Give and take with Brian from SportsHubLA.com and LATimes.com

First things first. Congrats to Kobe on winning the MVP award today, he was as worthy as anyone else this year. He was not my pick as I am on the record as saying the KG was more valuable to his team, but Kobe is right there and I have no problems with him winning it this year. Quick question for you LA fans - Before Pau came on board it seems to me that Kobe was not getting the MVP love that he was at the end of the season. Is it possible that Pau may be just as valuable to this team as Kobe is considering the tear you went on with him in the lineup? (Now I am going to go throw up and gargle with bleach for saying something nice about the Lakers. Believe me, it took all the good mojo in me to write a positive comment for Kobe and his crew of misfits.)

On to the give and take with Brian. Before the series started we agreed to give a 3 ways to beat the Lakers and 3 ways to beat the Jazz give and take. Below is Brian's response on how to beat the Lakers and how to lose to the Lakers, its kind of long, but very well thought out and informative I thought. My responses on how to beat the Jazz and how to lose to the Jazz should be up on his site http://www.sportshubla.com/ shortly so check it out. I will post my responses here tomorrow as a preview to game 2 so stay tuned for that. Thanks to Brian for being willing to do it and for sending over all his Laker homers to our humble little site.

Three Ways to Beat to the Lakers:

1) Make them shoot jumpers.

The Lakers are more than willing to take (sixth in the NBA in 3 point attempts) and are plenty able to make (sixth in 3 point percentage) shots from distance. They’ve had games where they shoot themselves to a nice win. But while it pays off from time to time, the Lakers are never a better offensive squad when they’re chucking triples like the Warriors on a bender. Fans are still bitter over a late season, 114-111 loss to the Grizzlies in which the Lakers completely obliterated the franchise record with 45 attempts from beyond the arc. 45. In four quarters. Seriously. When LA becomes content taking open looks from the perimeter, it plays against their greatest strengths- penetration, post play, ball movement- and to one of their greatest weaknesses- namely transition D.

Denver lacked the defensive discipline to keep the Lakers on the outside, and to be honest, when they’re going well LA doesn’t settle. The Nuggets tried to zone, but the Lakers were able to find holes inside, and once that happened it was basically a jailbreak towards the Denver hoop. But well placed, zones can throw off the Lakers attack enough to give the opposition a few minutes of empty trips to work with.
It’s not simply a question of packing the paint, but of closing off entry passes, and defenders sticking their man off the ball. And…

2) Get Physical.

Another area in which the Nuggets failed, but where the Jazz could thrive (just ask the Rockets and their video staff, right?). The line on the Lakers, and especially Pau Gasol, is that some of the rough stuff can bother them. There was certainly a stretch where teams were very physical with players in the post, and it seemed to alter their game pretty significantly. Some of that manifested itself in T’s, particularly from Kobe, who spent the second half of the season riding refs like Red Pollard on Seabiscuit. That’s less likely to happen in the playoffs, but physical play would still have the benefit of tossing off the timing and flow that makes the Lakers offense so difficult to handle, as well as creating some frustration.
The Jazz certainly have the horses to make this happen, and frankly I’d be shocked if they didn’t make an effort to throw some bodies around, given what they’ve done this year and in the first round. Boozer, Millsap, Harpring, Williams, and so on. The Lakers thrive in space. Don’t give them any.

3) Don’t Stand Still.

One reason the Lakers were so successful against the Nuggets (aside from their Chernobyl-esque ability to melt down) is that once the Lakers shut down Denver’s running game through quality inside play and good work cutting off outlet passes, the Nuggets had no halfcourt answer besides isos from AI and ‘Melo. There was zero ball movement, in part because there wasn’t any player movement, either. In four games, the Nuggets managed only 74 assists, which is shocking considering how much they run, and how many possessions they generate.

One reason I like the Jazz as a team is, similar to the Lakers, they run an offense predicated on motion. They back cut, they screen and roll, they set picks away from the ball. All of these things give LA’s defense problems. Certainly the Jazz have had success against the Lakers in the past by running them ragged in the half court. Even better for Utah, if they can push pace, they’ll be able to take advantage of the aforementioned weakness in transition defense.


Three Ways to Lose to the Lakers:

1) Over Play Kobe.

There was a time when tossing bodies at Kobe would only get him to a) try and shoot over them or b) try to dribble through them. No more. The Lakers have far too many weapons to go with the “anyone but Kobe can beat us” strategy. Over the last two seasons, Bryant has become far more willing to pass out of doubles and find the open man, and now that the Lakers have open men worth finding, the strategy has paid big dividends. Teams that tried to force the ball out of his hands via hard double and triple teams consistently paid with open looks from the other four guys on the floor, as Kobe would trap defenders in no-man’s land. Moreover, with guys like Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, etc., the Lakers have too many outstanding passers to make that work. You can’t let those guys play four on three or three on two.

In the end, it’s the worst of both worlds. Rarely does the double work, and the result- getting the ball out of Kobe’s hands- generally results in the Lakers getting an easier look than Bryant probably would been able to generate himself, had the D played him straight. The Jazz have some solid individual defenders in Ronnie Brewer and AK-47. Use ‘em.

Along those lines…

2) Ignore the Supporting Cast.

I’m not talking just Gasol or Odom. I mean everyone down the line. The more players the Lakers can get into double figures, the more likely they are to win. Kobe is going to get his points, and in the triangle, Gasol is a genuine force. Those are givens. But when the supporting guys go off, it’s trouble. Just ask George Karl about Luke Walton.

When Sasha Vujacic gets nine, Vlad Radmanovic pours in 10, Fish gets his 14, and Farmar gets 11 (I’m just tossing numbers, of course) the Lakers are almost impossible to beat. Kobe can attract so much attention on the offensive end, but teams have to recognize that the Lakers are dominant when they get balance, and that Kobe will play in a way to make it happen. He’ll still take shots that aren’t quality, but the number of CIFSPG (Cringe Inducing Forced Shots Per Game) Bryant hoists has gone down considerably. If the defense gives him 18 looks, that’s what he’ll take. But if that’s the case, he’s likely to have set up his teammates for a lot of great shots, and LA is likely to have piled up points.

3) Let Them Get Comfortable in the Paint.

Everything the Lakers do well is predicated on getting the ball inside. Their offense is built around it, as is their defensive stability. When it doesn’t happen, things tend to get pretty wonky. Of course, keeping them out of the lane is easier said than done. Kobe can penetrate against almost any defender, and between LO and Gasol, they have a ton of length to exploit. Among the reserves, Farmar is extremely quick off the dribble, and loves to attack the rim. Walton is very comfortable posting up.

Odom in particular has become almost impossible to defend since the arrival of Gasol. The worry was that the move would leave him shooting more jumpers, but instead it’s been just the opposite. His entire game seems to exist around the rack, whether in transition, positing up, or attacking off the dribble. As a result, when he is taking jumpers, they’re going up with more confidence. After posting shooting percentages of 49%, 49%, and 41% over the first three months, Odom has gone crazy in the second half. 62.3% in February, 55% in March (when Gasol missed some games) and 63.4% in April.
Once the Lakers can get the ball inside, their ball and player movement makes them tough to stop. All of their big players can shoot or distribute from inside. They’re a great drive and kick team. They slide off screens very well and move to the hoop. If they can get comfortable there, Utah is in trouble.