Rethinking DeJuan Blair vs. the Lakers

[mingus]

LA was playing low iq ball. Pau, Bynum, Odom will be established more next time, and the Spurs will get burned by going small.

[mystargtr34]

While I'm exstatic with the victory... I thought the Lakers didn't play like the real Lakers at all... Not the playoff Lakers of the past two seasons anyway. They went away from Pau for long stretches and when Kobe is in 2005 chucking mode they pretty much become a slightly better version of those Lakers. When the playoffs come around I don't think you will see that Kobe.. If PJ has managed to reel him in the past two seasons and play thr team game ... He will do it again. Both he and Kobe know what's won the rings .. And that's feeding and running the majorityk the offense through Pau.

Having said that .. Blair did an excellent job of fronting and using his speed to deflect entry passes .. But it seemed as though when Splitter came in (also when Kobe went out)... The Lakersmade a more concerted effort to feed he post and they had a little by of success.

Once the playoffs come around .. And the Lakers and especially Kobe go back to doing what won the two ships ... The Gasol and Bynum combo will go back to being a big matchup advantage for the Lakers .. And I think the Spurs will need the length of Splitter since they will obviosily adjust to what Blair was doing.

[Capt Bringdown]

LA was playing low iq ball. Pau, Bynum, Odom will be established more next time, and the Spurs will get burned by going small.

Agreed. On a night when someone named Shannon Brown took 11 shots in addition to Kobe's ejaculations, you know the Lakers were not playing their strongest hand.

Looking at the Lakers 1st half against the Hornets tonight, it looks like they've settled down and are getting the ball to their bigs.

No, I don't think a 6/5 "center" is the solution against the Lakers imposing front line. That's not to slight Blair's wonderful performance last night. Don't you wish he could do that on a more consistent basis? It'd be nice, but there's not really a history of effective 6/5 centers in modern basketball. Can't think of any, save for the 6/7 Wes Unseld who belonged to a different era.

Gimmicks can work during the regular season, but they inevitably get exposed and exploited in the playoffs.

[remingtonbo2001]

Blair must work on being patient and staying out of foul trouble.

[Capt Bringdown]

Vs the Hornets: Odom with 24, Bynum 18 and Gasol 11 and 12 boards.
21 for 32 collectively. Looks like the Lakers got the message tonight.
That's how you get away with having a stiff like Derek Fisher as your starting PG.

If Bynum stays healthy, jeez.

[Darkwaters]

The Hornets also suck right now. Despite their winning record, this just looks like the Lakers beating up on inferior compe ion yet again. Even with the win against the Hornets the Lakers are still only 2-5 against teams with winning records. The sample size for them against teams of any quality is minute. I think the Spurs just overwhelmed them as they weren't used to teams with nearly that amount of potential.

[TD 21]

LA was playing low iq ball. Pau, Bynum, Odom will be established more next time, and the Spurs will get burned by going small.

I agree to an extent. The next regular season match-up, I fully expect them to play through their bigs more. But in a playoff series, it's a different story. Bryant wants to win, but only on his terms. Unfortunately for him and by extension the Lakers, he's yet to come to terms with the fact that he's past his prime and is no longer able to summon 40 point games on cue. He's refusing to age gracefully, like guys like Duncan and Garnett. Granted, they're big men and were never selfish gunners, so it was an easier transition for them, but still. They didn't fight aging and declining, they adapted to it.

The Lakers need to play through their bigs in order to beat the Spurs in a series. I'm not sure he'll allow for it, though. What happens if, after 2 games, Gasol is getting heaps of credit and being recognized as their best player in the series? He can't handle that. He proved it last year in the Finals (game 3 in particular). He risked losing it all, in a desperate and risky attempt to win it his way. They won because, in the end, the Celtics flat out ran out of gas. They may have even with Perkins, but without him, it was inevitable. It didn't hurt that the Lakers also got every call in the 4th quarter of game 7, either. If he pulls that against the Spurs this year (and based on his history, there's no reason to think he won't), they will lose the series.

