Pau Gasol, who lacks the foot speed, would be better off as a weakside or "help" defender while a quicker player like Artest can provide Amar'e enough resistance as they defend the Suns' high pick & roll.
I just watched my beloved Lakers fall to the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals where the series is now tied at two games a piece. The home team has done their job so far in this series and they don't seem to be giving the away team an inch. Game 5 is the most crucial game of the series because a win gives that team the obvious advantage of having a one game cushion or margin of error over their opponent while riding on the positive emotions and momentum of a win from that game. Needless to say, the Lakers have to take care of business at The Staples Center.
In order to get that crucial Game 5 victory, the Lakers need to focus on a few key areas. While I painfully watched the action unfold in Game 4, I saw Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire continuously run high pick & rolls while Laker defenders stood flat footed in "no man's" land which eventually led to an obscenely easy lay-up, FTs for Stoudemire or by chance the Lakers bothered him enough to miss, there was another Sun sneaking in for an offensive rebound. Now if the Laker guard dropped below the screen to help slow down Amar'e's cut to the basket, Nash would simply take a midrange jump shot which he hit successfully. This is obviously the first key to a Lakers victory. KEY 1) Stop the Nash/Stoudemire pick & roll and make Amar'e a jump shooter. They can do this by putting a strong but faster defender on Amar'e as he sets up to give Nash a screen at the top of the key. (Ron Artest comes to mind) Since no Laker defender can deny Amar'e a path to the basket, Artest is quick enough to help on the possible Nash pull up jump shot and strong enough to slow Amar'e's progress to the basket while the Laker bigs (Gasol / Bynum / Odom) can come from the weakside (instead of running behind Amar'e) and create a wall that Amar'e would either have to pass out or take a jump shot. This also puts our best rebounders in position thus preventing 2nd chance opportunities for the Suns.
This leads us to the second key of the game. KEY 2) Lakers need to control the defensive boards. The Suns are still a great open court team with Nash in control and offensive rebounds takes a team out of their defensive assignments which pretty much can resemble a broken or open court type of situation. In the few seconds the Lakers take to get sorted, Nash has already made the quick and intelligent pass to one of his open shooters. Again, this usually comes from the Nash/Stoudemire pick & roll. So if we can hit the first key, accomplishing the second key should be straightforward.
The Laker offense was able to put up 106 points on the Suns zone which I believe is more than enough to beat any team. But these were 106 very hard-fought points. It seemed nothing came easy for the Lakers. The last KEY to a Laker Game 5 victory would be to get easier offensive opportunities. Yes, outside shooting breaks zones because defenders now have to stretch out the zone in order to prevent the open shot. Now what if your outside shooting isn't working for you during the game? You can still stretch out that defense. KEY 3) Play some two man basketball with Kobe in control of the rock. The Triangle is the best offensive system in basketball but playing some basic pick & roll or pick & pop - two man - basketball with Kobe and a good jump shooting big man (Odom / Gasol / Artest / Heck, even Josh Powell) can create some easy offensive opportunities. This will make the Suns defenders think twice whether to stay in their zone or commit to help on KB24. This split second should be enough for Kobe to decide to either drive it in the lane for a lay-up (get fouled to shoot FTs), make a pass to a streaking big man in the paint or calmly kick the ball out to a teammate waiting for an open jumpshot in the weakside.
Much has been said and written about Phoenix's bench. Yes, they bring loads of energy to the game and a frenetic style on the court but they are also opportunistic scorers who can't play effective half court offense. If the Lakers take care of the boards and prevent the Suns defense any transition / outlet opportunities by not settling on long outside shots which can lead to long rebounds, the Phoenix bench will be neutralized. Besides, "if you live by the 3, you die by the 3" and no matter how good you are, the 3 point shot is always going to be a low percentage offensive option. Why do you think they reward you with an extra point? It's just not a consistent way to score.
Of course all of this is easier said than done and it'll be all up to the players on the court and the coaches on the bench to make it all happen. In the end, this is why we watch NBA basketball. It's exciting, it's unpredictable and it's the next best thing to being out there on the court yourself in your own crucial Game 5.
GO LAKERS!
