How to best defend Kobe and the rest of the Lakers?

[timvp]

There's a decent chance that the fate of the 2008-09 Spurs season will be determined by whether or not they can slow Kobe and the rest of the offensive attack by the Lakers. Last year in the playoffs, the Spurs defended the Lakers decently well but struggled down the stretch of games -- especially on Kobe.

With the different personnel on the roster, it'll be interesting to see the gameplan Pop comes up with.

On Kobe, RMJ will undoubtedly start off on him. That matchup alone will be interesting. Hopefully RMJ will play passable defense against Kobe and make him work. It'd be a bad sign if Kobe can shoot right over RMJ with ease - a la Antonio Daniels in 2001 and 2002.

Obviously, Bowen will spend a lot of time on Kobe. With Bowen coming off the bench, perhaps it'll work out better since Kobe typically doesn't testing the Spurs' defense until late in the halves.

I also expect Pop to put Ginobili on Kobe for a few minutes to give Kobe a different look. Hopefully we don't see Udoka on Kobe because that was a disaster last season and Udoka seems considerably slower this year. One interesting idea would be to try Hill on him. Might be a little bit crazy but it just might work . . .

A philosophical change I'd like to see the Spurs make against Kobe is to not go the "safe" route they did during the playoffs last season. In the WCF, the Spurs had the strategy of keeping Kobe off the line at all costs. The only thing that accomplished is is it let Kobe get tons of shot attempts and get in rhythm.

Instead, I'd like to see a more physical brand of defense on him out on the perimeter ... like the Celtics played on him. Although the Spurs don't have the same personnel, if Ray Allen could get away with guarding him at times, the Spurs should find a way to survive with what they have. If it causes RMJ and Bowen to get more fouls than usual, so be it.

Outside of Kobe, the biggest obstacle is the Gasol and Bynum duo. With Bonner starting, that might get ugly. But what I think Pop should do is put Bonner on Bynum and tell him to try to keep him out of the paint. Perhaps Bonner will have the strength to do that, or perhaps Bynum will destroy him. I guess we'll find out.

I don't like the idea of Bonner on Gasol because Gasol is too talented on the low block. Plus Duncan usually defends Gasol about as well as he can be defended.

Although Bonner on the floor will create a mismatch favoring the Lakers, I'll also be interested to see how the LA's bigs handle Bonner staying out on the perimeter. Best case scenario is Bonner makes Bynum work for his points and then takes advantage of that duo's lack of mobility on the other end. I'm not counting on it but it'd be nice to see.

Most likely, though, is that the Spurs will have to use the frontline of Duncan and Thomas quite often. Thomas against Bynum and Duncan against Gasol actually makes a lot of sense. The problem comes on the other end because both bigs will be able to easily collapse on Duncan with Thomas on the court. Usually Oberto would make some sense but he's been out of it for so long I wouldn't defrost him out for this game.

The rest of the matchups are pretty straightforward. The only one that worries me is if Ariza gets matched up against Finley for long stretches -- that could get ugly.

Two questions:

What would you do against Kobe to hopefully slow him down?

How would you handle the Gasol and Bynum duo?









P.S.


Oh and on offense, I truly hope Manu curbstomps Vujacic ..... repeatedly.

[EricB]

I would handle the Gasol Bynum duo with physicality and a bit of bad boys pistons defense. Its been proven Gasol is soft and shys away from contact, and Oberto proved last year I believe that if you push and prod on Bynum he will eventually lose his cool.

[baseline bum]

The best way to defend the Lakers is to go and get a decent big.

[EricB]

The best way to defend the Lakers is to go and get a decent big.


Seeing as none are available, I doubt you can defend them I suppose.

[Lakers_55]

I think Ariza may be put in to hound Ginobili. Since there is no forward for him to hassle, that leaves Manu. Maybe Parker. Trevor has been a beast on the defensive end this season, and one of the X-factors each side has.

[Brazil]

IMO our best chance is to play a lot of Bowen on Kobe, KT on Bynum and Duncan on Gasol. G. Hill with his long arms could be also a good option to defend Kobe: Pop should try to play significant minutes of Hill against Kobe to figure out if it could be an option.

[urunobili]

Hard foul both Kobe and Gasol ala Celtics... play physical on them.. VERY physical... that should make it

[polandprzem]

I wonder if Pop will try to do diferent things on Kobe or the froncourt duo?

I guess he will as he uses RS to watch what is working what is not.


So I would like to see as many defenders on Kobe as possible. You can count out Manu, cause we know what manu can do. Ofcourse Roger and Hill will get thte chance of defending Kobe and it will be ointeresting how they will handle the situation. Well Hill know he is here for his defense, so he will be more concentrated on this side of the floor not getting much invloved in offense.
When Bowen is on the floor I would love to see much better defense as a whole. And maybe try more zone defense on that guys.
If we have Bonner on the floor we can use this kind of D. Thomas can handle Bynym more on 1-1 situation I think.

I wonder if Pop will decide to duble team Kobe. Bryant is good in passing of the double team so I don't know. Spurs like to trap (or put him out of the play - example - Suns game - one of the last plays on Nash) the player off the screenroll. Will it work on Kobe while he will be playmaking?

Many questions to answer.

[TDMVPDPOY]

only way to beat the lakers? score more than them

[Spurs Brazil]

I'd start Mason on Kobe with some double team and then Bruce

Bonner on Bynum and TD on Gasol with Thomas as the 3rd big.

I hope Bonner can do a good job on Bynum so he can stay on the floor and take Gasol or Bynum from the paint to give TD, Manu and TP some room to penetrate

[lefty]

Pull hair, grab groin, bite a finger....whatever it takes

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Put Hill on Bryant.

[Bruno]

This game isn't a playoff game so it's a quite meaningless game. It's time for Pop to try a lot of things and see what can work.
IMO, Pop will put Bonner on Gasol and Duncan on Bynum to start the game.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

I think by the time we face the Lakers in the playoffs Thomas and Bowen will be in the starting line-up, possibly Manu as well. It's a wild guess but I'll try to explain why I think it'd be logical.

First of all I think Kobe will try to involve his teammates a lot, especially until the 4th quarter. That said we have to make sure he doesn't get off to a great start, so starting Bowen on him would be a better decision than Mason. I think we'd also benefit if we rotate different defenders on him, Mason, Hill, even Manu and Udoka for stretches.So I'd bring Mason off the bench and start Manu.

What is more important though,IMO, is not letting him involve his teammates, I could live with Kobe scoring in the 30s, but wouldn't want to see Pau, Bynum and Odom at or near 20 points each.I can't see bonner guarding either of their bigs, so Thomas better be able to help. He did great against the Suns last year and if he can have a similar role in a series against the Lakers that'd come handily. Besides, he's a much better rebounder and here's an important aspect. They are very talented, obviusly, so we're not gonna completely shut them down but ideally we'd have to make sure they don't get any easy baskets like put ups after offensive boards, etc. I think thomas should guard Pau to start with, because he's much more likely to get plays drawn for him than Bynum and we cannot afford to have Duncan in foul trouble.

