what to do
they refused to do it. The zone is stil maybe 10% of the problem in this series. The Lakers are playing poorly on both ends in terms of execution. they’re not playing smart offense and they’re playing laxadaisical defense. Zone is not the biggest problem in this series. Its only frustrating because they should be demolishing it.
How about a defense first offensive strategy
Kobe has said it himself, “Defense wins championships.” Get with the program Lakers.
Magic made me a Laker fan.
EXACTLY!!!
I don't do it for your thanks, I do it because I had a calling, but I do love the support you give me and my Soldiers.
by Sarge Clemins on May 27, 2010 8:15 AM PDT up reply actions
this guys is an idiot
Box 1? ever heard of in game adjustments?
Kobe: "I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot."
redo Nice bballbreakdown, however I agree and disagree with you Nick
and apparently you’re not a fan of Kobe’s game but if it wasn’t for Kobe attempting something during game 3, Lakers would have been blown out, Kobe was pissed because he is doing everything in his power to win the ball game but where the hell is the rest of his teammates power on defense and offense. What the Lakers really need to focus on is getting defensive stops, consecutive stops, guard the pick and roll and eliminate Amare’s Isolations vs. Gasol because Suns have did this for two game now, get the lead then go to Amare where Gasol has been on ice vs. him. Lakers defense sucked, really sucked more then the offense, I’m not worried about the offense why cause Suns have already shown they can’t stop them or Kobe for that matter so the new plan is to just score more. I don’t agree with that box in one on Kobe because if you think Grant can just keep Kobe in check then your in for a dissapointment.
There are basic Fundamentals that are needed to move forward in this game. Always keep your guard up at all times to avoid being caught in a trap. Overcome the fouls that will be committed against you REBOUND AND PRESS ON. ADJUST to the Limelight: ALL-STAR PLAYERS ARE ALWAYS THE CENTER OF ATTENTION. Know what your role is and play your position. Find a game plan and execute it. REMEMBER YOU ONLY GET OUT OF THE GAME WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT.
As a Suns fan I would love to see you stop the iso of Gasol on Amare, where are you going to get the extra defender from?
As for the box plus 1 Kobe would be a moron to try to score on it. There would be 4 defenders playing the floor essentially, which would mean Odom could feast.
interesting pic.....
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
The Suns don't even care if we can figure out the zone....
as long as we are consumed in “figuring it out” and not playing D, they win every time. The Lakers are overthinking this zone. We have enough players with some semblance of basketball IQ to have a simple solution to this problem and execute it.
No matter how many points Phoenix gives up, as long as we don’t play D, they will stay in the zone. It is not meant to stop us, just bother us enough so they can score 120 and we score 110.
you hit it on the nail
perhaps we are getting too concerned about the zone and the Lakers failure in a way to fully exploit it but we are not concerned enough about our own porous D. Cause when I think it over a again, you should have no problems winning games when you shoot 49% from the field and score 110 points.
"Just by the aura of D.J. Mbenga being there, the shot missed."
If we can get a double digit lead through good D
they will have no choice but to get out of the zone. But if the Suns keep it close or lead, we will see the zone the entire game. All the Suns will need is a good run (like in the 4th quarters of games 3 &4) to close the game and we are screwed because we can’t shoot the three ball and can’t get easy buckets on a consistent basis.
Kobe was frustrated with the D, not the zone though
He single handedly did what you do to break a zone. Hit the outside shot, penetrate and dish to the cutters, and hit the shots no one else could make when the Lakers were missing chippies inside. His frustration came from the fact that they weren’t stopping them on the defensive end even though they were doing the right things to break the zone.
isn't the triangle was made to defeat the zone?
lakers should have continuous motion without the ball. they are just standing around there waiting for the pass.
...too shy to post comments on SS&R...
the triangle
is made for man defense, but shouldn’t be stopped by the zone. The problem for the triangle against the zone right now is the lack of movement
come on guys
you’re gonna win tonight, espn told me so this morning. they gave me all sorts of amazing statistics and in the end they said you can’t lose so..there ya go, might as well go to a movie or something tonight.
lmao Ceek! way to lure us in with the ESPN bullshit. I think we are gonna win cause i got confidence is all not no fuckin ESPN shit....lol
I don't do it for your thanks, I do it because I had a calling, but I do love the support you give me and my Soldiers.
by Sarge Clemins on May 27, 2010 8:19 AM PDT up reply actions
they did?
I knew hollinger liked us but I wasn’t aware that they picked the suns to win the finals, pretty gutsy prediction there if you ask me.
I'm referring to their odds vs those of the Lakers, not overall.
Overall I think Hollinger had the Cavs maybe Orlando.
this guy’s a genius. why isn’t he coaching in the nba? not.
"the man who created a legend; the legend who resurrected a franchise."
by chaucer on May 27, 2010 6:30 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Genius Gentry
Gentry was brillliant in waiting until Game 3 to bring out the zone. He was willing to play straight up at Staples, see how his team would do. The Lakers got five days off, sitting fat, dumb and happy. Had Gentry brought out the zone in Game 2, the Lakers would have figured it out by the time they got to Phoenix. By waiting for Game 3, when the series is on a two-day interval schedule, the Lakers have little time ot work on things between games. We can only hope that they’ve had enough game experience and practice by now to have a clue, because if they blow Game 5 at home, they may never get back to Staples except to clean out their lockers. It’s time to rise up like they did last year against the Rockets and Nuggets, and this year against the Thunder.
As people have pointed out, Phil has the right idea, but the team isn’t executing. This is Phil’s moment, and the most important part of his job description is to get them to execute. Even if it actually means calling timeouts.
Somewhere in his palatial office, curled up in the fetal position, David Stern must be petrified that he could have an Orlando-Phoenix finals. I’m sure ABC would want that to slide down from ABC to ESPN2…
by celticandlakerfanreally on May 27, 2010 8:07 AM PDT reply actions
Nice. I think you are right about that.
I hadn’t thought about it until just now but that is exactly it. If the Suns had stolen a game 2 from LA with the Zone LA would have taken game 3 by being able to work through it for a few days in practice! Genius…pure genius.
Reading is good...
How many times
should he repeat it? He can’t continue to take his best players out everytime they do something wrong, especially with the current play of the bench. His job description is to create the best gameplan that WHEN executed can win. The players job is to execute to the highest of his ability. Whose really failing at their job right now?
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