Is small-ball the way to win?

[DEEP3CL]

No playing small for long stretches isn't the answer, it's up to Mike D to figure out how to use two potent bigs. He doesn't have to use them at the same time but he needs to find a way. It's no way we should have both off the floor at the same time.

[deNIEd]

Their biggest weakness is the low post huh. Tell me, in the past two seasons who has given each respective team the most issues. There's a huge misnomer going around that both team's (more specifically the Heat) are vulnerable in the interior. While it may be a issue, depending on how team can and will implement an interior based point of attack, it has thus far shown to be the main issue. Again more specifically to the Heat, their greatest issues is spacing and ball movement.

Who has given the Heat the most trouble?

I'd say Pacers, Mavericks, Boston, Memphis, Lakers...

They have struggled against teams that can pound the ball low and post up...I don't know how you can deny that.

[TruSkool]

to me it makes sense starting gasol but give him more time with the bench as he can play his natural position and still put the team at an advantage.

if you have 2 of the greatest bigs in the NBA with 2 of the best guards in the NBA, you have an advantage over anybody in the league.

and as far as small ball goes, nash/meeks/kobe/jamison/dwight are more than capable of running small, and running for a long time.

[GAME TIME]

The premier small forwards in the league are all moving to the 4 position (Lebron, Melo, Durant) and with D'antoni's clear inability to utilize two low post big men effectively, would it be wise to move MWP to the 4 as well. The guy is an ideal PF for the Lakers, he stretches the floor, rebounds and plays tough D. With that considered, the Lakers can shop Pau for a SG or SF.

What do you think?

OKC and Miami are BEGGGGING for this to happen. Lakers will get raped if they attempt to go small-ball.

I don't see it that way.

I see it as, the Lakers getting used to and more aclimated of playing faster and going small as an added asset, where the Lakers can play slow or fast. Having a point guard like Nash and a 4 like Jamison, the Lakers should spread the court....


I believe in adjusting your game to your opponent, but also having the ability to adjust, either playing fast or going in a half court game when needed.

This style of play will benefit the Lakers, even against the Heat, Spurs, Clippers and OKC

[MistyMountain20]

Their biggest weakness is the low post huh. Tell me, in the past two seasons who has given each respective team the most issues. There's a huge misnomer going around that both team's (more specifically the Heat) are vulnerable in the interior. While it may be a issue, depending on how team can and will implement an interior based point of attack, it has thus far shown to be the main issue. Again more specifically to the Heat, their greatest issues is spacing and ball movement.

Who has given the Heat the most trouble?

I'd say Pacers, Mavericks, Boston, Memphis, Lakers...

They have struggled against teams that can pound the ball low and post up...I don't know how you can deny that.

I didn't say it couldn't be an issue; what I have said (or meant to articulate) was that that weakness has not been exploited by enough teams to suggest that that is the Heat's greatest weakness. To clarify, it's the way a team bases their interior attack against the Heat that will determine if they have an advantage in that regard. Meaning just because a team has a supposed front-court advantage, does not mean they will be able to exploit it. Case in point the Lakers. You mention them as a team that has given the Heat trouble, yet the Heat own 3 out of 4 wins against the Lakers, including two blow-outs. The Lakers have not been able to consistently perform against Miami because of a lack of spacing, ball movement and perimeter shooting. Any interior advantage is nullified because of this and the results are as follows.

There isn't one set strategy to beat the Heat; there are a variety of things to look at when it comes to determining a weakness. The weakness in what your saying is that if a team has an advantage down low, they intrinsically hold an edge against the Heat (not true). The one common denominator for all teams that have had success against the Heat have been teams that can penetrate, have spacing, move the ball and hit threes. Having an interior advantage after that is gravy. The Mavs were a low post team? We must not have been watching the same Playoffs. Of course Dirk can operate in the low post, but his greatest strength against the Heat was the fact that he could provide spacing at the 4 and really stretch that Heat defense (also the fact that Dirk is an awesome ISO player himself doesn't hurt). Of course if you are really talking about "small ball" as in height, well then I think we disagree on how we're defining that term in this discussion.