Unlike you, I'm a bit tempted to let Kobe shoot but not let him go to the rim and the FT line, because he always gets the star treatment, so if we play him hard and dare him to penetrate he'd get a lot of calls. I'd like us to play the same way they'll play us - clog the lane and let them shoot, then hit them on the fast break.

There's a lot more we can say but it's a bit too early, and I fully expect Pop to play some funny line-ups and match-ups during the regular season to see what works. It's important how Mason and Hill would fit in the game plan against LAL. There's also a ( likely ) possibility that one or both teams make trades which would affect the match-ups.

[PDXSpursFan]

WE need another big, a real 7-footer to throw at Bynum. Otherwise, we don't have a chance against the Fakers.

[xtremesteven33]

Keys to Victory:

-Dictate Pace of Game
Lakers are great at getting thier competition to play at thier pace and are one of the best at running the fastbreak. Last year the Spurs did a great job and controlling the pace of the game and keeping it a low scoring game.
-Man to Man defense
I think the Lakers thrive when the opposing team focuses on Kobe. Kobe is a very great passer out of the double and many of thier plays are set up when Kobe is doubled. The Celtics didnt double Kobe last year but made many "roadblocks" when he was driving to the basket. Being physical with him also gets him our of his rythym. They call him black mamba for a reason. He knows when to strike and is great at reading defenses. Giving him different defenders is also a good scheme. George Hill on Kobe might also work. Does anyone remember how John Starks used to give Michael Jordan problems???
-Role Players
We all know what Tim,Tony, and Manu will do against the Lakers. Lakers dont have an answer for Tim or Tony. Manu might be slowed down by ariza, but we will see if that is true or not. The role players need to make thier shots and creat havoc. RMJ needs to nail the open 3's when the Lakers are late in rotating D cause the Lakers defense is horrid. Hill needs to be a spark plug of energy and youth and not bring what Jacque Vaughn did last year and that was complacity. Hill could be the XFactor coming off the bench if he stays aggressive.

[benefactor]

Duncan/Thomas will undoubtedly be the best lineup to deal with Gasol/Bynum. We will likely see Bonner start and get abused repeatedly, leading to him spending a lot of time on the bench in this game. With the energy Thomas has been playing with I think he can do a pretty good job on Bynum...especially with a couple of days rest leading up to the game. Duncan is really our only hope on Gasol. He has to be smart and stay out of foul trouble. He also has to keep him off the offensive glass. Gasol had 8 offensive boards last night against Miami. We simply can't allow that to happen. This game makes me wish Tolliver would have panned out, because another mobile big man to take a shot at Gasol would have been a nice luxury to have.

With Kobe I think you play him straight up for the majority of the game. I like the idea of giving different defenders looks at him just to feel the match ups out. If the game is close late it wouldn't be a bad idea to run some double teams at him to get the ball out of his hands. This could also be done sporadically throughout the game to keep him on his toes. But overall, defending him straight up and cutting off the other scoring options seems like the best plan.

[z0sa]

Duncan on Gasol, Bonner on Bynum. If Bonner can nail some open looks, we might win both matchups.

Mason/Bowen/Manu/Hill, in that order, on Kobe 1on1.

Don't let them get open shots on the perimeter.

[FromWayDowntown]

Has very little to do with the question posed, but I'd like to see Pop lose the reflexive quick hook for George Hill and play the kid some more -- let him play through some mistakes and challenge him to get better. Parker is in his prime, to be sure, but I can't help but think that he may have had a bit more oomph at the end against Orlando had he come back at the 8 minute mark of the 4th instead of the 10 minute mark. Pop's willingness to trust Hill, particularly against quality teams, is lacking right now, IMO.

As for the Lakers, I think Kobe has to be a committee assignment and I think the thing the Spurs absolutely must avoid is allowing Kobe to get into that mode where he commands a double and creates havoc by making plays for his teammates. To me, Kobe is most dangerous when he's making plays for his teammates -- you know he's going to get his, but the Lakers become damn near unbeatable when the other guys carry their weight. The default answer for years has been Bowen and when push comes to shove in a big moment, I think Pop will remember Game 1 of the '08 WCF and stick to his guns with Bowen. But in a regular season matchup like Wednesday's, I can certainly see the possibility that Pop will try a number of different things, particularly to look at Mason on Kobe for long stretches to see what he's got.

I don't like the way the Spurs bigs match to the Lakers' bigs; I suspect that Bonner's foul trouble will make Thomas and/or Oberto play a lot of minutes.

[Blake]

sit Manu until they play the Lakers in the playoffs

[Jayem]

Mason/Bowen/Manu/Hill, in that order, on Kobe 1on1. :lol:lol

first off its impossible to defend kobe, so that shouldn't even be discussed. your only hope is to deny him the ball.

as for the rest of LA, they already got it in their head that they can kick our ass..and now they got bynum back. we aren't beating them.

[djohn2oo8]

Send another 19 yr old to Kobe's hotel room. Only way he'll foul out.

[z0sa]

:lol:lol

first off its impossible to defend kobe, so that shouldn't even be discussed. your only hope is to deny him the ball.

as for the rest of LA, they already got it in their head that they can kick our ass..and now they got bynum back. we aren't beating them.

:lmao

First off, in man to man defense you're always 1on1 unless you're doubling, and since I don't think we should double, I put 1on1. Ball denial is essential, but you won't deny him the ball many possessions. LA is too good offensively for that.

Second off, we haven't even seen one game since the WCF. Mason/Hill/Tony/Tim should all be fine. I'm worried Manu will force things and the role players Bonner, Finley, Thomas etc won't make a splash.

[Shastafarian]

"How the best defend Kobe"

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc135/Beretta_AL391/crowbar.jpg

[Ditty]

Send another 19 yr old to Kobe's hotel room. Only way he'll foul out.

:lmao

as much as i dont like the rockets that was good one and he sure does tounger mexican girls also and we alot of those here ha

but hill vs kobe would be dumb our best bet is still bowen and hope kobe wont go for more than 40

i also think bynum is overated but of course i would start duncan on bynum and bonner on gasol and if gasol make like his first 3 or so shots bring kurt thomas on bynum and put duncan on gasol cuz gasol really struggles aganist duncan

[NFGIII]

I tend to agree with FWD about Hill and Kobe. Using Hill in these types of games is a way to mature him even more. Let him makes mistakes and fight through/learn from them. This will only help down the road and in the playoffs IMO.

Pop has never been overly concerned with winning every game - that just doesn't happen. He is more concerned with improving the team bit by bit over the regular season in order to be playing their best ball come playoff time.

As for Kobe - I doubt if you will ever really contain him but he does make the Lakers a much better team when looking to involve his teammates. Be physical with him using RMJ and Bowen but play the others tight.

This will be another interesting game to watch to see how the Spurs are progressing. Still a little early for concrete analysis - usually after the RRT is the time to take stock in what the Spurs are going to be since the playoffs are not too far off.

[xellos88330]

Deny the ball to Kobe. Play the passing lanes towards him.

