2012-2013 NBA Playoffs Discussion Thread

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:
http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/4/22/4250380/lakers-vs-spurs-dwight-howard-pau-gasol-play-below-potential-in-game-1

That's kinda what I said about Lakers yesterday.

Both Howard and Gasol committed several offensive fouls jockeying for position, and there were turnovers on entry passes as well. And when they got the ball, double teams came. Howard would have four turnovers, Gasol six. And that wasn't all when it came to bad decisions. Gasol would have Matt Bonner on him as the Spurs played with smaller lineups, and he often opted not to go to work on the three-point specialist not noted for his defense. Both settled for jump shots. Pau missed a lot, and the fact Dwight was taking any in the first place is somewhat mind-boggling

There should be hope here. There were a few moments of brilliance between the pair, with several of Gasol's six assists going to Howard, one a humongous alley-oop. And when Gasol actually squared up to the hoop, he often got buckets. If those flashes of ideal play turn into more than flashes, the Lakers have a shot.



It's not just getting no. of touches - it's about getting quality possessions in the post and lakers didn't do that.

These assists that go to Howard are coming out of high post sets. Getting our bigs the ball and getting our bigs the ball in the low post are not synonymous with each other. Posting stats regarding the distance of shots does not mean that he's getting those shots off of posting up. A lob to Howard counts as a "shot close to the rim", and it's not a post up.

I re-watched the game one more time, this time tracking Pau's perimeter touches. I separated them between Horns & Non-Horns touches. The results are below, but the observable evidence was very eye-opening. We generated 0.80 PPP when Pau got a touch in Horns, which isn't anything spectacular, but we got GREAT shots out of it. Here is the play log of these touches.

1) Nash layup (2 points)
2) Gasol layup (2 points)
3) Nash misses wide open 16 footer (0 points)
4) Howard layup (2 points)
5) Gasol misses wide open 16 footer (0 points)
6) Howard dunk (2 points)
7) Morris misses wide open 3 pointer (0 points)
8) Gasol misses wide open 15 footer (0 points)
9) Nash misses wide open 3 pointer (0 points)
10) Blake misses difficult runner (0 points)

We got either a layup or dunk on 4 out of 10 possessions, which is tremendous. We also got 5 wide open jump shots off of this action, and we DIDN'T MAKE ONE. But 9 out of the 10 plays led to great shots.

Low post with Pau =
Low post with Howard =
High post with Pau =

Originally posted by TheSixthRing:
Way too much analysis going on for a series that might last 5 games. Simply put, the Lakers don't have what it takes to beat the Spurs in a 7 game series. That went out the window when no. 24 went down.

That's why I gotta get my shots in now.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:
These assists that go to Howard are coming out of high post sets. Getting our bigs the ball and getting our bigs the ball in the low post are not synonymous with each other. Posting stats regarding the distance of shots does not mean that he's getting those shots off of posting up. A lob to Howard counts as a "shot close to the rim", and it's not a post up.

I re-watched the game one more time, this time tracking Pau's perimeter touches. I separated them between Horns & Non-Horns touches. The results are below, but the observable evidence was very eye-opening. We generated 0.80 PPP when Pau got a touch in Horns, which isn't anything spectacular, but we got GREAT shots out of it. Here is the play log of these touches.

1) Nash layup (2 points)
2) Gasol layup (2 points)
3) Nash misses wide open 16 footer (0 points)
4) Howard layup (2 points)
5) Gasol misses wide open 16 footer (0 points)
6) Howard dunk (2 points)
7) Morris misses wide open 3 pointer (0 points)
8) Gasol misses wide open 15 footer (0 points)
9) Nash misses wide open 3 pointer (0 points)
10) Blake misses difficult runner (0 points)

We got either a layup or dunk on 4 out of 10 possessions, which is tremendous. We also got 5 wide open jump shots off of this action, and we DIDN'T MAKE ONE. But 9 out of the 10 plays led to great shots.

Low post with Pau =
Low post with Howard =
High post with Pau =

I know shots at the rim is not necessarily a post play. My point was - Orlando was able to get the ball to Dwight where he felt comfortable. They didn't have some great PG playing for them.

I've been saying for a while now, they have to get the ball to Dwight where he is effective. If that's at the low post, then there. If that's through PnR, then use that. If it's through lobs, then lob it more often. Same goes for Pau...if he likes the high post or the left block or the right block, then give him the ball there. It's clear that Lakers haven't been able to use Dwight or Pau where they can maximize their offensive output.

It's not like Pau and Howard have never been effective offensively. Something is off, and it starts with coaching.

Originally posted by dobophile:
What happened to the series threads? Not as much WZ interest in the NBA this season? Seems that way.

NBA sux now

Originally posted by valrod33:

Originally posted by dobophile:
What happened to the series threads? Not as much WZ interest in the NBA this season? Seems that way.

NBA sux now

foreal, MLB is much more interesting b/c there's much more competition from alot more teams.

Originally posted by dobophile:
What happened to the series threads? Not as much WZ interest in the NBA this season? Seems that way.

Maybe in the 2nd round...when the series get more interesting

Originally posted by valrod33:

Originally posted by dobophile:

What happened to the series threads? Not as much WZ interest in the NBA this season? Seems that way.

NBA sux now

Why do you lie so often?

Chi town beating the nets

still can't believe stackhouse is in the league lol..

C-Webb hella f**ked up the jump ball call in the clips/grizz game. Lol...

CP3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CP3 tho

Damnit

Behind Lebron and Durant, CP3 is the 3rd best player, IMO. 'Melo is great too, but he's gotta have couple more seasons like 2013 to cement himself in top 3. CP3 has been doing this for years!

Great game! Hoping this series goes 7.

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:
Behind Lebron and Durant, CP3 is the 3rd best player, IMO. 'Melo is great too, but he's gotta have couple more seasons like 2013 to cement himself in top 3. CP3 has been doing this for years!

Great game! Hoping this series goes 7.

This. But I think Lebron is on a whole other planet compared to Durant and Paul.