[JustAwesome]

It's a game of chess. Having two superb big men is an advantage until the opposing coach figures out a scheme to neutralize that. It's then up to Brown or D'Antoni to figure out another method of attack.

[vmor]

...with D'antoni's clear inability to utilize two low post big men effectively, would it be wise to move MWP to the 4 as well. The guy is an ideal PF for the Lakers, he stretches the floor, rebounds and plays tough D. With that considered, the Lakers can shop Pau for a SG or SF. What do you think?

1. that's why D'Antoni was not the best choice considering the team makeup.
2. it may be OK to use MWP as a PF at times based on matchups, but not as a primary option.
3. it's hard to imagine a realistic trade involving Pau Gasol that would improve Lakers' championship chances. I'd venture that Lakers would not become NBA champs this year -or next- if they traded Pau.

But a trade might help Pau to get utilized properly and show that he is still one of the world's top players.

[Dr Aki]

The premier small forwards in the league are all moving to the 4 position (Lebron, Melo, Durant) and with D'antoni's clear inability to utilize two low post big men effectively, would it be wise to move MWP to the 4 as well. The guy is an ideal PF for the Lakers, he stretches the floor, rebounds and plays tough D. With that considered, the Lakers can shop Pau for a SG or SF.

What do you think?

OKC and Miami are BEGGGGING for this to happen. Lakers will get raped if they attempt to go small-ball. I don't understand how it's not known as a fact, that the Laker's best asset is that you have two of the top bigmen in the game and you can beat up almost any time by simply being stronger, taller, and bigger. What's OKC and Miami's greatest weakness? The low-post.

If Lakers go small ball, you would be playing to OKC/MIA's greatest strengths...only Lakers are a lot slower, less athletic, and overall has a much worse shooting team compared to either OKC/Mia.

let's be honest...

miami and OKC cover up pretty well not having a 2nd true big man on the floor by playing passing lanes incredibly well.

lebron and durant with their athleticism deny entry passes incredibly well and a big men advantage is almost unnoticeable if you can't get them the ball.

the other advantage they tend to make up relatively well is defensive rebounding, with their superior mobility and jumping ability, they clean the glass relatively well too.

furthermore, this is the general evolution of every single end to end ball sport, from football (soccer) to basketball, that players get more athletic, defensive pressure increases, tactics evolve to take advantage of better skills, better athletes.

its just the way it is.

[nashill]

time to go small ball?

dwight
mwp
raja bell
kobe
nash

[diablerouge]

it sounds counterintuitive but the way to beat miami is not by pounding them inside but by getting middle penetration from your guards and then dumping it to the bigs or kicking it out for 3s. that's how dallas beat them too (jj barea and jason terry were living in the paint).

miami swarms the ball on the post and never lets anyone get single coverage in the post. the bet they're making is that they will be quick enough to chase you from the 3-point line on the rotation and make you take a contested 2 on the move. it's the spurs principle - swarm the paint, chase the 3-point line and play soft in between.

that's also why a guy like melo can score 20 in a quarter vs miami if he's feeling it. no matter how hot he is battier or lebron will still play him for the contested 2 on the move.

[Kupchak9]

it sounds counterintuitive but the way to beat miami is not by pounding them inside but by getting middle penetration from your guards and then dumping it to the bigs or kicking it out for 3s. that's how dallas beat them too (jj barea and jason terry were living in the paint).

miami swarms the ball on the post and never lets anyone get single coverage in the post. the bet they're making is that they will be quick enough to chase you from the 3-point line on the rotation and make you take a contested 2 on the move. it's the spurs principle - swarm the paint, chase the 3-point line and play soft in between.

that's also why a guy like melo can score 20 in a quarter vs miami if he's feeling it. no matter how hot he is battier or lebron will still play him for the contested 2 on the move.

Precisely why the Lakers have lost against the Heat 3 of the last 4 times.

[TheMidnightSun]

i would play jordan hill more, at least he can give us some effort out there, and if pau's tendonitis is this bad why not sit him out for a little while? its the beginning of the season,