[tp2021]

Where's honestfool? He usually has something to say about these types of threads. :rolleyes

[HarlemHeat37]

have you guys actually watched Bynum play? he's a slightly above average player..24% of his points are dunks, and 80% of them are assisted(these are actual facts)..most of his offense comes from Kobe..

I have no problem with Bonner guarding him..if he scores, so be it..I'm not wasting Tim on him, when Gasol is a much better player, especially at the offensive end..if Bonner can make some shots, that will help tremendously, since it'll take one of their bigs out of the paint, probably Gasol..

Duncan guards Gasol better than anybody, so that SHOULDN'T be a problem..

Odom was irrelevant for the most part last year..Oberto did a good job on him..Odom is more of a role player now, so he's not a focal point to focus on..

our entire problem against LA is Kobe..we definitely have to change the strategy..I like Bowen coming off the bench, since Kobe usually takes his time against us(like TimVP said)..obviously ball-denial should be the main option..personally, I would go with single coverage..I'd rather he beat us by himself, as opposed to getting his teammates involved..the Lakers are at their best when Kobe is involving his teammates in a big way, since he's such a great playmaker..

the Lakers D has been weak this year though, despite their ranking..we're gonna have to score at least a 105 to win this game IMO..there's no reason we shouldn't, but we're gonna need big games from Tony, Manu and either Mason or Finley..

[Allanon]

Just some random thoughts in no particular order.

If Tony starts to heat up, Phil will switch Ariza or Sasha on him. Ariza has been very good defending point guards this year. Of late, Sasha's Defense has been pretty good at the point guard position.

Kobe doesn't do well with bigger/longer small forwards guarding him. I think the only one who fits the bill is Bowen but it doesn't seem like he guards him as well as he used to. I think James Gist would have been good defending Kobe.

George HIll is way too small to guard Kobe, he'd probably go for 50 with Hill guarding him. I can't remember the last time Kobe (6'6") had problems scoring on a 6'2 point guard. Kobe and Luke have a knack for punishing smaller players.

Mason has decent height and decent bulk although he lacks lateral quickness.

Manu doesn't seem healthy enough to guard Kobe right now.

Bowen once again is probably the best bet.

As for Bynum/Pau/Odom combo, it's really a pick your poison. Duncan can only guard one of them and from there on out it's 6'10 and smaller/un-athletic guys to guard the other.

Duncan isn't really the physical grabbing and pushing kind of guy. Oberto and KT are but both are too unathletic to guard Bynum.

I think Bynum would score 25 with Bonner guarding him, I think Bonner's best defense is his offense. Neither Pau or Bynum are any good at defending jumpshooting Bigs...only Odom is.

If Bonner starts getting hot from the outside, then Phil will probably bring in Odom to defend him. Both are about the same size while Bonner has a better shot, Odom has better quickness.

Center/PF position is probably where the Lakers have the biggest advantage.

I think Bonner hitting his 3's is the key to the game. If Bonner can keep it up and do a passable jod on D, he can keep Bynum out of the game.

If Bonner can't make the Lakers pay for putting Pau & Bynum on the floor at the same time, it's going to be a long night for the Spurs.

[Brazil]

George HIll is way too small to guard Kobe, he'd probably go for 50 with Hill guarding him. I can't remember the last time Kobe (6'6") had problems scoring on a 6'2 point guard. Kobe and Luke have a knack for punishing smaller players.



You have a point but Hill seems very special on the D, for a 6'2 he is grabing a lot of rebounds too. The difficulty for him I think will be to handle the Kobe experience, Hill could have some foul troubles quickly. I hope Pop will test him against Kobe during the regular season, we will have a better idea.

[duncan228]

Pau Gasol is the key to Lakers dominance (http://lalakersnews.blogspot.com/2009/01/pau-gasol-is-key-to-lakers-dominance.html)

There is no doubt that having Kobe Bryant in their lineup makes the LA Lakers a great team. But Bryant alone can't make this team win a championship. One great player can't beat five opposing players, even with lesser talents, playing on the same hard court for 48 minutes.

Even the great Michael Jordan hadn't won a championship without another great player, Scottie Pippen.

Let's see the great NBA duos (or trio for the Spurs and Celtics and quintet for the Pistons) in the past two decades:

Jordan had Pippen in Chicago. They made the Bulls the most dominant team in the 1990s and had six championship rings together.

David Robinson had Tim Duncan earlier and Duncan had Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker later in San Antonio. And they made the Spurs one of the best teams of the 2000s in winning four championships between them.

Shaq had Kobe in LA Lakers, previous edition. And they made the Lakers the most dominant team early in this decade by winning three consecutive titles.

Chauncey Billups had four other Pistons in Detroit. And they won a championship together.

Dywane Wade had Shaq for one championship ring beating a good Dallas Mavericks team featuring just one MVP player, Dirk Nowitski.

Last year, Paul Pierce had Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, and the "big three" won the championship last year beating a Lakers team with one great player and another all-star material who played very well in sweeping through the Western Conference playoffs but seemed to got "lost in Spanish translation" in the NBA Finals.

And Kobe?

He had Caron Butler in 2004 and they failed to make it to the playoffs.

He had Lamar Odom, Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, and young Andrew Bynum. They made the playoffs but lost in the first round for two years.

Last year, he had Pau Gasol for half of the season. And immediately, the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, they lost to Boston's "big three."

Now that Gasol would be playing a full season with the Lakers, the team is expected to achieve what it failed to accomplish last season--win that elusive NBA title!

But they can't do that while Gasol is playing just a sidekick or an afterthought to Kobe. He has to dominate the same way, or at least close to the way, Kobe is dominating in his position.

Gasol is a very good player specially now that he's playing mostly at forward position in a very balanced Lakers team. But he doesn't always play aggressively.

This season, Gasol averages 17.8 points on 55.4% shooting, 9.4 rebounds, and 12.1 field goal attempts per game. For comparative purposes, Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, averages 20.4 points on 51.6% shooting, 10.1 rebounds and 15.5 field goal attempts.

Duncan is attempting more shots despite having two other stars in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. In San Antonio, you wouldn't know which of their three stars is their first, second or third option on offense--all of them are good, reliable and aggressive.

Of course, the Lakers have more wins than the Spurs. But can they win important games against championship-caliber teams while Gasol is playing just a "second option" to Bryant?

Their records show they can't!

To be a championship-caliber team, the Lakers need more offensive contribution from Gasol. He shouldn't defer to Kobe specially on close games. Their recent victory against Golden State showed how Gasol can be dominating if he stays aggressive specially in closing out games.

He needs to be as aggressive as Duncan and take more than 15 attempts per game. The Lakers haven't lost a game this season with Gasol taking more than 15 shot attempts.

In their six losses this season, Gasol took less shots (10.8 on average) than his tally this season while Bryant is taking the slack by shooting five more shots (25.5 per game) than his average (20.1) this season.

This is not indicative of "Bryant shooting too much to the detriment of his team." In fact, he scored more than his average (32.2 in losses vs. 27.0 average this season) in the Lakers' six losses while Gasol scored less in losses (15.7 average) than in wins (18.3)

Can you blame Bryant for scoring 39 points on 14-of-22 field goal shooting while Gasol only had 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting in their last loss against a New Orleans team that featured a shorter frontcourt?

