Lakers Put Baskets Into Game Plan
Right down to the minutiae of the detailed game plan, the Lakers worked like a smooth-running engine.
All five starters scored in double figures. They got the ball inside, just as they planned. They finished with more rebounds than the Phoenix Suns, held them to 36 points over a 24-minute stretch and limited their turnovers to 10.
Expect more of the same tonight in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals, where the Lakers will trot out many of the same formulas in an effort to tie the best-of-7 series.
And how about making some shots? Well, yeah, there's that, too.
"Easy shots,'' center Kwame Brown said as he recalled the number of layups that stayed out of the hoop. "It was frustrating, but we've got another game and we have to come out and make those easy layups.''
While the immediate consensus following the game was that Kobe Bryant, who once took 46 shots in a game this season and averaged 27.2, played a passive game offensively, he said it was more of a matter of making the shots when he had them.
"We had some good opportunities to take advantage of them down low,'' Bryant said. "We just missed a lot of easy ones. I wish we could get 'em back, but hopefully they'll fall for us next time.''
Now, did Bryant paint himself into a corner by taking only three shots in the first quarter, failing to get himself into a rhythm that could have generated more offense in crunch time?
"It's just making sure everybody else is in rhythm,'' Bryant said. "When the guys are into that rhythm, I can get into one of those modes and if at the end of the ballgame they feel like they're in a good rhythm, they can step up and knock shots down.''
Forward Luke Walton, who scored a career playoff-high 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting, seemed to benefit most from Bryant's play.
"He did a great job of getting us all involved,'' Walton said. "They were double-teaming him all over the court. He did a great job trusting us.''
Yet don't be surprised to see the Bryant shot-meter spike tonight. He said that he could rely on forward Lamar Odom to take a larger role in facilitating the offense, but he didn't want to change too much.
All five starters scored in double figures. They got the ball inside, just as they planned. They finished with more rebounds than the Phoenix Suns, held them to 36 points over a 24-minute stretch and limited their turnovers to 10.
Expect more of the same tonight in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals, where the Lakers will trot out many of the same formulas in an effort to tie the best-of-7 series.
And how about making some shots? Well, yeah, there's that, too.
"Easy shots,'' center Kwame Brown said as he recalled the number of layups that stayed out of the hoop. "It was frustrating, but we've got another game and we have to come out and make those easy layups.''
While the immediate consensus following the game was that Kobe Bryant, who once took 46 shots in a game this season and averaged 27.2, played a passive game offensively, he said it was more of a matter of making the shots when he had them.
"We had some good opportunities to take advantage of them down low,'' Bryant said. "We just missed a lot of easy ones. I wish we could get 'em back, but hopefully they'll fall for us next time.''
Now, did Bryant paint himself into a corner by taking only three shots in the first quarter, failing to get himself into a rhythm that could have generated more offense in crunch time?
"It's just making sure everybody else is in rhythm,'' Bryant said. "When the guys are into that rhythm, I can get into one of those modes and if at the end of the ballgame they feel like they're in a good rhythm, they can step up and knock shots down.''
Forward Luke Walton, who scored a career playoff-high 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting, seemed to benefit most from Bryant's play.
"He did a great job of getting us all involved,'' Walton said. "They were double-teaming him all over the court. He did a great job trusting us.''
Yet don't be surprised to see the Bryant shot-meter spike tonight. He said that he could rely on forward Lamar Odom to take a larger role in facilitating the offense, but he didn't want to change too much.
posted by LA Lakers Season @ 1:47 PM
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