But, to answer timvp's question, I don't think there is a definitive way the Spurs have to match-up with the Lakers in order to beat them when it counts. We need to see more regular season match-ups to get a better idea. I still think McDyess and Splitter have to be huge, but maybe they don't have to be quite as huge as I had previously assumed. Maybe there is a role for Blair and maybe the answer isn't a tight nine man rotation, but rather an eleven man one, where they overwhelm the Lakers with depth, young legs and energy.

[Doctor J]

When the Spurs drafted Blair, I actually thought that he would do quite well against the Lakers, because Houston's Chuck Hayes gave the Lakers big men a tough time in the 2009 playoffs. In fact, the series was extended to the 7th final game.

Since Blair's physics, height and body and play style resemble those of Chuch Hayes, I thought this would work out in some mysterious ways.

[naico]

Blair, defending the way he did and having succes in that area is mostly thanks to good team defense. The guards put a lot of pressure in and outside and a guy like Blair who is quick, strong and has good hands can benefit from that. So yes, it could work, but only if the team defends the way it did on Tuesday. If not, then Bynum, Gasol..are still no match for him and will exploit the difference in height.

[igruex]

Last year, the Lakers gobbled up Blair's shot attempts around the basket. This year, he's better able to score from a few feet away from the rim, which seems to have made a big difference. The Lakers length isn't as intimidating for Blair if he can consistently hit floaters and other touch shots in the lane.

Has Blair improved his scoring range this year or it was just a game? That's what we need to know before measuring his potential against the Lakers.

[ALVAREZ6]

Too early to tell, it was only one game. I'm sure the Lakers can think of ways to get their bigs the ball in the post against Blair if they really wanted to, like in a playoff series.

[Mark in Austin]

One other thing to consider is how other players are playing around Blair. If the ball is moving around a lot on offense it helps Blair. If the offense stagnates / defenses are able to set up I think it exposes his height.

In addition, if shooters are hitting shots it opens things up for him. Specifically, I think Bonner is a key. Parker is the default Spur that I think most people would say would be helped the most by Bonner hitting his shots (Phil loves to pack the paint to counter Parker's penetration). But packing the paint also works against Blair due to his height - more shot blockers are a real problem for him. In the LA game Blair and Bonner were on the floor together for about 11 minutes. When Bonner is hitting his shots with enough frequency that defenders have to honor him (no guarantee this will happen in the playoffs) it gives Blair, like Parker, more room to operate in the paint.

Even if Bonner folds under pressure, if Neal, Anderson, Hill, and Manu are hitting from distance and the ball is moving on offense I think it gives Blair the best opportunity to be a difference maker.

[mingus]

I think it's clear though that TP, Manu, RJ, Hill, Neal, and potentially JA is deeper than anything LA can put out at those positions. That's a lot of firepower. Where LA has us beat is in the frontcourt. They're too very differently structured teams in that regard.

[mingus]

I always go with size though and that's why I think ultimately unless Splitter is able to provide a sort of Kendric Perkins precense that the Spurs will lose.

[rmt]

I always go with size though and that's why I think ultimately unless Splitter is able to provide a sort of Kendric Perkins precense that the Spurs will lose.

Size and length will control rebounding and the paint where higher percentage shots are taken. 3pters and jumpshots are going to suffer under the pressure of the playoffs. I'm skeptical that Bonner, RJ and Hill's 3pt percentage will hold up. Manu's is streaky. Only Neal seems like he's a pure/natural 3pter.

Hope Pop doesn't place too much importance on this last game and continues to play Splitter so they'll have different options come playoff time.

Seems Pop is going with speed, depth and fresh legs in hopes of wearing them down. It's sad to see TD so ineffective against the size and length of Gasol/Bynum. Hopefully, he can just concentrate on defense and try to contain Gasol. Spurs have no answer for Bynum although Splitter seemed like he held ground against him. Just try not to let him get position else foul him.

Pray that Kobe goes into his chucking mode.