Clearly, it's Pau Gasol that needs to be more consistent to provide the Lakers a "one-two punch combination" that Shaquille O'Neil was so proud of during his three-peat with Bryant. It was Shaq looking at Kobe as the "two" in his boxing analogy and claiming the Lakers to be "his team" that ended their run.

The Lakers are already dominant with Kobe Bryant, probably the best player in this generation. But it takes more than one great player to make a championship team!

If you still don't believe that, ask LeBron James and Dirk Nowitski, who both went to the NBA Finals but lost to better teams featuring more than one great player.

Miami's one-two punch of Wade-and-O'Neil vs. Nowitski's Mavericks in 2006 NBA Finals...

And San Antonio's big three of Duncan-Parker-Ginobili vs. James' Cavaliers in 2007...

It both instances, one is less than two or three...

[WayOutWest]

You have a point but Hill seems very special on the D, for a 6'2 he is grabing a lot of rebounds too. The difficulty for him I think will be to handle the Kobe experience, Hill could have some foul troubles quickly. I hope Pop will test him against Kobe during the regular season, we will have a better idea.

Kobe would just rain jumpers all over a guy who is 6'2. Kobe would have no problem surveying the floor with a small guy guarding him. Kobe would crash the boards with a guy that small trying to gurad him. It would be a "triple double" disaster.

Still, I think the Spurs take this one, the Lakers will be on the back end of a back to back and they are missing some key players. TP is going to wear Fisher out, the Lakers are going to have one hell of a time guarding TP. Their only hope is that Ariza can bother TP or that TP doesn't hit his jumper and the Lakers just back off of him. Sasha's FAKE hustle on D is not impressing anyone. Any penetrating PG has been destroying the Lakers, their defense cannot handle that nor can they handle the pick-n-roll if Odom is not the big switching on the guard.

[DrHouse]

There is no way Hill can effectively guard Kobe. He's 6'2. Kobe will just shoot over the top of him. Please be rational.

I love it when people dissect teams into these stupid 1-1 matchups. Basketball never breaks down like that. To beat the Lakers the Spurs need to do a few things:

1.) Disrupt the rhythm in their offense. Ball deny Kobe as much as possible. Be physical with the bigs. Close out on shooters as much as possible. Shut down passing lanes. Easier said than done.

2.) Pick apart their defense with precision offense. Force rotations, be patient, don't settle for the easy jumper (Lakers want you to take that shot).

3.) Get production from your bench. The Lakers have one of the best benches in the league and often times it's the bench that is extending leads....not the starters.

[de Soto]

What would you do against Kobe to hopefully slow him down?

Land on his foot repeatedly and kick his shins.:ihit


How would you handle the Gasol and Bynum duo?

Once Kobe is out, the Lakers will invariably crumble like a butter cookie. :lol

[Joe Schmoogins]

I'd like us to just go nuts and see what happens. I'm thinking rotate bowen, rmj, udoka, and hill on kobe about every 2 minutes. During those two minutes, whoever is guarding him needs to absolutely hound him. Sprint everywhere, always keep their hands about an inch from his face even when he doesn't have the ball, bark in his ear, and box him out hard every single time a shot goes up. Continue this from whistle to whistle for the entire game. Don't let up for a second even if we are up 20 or down 20. Hopefully he'll get very frustrated and tired and it'll throw him off his game.

[DAF86]

I still can remember Oberto owning Gasol in FIBA games, I really hope he can do it in the NBA.

And regarding Kobe I always thought that the Spurs guard him as well as any team in the league.

Let's remember that last year we were beating them up by 20 or something like that in two of the 4 losses with Manu playing like JV, and oh coincidence the only game Manu played like himself we swept them out of the court. I think Pop knows how to handle LA he just needs his players to play reasonable well.

[Lakers_55]

Sasha Vujacic didn't fly with the Lakers to Texas, back spasms. If he feels better he may fly on his own. So, I guess we have to play the Chinese "Magic Johnson", Sun Yue. We are running out of guys, lol.

[mexicanjunior]

Two questions:

What would you do against Kobe to hopefully slow him down?

How would you handle the Gasol and Bynum duo?



1.) Start Bowen and have him shadow Kobe's minutes. I would rotate 1 on 1 defense and trapping depending on the Lakers lineup. The less ballhandlers on the floor, the more the trap should be utilized. Play Kobe similiar to last year, it worked for major stretches of that series but faltered in the 4th quarters. To disrupt his 4th quarter rhythm, I would trap relentlessly and do everything possible to get the ball out of his hands. Make Fisher, Sasha, Ariza and Odom beat you with their decision making.

2.) Start Thomas and put him on Bynum, Duncan on Gasol. Do not double team anyone, if Bynum can score enough in the post 1 on 1 and beat you...so be it. He may put up 18-24 but forcing him to play with his back to the basket and not allowing all the setup dunks will definitely stunt the Lakers offense as opposed to bringing help and allowing the perimeter players open looks and drives to the lane. I think Duncan, as long as he can stay out of foul toruble, can play to a standstill or better against Gasol straight up.

This game will really come down to how well Manu and Parker can score to keep up with the Lakers offense. If both can get between 20-30 points, I think we have a decent chance of winning. Also, I think Bynum will start off playing Duncan straight up, we have to hope he can make them pay by getting him in foul trouble. If Bynum plays Duncan as well as Howard did, we will have a tough time generating offense and open 3 point looks...

[baseline bum]

:lol:lol

as for the rest of LA, they already got it in their head that they can kick our ass..and now they got bynum back. we aren't beating them.


http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/image.php?u=4238&dateline=1205193905

:lol

[Medvedenko]

Sun Yue to the rescue.....

[DrHouse]

This thread should be renamed to:

"How can the Spurs defend Chinese Magic"

KOBE WHO??? SUN YUE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Manufan909]

You had to bring up The Gist, didn't you, Allonon?:depressed

[Brazil]

Putting Hill on Kobe loses the game from the start. Thats an insult to Kobe but also to Bowen, who in my opinion gets up for Kobe and usually plays him well. For the Spurs to beat the Lakers, the big three must play big. Thye all have to play big to beat the Lakers.

I'm saying to put Hill on Kobe from the start. I think Bowen won't be in condition to guard Kobe all game long, maybe Hill could do a decent job while Bowen is on the bench.

[Brazil]

I'm NOT saying to put Hill on Kobe from the start. I think Bowen won't be in condition to guard Kobe all game long, maybe Hill could do a decent job while Bowen is on the bench.

[Bruno]

Spurs will have no problem at defending the Gasol/Bynum frontcourt. Duncan will do a fine job on Bynum and Splitter has the length and quickness to defend well Gasol.

[Ronaldo McDonald]

If Kobe's O was countered by offense of our own, I have a feeling Kobe misses half of those crazy shots he hit. Long stretches of not being able to do anything offensively allowed him and the rest of the team to gain a bunch of momentum and play awesome basketball.

[Ronaldo McDonald]

The fate of the team rest in the Big 3 ALL playing their best basketball.

[Ditty]

Spurs will have no problem at defending the Gasol/Bynum frontcourt. Duncan will do a fine job on Bynum and Splitter has the length and quickness to defend well Gasol.

when did splinter be on the team?

i dont think hell ever be in a spurs uniform well most likely trade him hes going to be in brazil for a couple of years

[HarlemHeat37]

I agree with Allanon about Bonner being the key..

the Lakers defensive weakness this year has been PG's penetrating on them, and big men shooting well to take Bynum out of the paint..

Tony should be able to dominate Fisher, so Bonner will have to play his role..

[Bruno]

splinter


http://celebslam.celebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/master-splinter-anthony.jpg

And April O'Neil was damn hot.

[Brazil]

Spurs will have no problem at defending the Gasol/Bynum frontcourt. Duncan will do a fine job on Bynum and Splitter has the length and quickness to defend well Gasol.

:lol

[duncan228]

I expect Duncan to rise for this one. He said the Magic game was an 'awful feeling', I think he'll be looking to erase that feeling. If he can bring his 'A' defense it will help us a lot.

[lefty]

James Gist !!!!!!!!!!

[Bartleby]

when did splinter be on the team?

i dont think hell ever be in a spurs uniform well most likely trade him hes going to be in brazil for a couple of years

:downspin:

[Yorae]

How about playing Kobe one on one and let him have his scoring game while locking down on everybody. I also think that making him work on defense will help. As for the Bynum and Gasol, play them very physical. Oberto and Kurt should be on the job. But we all know that 'regular season Spurs' won't play an 'A' game unless highly necessary.

[Ice009]

I expect Duncan to rise for this one. He said the Magic game was an 'awful feeling', I think he'll be looking to erase that feeling. If he can bring his 'A' defense it will help us a lot.

Where did he say that? Got a link or anything?

I'd like to check out Tim's opinion of last nights game, but I can't really find many quotes from Tim.

[duncan228]

Where did he say that? Got a link or anything?

I'd like to check out Tim's opinion of last nights game, but I can't really find many quotes from Tim.

He's the last one in the locker room video. He wasn't in the post game quotes, I don't know why.

http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/090111.html

Edit: I did put one quote of his in the post game quote thread.

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114167

If you're ever looking for whether he spoke after a game you can ask me. I usually find him if he speaks. :)

[raspsa]

Make Kobe a scorer not a playmaker.. let him get his points but clamp down on everyone else.

[024]

Make Kobe a scorer not a playmaker.. let him get his points but clamp down on everyone else.

didn't the spurs do this in last year's playoffs? not doubling and putting only bowen on kobe?

[HarlemHeat37]

the problem last year was our offense..we had a 20-point lead in game 1 that was lost due to our droughts..it was our weakness in last years playoffs..

[Yorae]

Yeah spurs did that last year but the problem last year is that we could hardly score the freaking bball...

[Ice009]

He's the last one in the locker room video. He wasn't in the post game quotes, I don't know why.

http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/090111.html

Edit: I did put one quote of his in the post game quote thread.

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114167

If you're ever looking for whether he spoke after a game you can ask me. I usually find him if he speaks. :)

Thanks Duncan228.

[ducks]

do not put hill on kobe save that for playoffs
trying mason and see what he does
if he slows kobe mason does not even need to score to be effective

[GetNashty]

You don't have to worry. Just have TD and other bigs shit, going right at them, on Bynum and Gasol and get all scared(they're pussies, they'll fold). Then just get a player to get in Kobe's head and Kobe will singlehandedly lose the game for his team. He does this all the time. As long as you stay ahead in the series you'll win, because Kobe is a fucking quitting little bitch who will quit on his team.

[z0sa]

You don't have to worry. Just have TD and other bigs shit, going right at them, on Bynum and Gasol and get all scared(they're pussies, they'll fold). Then just get a player to get in Kobe's head and Kobe will singlehandedly lose the game for his team. He does this all the time. As long as you stay ahead in the series you'll win, because Kobe is a fucking quitting little bitch who will quit on his team.

:lmao the suns fan made a funny

I actually agree Kobe's a quitter. He requested a trade and the League took that as "Give Pau Gasol to the #1 TV market, we can't have the whole reason they're tuning in gone"

[Allanon]

:lmao the suns fan made a funny

I actually agree Kobe's a quitter. He requested a trade and the League took that as "Give Pau Gasol to the #1 TV market, we can't have the whole reason they're tuning in gone"

I think the Grizzlies got a better deal than the Lakers.

Pau Gasol $16 million/year 18 points 9 rebounds
Marc Gasol $3 million/year 12 points 7 rebounds

The Lakers are paying $13 million more per year for 6 more points and 2 rebounds.

In my opinion, they should have just kept Marc, then they would easily have the money to re-sign Bynum/Lamar/Ariza/Marc Gasol.

And by next year, I'm pretty sure Marc Gasol will be in the 15 point, 10 rebound range.

Not to mention the Grizzlies also got a first round pick in exchange for Javaris Crittenton.

Oh yeah, much needed salary relief for Kwame Brown too.

[Yorae]

If Grizz managed to keep the old gasol and get the younger gasol, they're pretty good team with oj mayo and that other scoring guy (forgot his name).

[timvp]

As for what I think Pop is going to do:

-Start with Bonner on Gasol. This season, Pop almost always puts Duncan on the center. Bynum is the center so that leaves Bonner on Gasol. If Pop actually does this, I think it'd be a disaster. Gasol is loooooooong while Bonner is about as short and stubby as 6-foot-10 players get.

-RMJ will start out on Kobe. Bowen will spend most of the game on him. For a couple minutes, Pop will put Manu on him if RMJ and Bowen aren't having much success. I highly doubt Pop will put Hill on Kobe and I'm hoping he doesn't break out Udoka.

Overall, I'm guessing Pop is going to use the same defensive strategy. After the series, he pointed to the offense as the problem. He said he was happy with the defense. I guess we'll find out in this game based on his gameplan if he was telling the truth.

The scary thing is I agree that the game could be decided by Bonner. If he can hold his own defensively and cause a mismatch on the other end, he could be the difference in the game. If he fails in either aspect, the Spurs will likely be toast.

[mrspurs]

Pray. Then pray some more. Thats the only way we defend the lakers and Kobe.

[Yorae]

Put Bonner on him!!!!!! He won't survive that!!!!!

[Blackjack]

the problem last year was our offense..we had a 20-point lead in game 1 that was lost due to our droughts..it was our weakness in last years playoffs..

:tu

As has been mentioned, the defense wasn't the problem last year. Bowen executed the gameplan about as well as could be asked (allowing Kobe the jumpers and eliminating the free-throws) but the offense was their downfall. Granted, scheduling and injury were major factors that conspired against the Spurs and their offense, (a variable that has to be taken into account) but it led to their demise nonetheless.

Having said that, a new year brings new problems.

The combination of a healthy Bynum and Ariza, combined with a full training camp camp under Pau's belt, and an added year of
continuity/chemistry/maturation, make this Laker team a much tougher foe. This team is just about bigger, stronger, longer, and/or, more athletic at every position. Fortunately, measurables aren't a death-sentence, but they do tend to put you behind the 8-ball. Unfortunately, the Lakers aren't the only one's posing questions that need to be answered in this new year.

The Spurs (whether because of injury or not) aren't playing the type of defense needed to win a championship. Sure, they've had stretches the last couple of years that you could say the same (only to find themselves in time for the playoffs) but this year just feels different. Bowen's a year older, Manu's not completely back physically, Ime's burried on the bench, the bigs (outside of Kurt recently) have been hurt or adequate at best, not to mention Finley and Mason (who looked to be the same height or shorter than Redick:wow) are being counted on to play big minutes while being less than stellar defenders. The only upgrade they've had defensively is Hill, but even his upgrade is lessened by the lack of minutes available to him. The Spurs' championship formula has always been predicated on their ability to defend, so it doesn't bode well that one of the biggest question mark's on this team is, their ability to defend.

As far as how to best defend Kobe?

I really don't see a better option than limiting his free-throws and making him beat the Spurs from the outside. Sure, I'd love to see a defense devised like the one Boston was able to employ, but the Spurs have neither the personnel, nor the ability/respect afforded to glamour teams and players to get away with playing that physical against the likes of a Kobe or the Lakers. Call me cynical, but I feel justified after what I've witnessed over the years.

While the focus of most has been on getting some help on the front line (and it's completely justifiable) an athletic perimeter defender, preferably 6'6" or taller, is a very real need. It's one reason I've hoped to see Hairston given an opportunity, since he's the closest option available to fill that role. He wouldn't be completely ideal, being a rookie in all, but maybe you get something similar to the way Jack defended Kobe in essentially his first real year. He brings strength and athleticism to the wing defensively that could at least give Kobe another look.

If not him, I'd like to see them try and get a guy like Dominic McGuire. He's got a great BBIQ, a very good athlete, he rebounds and blocks shots from the three like few others, and has a frame similar to Posey that allows him to defend in a similar fashion. Offensively he moves really well without the ball and is a very good passer, but that's pretty much it at this point. He can throw down a mean dunk every once in a while, but his finishing and shot still leave a lot to be desired. He's not the perfect option, but he could be a very nice, realistic one.

As far as defending the bigs?

My guess is the Spurs will take a very similar approach, with the exception being, Thomas and Bonner playing a much bigger role. Thomas had his moments when he finally got his chance to play in the playoffs, and Bonner's best defense might well be his offense, but I don't plan on seeing drastic changes to the teams overall defense. If Thomas and Bonner can give Tim more help on the boards, that would go a long way in the all important rebounding category against the Lakers.

The Spurs, in addition to being able to stay competitve on the boards, have really got to be cognizant of the interior passing of the Lakers. The Lakers are really one of the best overall passing teams in the league, but after watching what Milwaukee was able to do to the Spurs, the interior-passing leading to easy buckets is a real concern. The best way to usually combat that is with ball pressure, good weak-side rotations, and preferably minimal double-teaming, but it remains to be seen whether the Spurs have the personnel to do that.

Keys for the Spurs-

Stay competitive on the boards/limit offensive rebounds - Second-chance points could go a long way in determining the outcome.

Keep Kobe off the free-throw line - Allowing him to get his rhythm from the line, all while getting his team in the penalty, usually gets you an L.

Control the pace/ limit transition - Force the Lakers to play defense in the half-court and and force them to score in the half-court. Make the game a grind that makes them expend energy both physically and mentally.

Limit assists - The more one-on-one play the better.

Limit turnovers - Good way to keep the opponent out of transition while getting plenty of f.g.a.'s.

Hit your shots - Sounds simple enough, but the Lakers like to pack the lane, so the Spurs must make them pay.(Whether from mid-range or three)

The Big 3 - In order for the Bonner's and Hill's of the world to be x-factors, The Big 3 must play big. The Big 3's aggressiveness will go a long way in setting the tone and determining how often they get to the all important free-throw line.

:flag:

[KidCongo]

They won't go to Bynum for one on one scoring in the playoffs.

[m33p0]

If Grizz managed to keep the old gasol and get the younger gasol, they're pretty good team with oj mayo and that other scoring guy (forgot his name).
rudy gay.

[m33p0]

this game, and indeed this series, will hinge on whether or not ian mahinmi is able to hold his own against the pau allowing splitter to concentrate on bynum. this will free up duncan to go ape shit on offense and be a ball magnet on the boards.

/wishful thinking

[1Parker1]

The scary thing is I agree that the game could be decided by Bonner. If he can hold his own defensively and cause a mismatch on the other end, he could be the difference in the game. If he fails in either aspect, the Spurs will likely be toast.


Well here's the bright spot I see here. If Bonner does in fact start on Gasol, I'm guessing at the other end Gasol is going to defend Bonner. Gasol isn't exactly a physical defender so the only thing that can perhaps bother Bonner on offense is Gasol's length. Not to mention if Bonner stays out on the perimeter, hopefully it will limit all those offensive rebounds Gasol seems to get against the Spurs.

The playoffs will be a different story though if the Spurs and Lakers meet. I'm guessing if Bonner does go off on the Lakers then...Phil would stick the more mobile Lamar Odom on Bonner.

[Bruno]

Spurs best chance to defend Lakers bigs is : Duncan on Gasol, Thomas on Bynum, Bonner on Odom. It seems the most logical way to match up Spurs bigs with Lakers bigs. Oberto should also get some playing time.

I doubt we will see that tomorrow because Odom isn't healthy and Pop will likely try a lot of different things. If Spurs face Lakers in playoffs, I expect Pop to go with these matchups and start Thomas instead of Bonner. I quite think Spurs could do a good job against Lakers bigs.

[urunobili]

Oberto has always had FAIR success against Gasol in intl ball... I can't remember how well/bad he did last WCF... i believe i was frustrated by his lack of playing time on him... anyone has some pointers on this?

[mrspurs]

You can add and mix whomever you want. But come PO time. If the name Matt appears against the Lakers in any form. The Spurs are in trouble. I like Matt but he's not gonna be successful against Gasol, Bynum or Odom. He's to slow. The best we can hope for right now is Matt hit some 3s and keep the Lakers honest on the defensive end. Having Kurt and Fab as backup's isnt gonna help much either. We're not fooling anyone. So let the drives begin..........Cant wait.

[ClingingMars]

Thomas has been playing great lately. Give him the start against Bynum.

-Mars

[ClingingMars]

I think the Grizzlies got a better deal than the Lakers.

Pau Gasol $16 million/year 18 points 9 rebounds
Marc Gasol $3 million/year 12 points 7 rebounds

The Lakers are paying $13 million more per year for 6 more points and 2 rebounds.

In my opinion, they should have just kept Marc, then they would easily have the money to re-sign Bynum/Lamar/Ariza/Marc Gasol.

And by next year, I'm pretty sure Marc Gasol will be in the 15 point, 10 rebound range.

Not to mention the Grizzlies also got a first round pick in exchange for Javaris Crittenton.

Oh yeah, much needed salary relief for Kwame Brown too.

oh God, here comes the tired "the Grizzlies fucked us over" lakerfan argument

:lmao

-Mars

[HarlemHeat37]

I hope Kurt comes in and plays physical though..Bynum is big and strong, but soft as hell..pushing him around will have a positive impact..KT is tough, strong, and dirty..so he needs to use all 3 to his advantage in a significant way..

[xtremesteven33]

IF the spurs beat the Lakers on wednesday, i hope it doesnt creep into Pops mind that we dont need another Big next to Duncan.

I think Joe Smith would be ideal to have. Im pretty sure he could give Gasol problems.

[Allanon]

oh God, here comes the tired "the Grizzlies fucked us over" lakerfan argument

:lmao

-Mars

It's the truth....the Grizzlies got the better end of the deal. The Lakers were a bit rash in my opinion.

Having Pau limits the growth of Bynum, I think it would have better for the Lakers to have kept Gasol and had Bynum/Odom as starters with Marc coming off the bench.

The Lakers wouldn't be AS good as with Pau this year, but they would still be very good. And then next year, Marc would pretty much be almost as good as Pau at $13 million less allowing the Lakers to re-sign Odom/Ariza/Bynum/Kobe with no problems.

[Brazil]

It's the truth....the Grizzlies got the better end of the deal. The Lakers were a bit rash in my opinion.

Having Pau limits the growth of Bynum, I think it would have better for the Lakers to have kept Gasol and had Bynum/Odom as starters with Marc coming off the bench.

The Lakers wouldn't be AS good as with Pau this year, but they would still be very good. And then next year, Marc would pretty much be almost as good as Pau at $13 million less allowing the Lakers to re-sign Odom/Ariza/Bynum/Kobe with no problems.

I see what u mean but come on having Pau is the best thing that happened to the lakers since a long time. The lakers are in a good position to win it all this year which wouldn't be the case with marc over pau.

[Spursone]

:lobt2:Being that this is the first game this season with the Lakers the Spurs need to be physical and minimize turnovers. We need to jump out quick in the first quarter and establish dominance. I agree that Gasol is a little soft and avoids contact. Pop needs to experiment on matchups. BE FLEXIBLE! Let's not take this game lightly. I think it is a big test for the Spurs to see how they will matchup with the Big Dogs. And I think the Spurs still have quite a bite!


:flag:

[PDXSpursFan]

IMO our best chance is to play a lot of Bowen on Kobe, KT on Bynum and Duncan on Gasol. G. Hill with his long arms could be also a good option to defend Kobe: Pop should try to play significant minutes of Hill against Kobe to figure out if it could be an option.
+1.
I'll add that expect this game to highlight the need the Spurs have for another Big - a real 7-footer

[Allanon]

I see what u mean but come on having Pau is the best thing that happened to the lakers since a long time. The lakers are in a good position to win it all this year which wouldn't be the case with marc over pau.

I do see your point, and it's a good one. I think the Lakers would still be contenders but not in the very favorable position they are this year like you said.

So Pau was good for the Lakers last year (without Bynum) and this year. Starting next year, Marc probably would have been better (money and youth, with almost equal skill) ....especially if the Lakers don't win the Championship this year.

Too bad the Lakers couldn't have kept Marc Gasol and traded Sun Yue instead :D

[Brazil]

I do see your point, and it's a good one. I think the Lakers would still be contenders but not in the very favorable position they are this year like you said.

So Pau was good for the Lakers last year (without Bynum) and this year. Starting next year, Marc probably would have been better (money and youth, with almost equal skill) ....especially if the Lakers don't win the Championship this year.

Too bad the Lakers couldn't have kept Marc Gasol and traded Sun Yue instead :D

For Marc you don't know if he is going to improve enough to be compared to Pau but you know for sure that the lakers with this team will be contender again next year. As a whole it's a good move for the Lakers.

Now if you insist we can give you bonner and oberto and thomas for Pau ! :lol

[xtremesteven33]

You cant stop Kobe, you can only hope to contain him

[timvp]

On Kobe, RMJ will undoubtedly start off on him. That matchup alone will be interesting. Hopefully RMJ will play passable defense against Kobe and make him work. It'd be a bad sign if Kobe can shoot right over RMJ with ease - a la Antonio Daniels in 2001 and 2002.I liked RMJ's defense on Kobe for the most part. Still has some work to do but it wasn't like when AD would guard Kobe and Kobe would just shoot over him like he was playing against his little brother. RMJ made Kobe work somewhat, which is a good sign.

RMJ guarding Kobe >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Udoka guarding Kobe


Obviously, Bowen will spend a lot of time on Kobe. With Bowen coming off the bench, perhaps it'll work out better since Kobe typically doesn't testing the Spurs' defense until late in the halves.It kinda worked out that way in the first half. By the time Kobe tried to take over, Bowen was in the game. For that reason, it might make sense to keep Bowen on the bench even if the two teams meet up in the playoffs.


I also expect Pop to put Ginobili on Kobe for a few minutes to give Kobe a different look. Pop did put Manu on Kobe. I thought Manu actually did a pretty good job. The only thing I don't like when Manu is guarding Kobe is that Manu tends to double-team off of him for some unknown reason. It's like he can't help himself. If Manu could fix that, he'd actually be pretty good at guarding Kobe.


Hopefully we don't see Udoka on Kobe because that was a disaster last season and Udoka seems considerably slower this year. One interesting idea would be to try Hill on him. Might be a little bit crazy but it just might work . . .Thank you Pop for not putting Udoka on him :tu

Hill on him was a longshot and didn't happen. Not too much of a surprise.


A philosophical change I'd like to see the Spurs make against Kobe is to not go the "safe" route they did during the playoffs last season. In the WCF, the Spurs had the strategy of keeping Kobe off the line at all costs. The only thing that accomplished is is it let Kobe get tons of shot attempts and get in rhythm.

Instead, I'd like to see a more physical brand of defense on him out on the perimeter ... like the Celtics played on him. Although the Spurs don't have the same personnel, if Ray Allen could get away with guarding him at times, the Spurs should find a way to survive with what they have. If it causes RMJ and Bowen to get more fouls than usual, so be it.Couldn't really get a good feel of whether the Spurs were more physical with him. Will have to watch it again to see if they made it a point to try to always keep a body on him.


Outside of Kobe, the biggest obstacle is the Gasol and Bynum duo. With Bonner starting, that might get ugly. But what I think Pop should do is put Bonner on Bynum and tell him to try to keep him out of the paint. Perhaps Bonner will have the strength to do that, or perhaps Bynum will destroy him. I guess we'll find out.

I don't like the idea of Bonner on Gasol because Gasol is too talented on the low block. Plus Duncan usually defends Gasol about as well as he can be defended. Very nice job, Pop :tu

I thought Bonner on Bynum worked out about as well as could be expected. Bynum still got his points but Bonner made him work. If Duncan wouldn't have let Gasol eat him alive early on, the strategy would have looked even better.


Although Bonner on the floor will create a mismatch favoring the Lakers, I'll also be interested to see how the LA's bigs handle Bonner staying out on the perimeter. Best case scenario is Bonner makes Bynum work for his points and then takes advantage of that duo's lack of mobility on the other end. I'm not counting on it but it'd be nice to see.Bonner got freed up a bit in the first half. Jackson adjusted at halftime but the fact that Jackson had to adjust meant that the Bonner threat was realized.


Most likely, though, is that the Spurs will have to use the frontline of Duncan and Thomas quite often. Thomas against Bynum and Duncan against Gasol actually makes a lot of sense. The problem comes on the other end because both bigs will be able to easily collapse on Duncan with Thomas on the court. Usually Oberto would make some sense but he's been out of it for so long I wouldn't defrost him out for this game.Bonner was good enough to avoid having to rush out the Duncan/Thomas frontline :tu

Overall it looked promising matchup-wise. RMJ looked like a legit defender to put on Kobe and Bynum didn't turn into Hakeem with Bonner on him.

Encouraging.

[EricB]

Yeah Bonner did decent on Bynum.

Agreed on Duncan's D on Gasol early. I still don't understand why Duncan is not more physical with Gasol ALA 2004 in the playoffs. Then Duncan would push him around and was physical and Gasol crawled up a tad in a tiny ball.

[HarlemHeat37]

Duncan's D took him out of the game in the 2nd half though..

Duncan completely took Gasol out of his game in last year's playoffs, so I wouldn't expect any less if we met them this year..

[Manufan909]

I liked RMJ's defense on Kobe for the most part. Still has some work to do but it wasn't like when AD would guard Kobe and Kobe would just shoot over him like he was playing against his little brother. RMJ made Kobe work somewhat, which is a good sign.

RMJ guarding Kobe >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Udoka guarding Kobe

It kinda worked out that way in the first half. By the time Kobe tried to take over, Bowen was in the game. For that reason, it might make sense to keep Bowen on the bench even if the two teams meet up in the playoffs.

Pop did put Manu on Kobe. I thought Manu actually did a pretty good job. The only thing I don't like when Manu is guarding Kobe is that Manu tends to double-team off of him for some unknown reason. It's like he can't help himself. If Manu could fix that, he'd actually be pretty good at guarding Kobe.

Thank you Pop for not putting Udoka on him :tu

Hill on him was a longshot and didn't happen. Not too much of a surprise.

Couldn't really get a good feel of whether the Spurs were more physical with him. Will have to watch it again to see if they made it a point to try to always keep a body on him.

Very nice job, Pop :tu

I thought Bonner on Bynum worked out about as well as could be expected. Bynum still got his points but Bonner made him work. If Duncan wouldn't have let Gasol eat him alive early on, the strategy would have looked even better.

Bonner got freed up a bit in the first half. Jackson adjusted at halftime but the fact that Jackson had to adjust meant that the Bonner threat was realized.

Bonner was good enough to avoid having to rush out the Duncan/Thomas frontline :tu

Overall it looked promising matchup-wise. RMJ looked like a legit defender to put on Kobe and Bynum didn't turn into Hakeem with Bonner on him.

Encouraging.

Agreed. Bonner didn't stop anyone, but he made the taller Lakers big men work. 10 and 5 is nothing to sneeze at.

[Whisky Dog]

The Lakers in the 1st half got far too many open looks inside of 10 to 15ft which I think got them in a rhythm and they were red hot as a team from the perimeter. Fisher made some damn good contested shots as well. Hopefully the Spurs can defend the paint better for 48 next meeting and not let them get so damn hot.

Excellent game to watch from a fan's standpoint, but the defense for the Spurs has to be better than that. Luckily the Lakers also have serious defensive problems at times and looked horrible in P&R defense for big chunks of the game. The thing I don't like is that Ariza is able to check Parker with his length and relative quickness, I hope that doesn't continue in future matchups. All in all, marvelous game and a big time win for the Spurs. Both teams realistically can't expect to shoot much better than on this night.

[Yorae]

And if KT keep shooting hot with his jumper, there's no worry of laker's big men crowding duncan.

[timvp]

Duncan's D took him out of the game in the 2nd half though..

Duncan completely took Gasol out of his game in last year's playoffs, so I wouldn't expect any less if we met them this year..True. Which is part of the reason why Gasol tearing him up to begin the game was just odd to see. Usually Duncan is all over those slow post moves of his . . .


The Lakers in the 1st half got far too many open looks inside of 10 to 15ft which I think got them in a rhythm and they were red hot as a team from the perimeter. Fisher made some damn good contested shots as well. Yeah, the chemistry between Duncan and Bonner wasn't there early on when they were making rotations. That left the Lakers with a lot of room in the paint.

And Fisher did hit some extremely contested jumpers. Parker was right on him and he also knocked down one with Duncan in his grill.


And if KT keep shooting hot with his jumper, there's no worry of laker's big men crowding duncan.Good point. KT's jumper looks a lot softer than we saw previously. He's taking his time and calmly sinking jumpers these days. Hopefully that lasts because he'll get a lot of looks off pick-and-rolls and off double-teams down on Duncan.

[EricB]

I honestly would've liked to have seen more Duncan and KT there at the end of the game, but it worked out well.

I think the biggest help would be KT's good screens to help free up guys to get open on the offensive end, cause the offense was painfully bad there at the end.

[Yorae]

Manu should remember that KT is a pick and pop guy. I think the last time they did a p&r manu threw it away coz he thought KT is going to roll. Anyway, KT has been pretty decent in pick and pop situations.

[GSH]

When I first saw the title of this thread - "How to best defend Kobe" - I thought Johnny Cochran had started posting here.

I'm having a hard time living with the idea that Bruce Bowen isn't able to lock down the other team's best player every night. And without a second big on the floor, that "funnelling" help defense isn't there either. Like it or not, that makes this a different team defensively.

I think part of the key to defending those guys (on the court) may be working their asses off on the other end, and maybe pressing them a little more when they are bringing the ball down the court, to shorten the shot clock on them as much as possible. If George Hill can tone down the fouls just a little bit, I think he can be good on both counts. I think he'll be ready to put in some quality time on guys like Kobe before too long.

I've seen Gasol gassed at the end of games, and he definitely starts short-arming shots when he gets tired. I know it would mean giving up some points, but it might be worthwhile to put Fab in just to lean on him for 8-10 minutes. It takes a toll later in the game. A lot of heavyweight fights are won in the late rounds, for just that reason.

And finally, it would probably help to get Finley a GPS unit so he can know where the fuck he is on the court.

[Blake]

If the Spurs meet the Lakers in the playoffs again, it still all starts and ends with the health of Manu.

I will say though that both Gasol and Bynum taking it straight at Duncan and scoring is a bit disconcerting.

[mrspurs]

My prayers were answered.

[Ghost Writer]

Obviously, Bowen will spend a lot of time on Kobe. With Bowen coming off the bench, perhaps it'll work out better since Kobe typically doesn't testing the Spurs' defense until late in the halves.
Geez, timvp, it only took your 5+ years to come around to what I have been saying all along.