The Lakers Strike Back and Even the Series by Beating the Blazers 111-88

 

Now that's how you dominate a game.

That's how you come out and play when you are the number 1 seed in the playoffs, and your opponent is the 8th seed.

That's how you come out and smother an opponent with suffocating defense.

That's how you make a statement if your end goal is to nab the hardware that only one team will bring home.

The Lakers, from beginning till end, dominated the talented, but shell-shocked Portland Trailblazers, leading by 33 points at one point during game 2 of their best of 7 game series. The Lakers played like champions and helped eradicate that rock-in-the-gut feeling we fans had after their failure to show up in game 1. 

LeBron James & Anthony Davis set the tone early on

 

The difference from Tuesday's game?

*The Lakers shot the ball better than the Blazers: from the floor, from the three point line, and from the charity stripe. Portland needed a map to find their way to the hoop. Meanwhile the streaking Lakers built a double digit lead soon after the start of the 3rd quarter.

 

*They out-rebounded the Blazers, and muscled Portland as they saw fit. The team used their strengths to their advantage, and denied the Blazers the chance to use theirs. They went out and GOT the game; they didn't wait until the game came to them.

 

*They played excellent team defense, especially against Damian Lillard. Lillard was a shadow of the player who dominated game 1 on Tuesday. His 6 made field goals were the result of a herculean effort to get any open looks. The Lakers aggressively picked him up full-court, and constantly double-teamed him off of screens. The defense applied by the Lakers guards gave Lillard very little opportunity to get going, but he wasn't the only Blazer to fall victim to the Lakers defensive efforts. 

Danny Green and the Lakers smothered Lillard

 

Carmelo Anthony finished just 1 for 6 from the floor, Jusuf Nurkic shot a below par 4 for 10, and C.J. McCollum, their best shooter beside Lillard, finished 6 for 16. The Lake Show played great team defense, and held a juggernaut offense, that had been averaging 123 point for the last 11 games, to 88 points. The Blazers shot a cold 40% from the floor. It would have been lower if it hadn't been for their scrubs raising their percentage by making a few shots in garbage time.

Portland's Offense Sputtered Under the Relentless Lakers Defense

 

*The stars came to play. Anthony Davis and Lebron James dominated the ball, and imposed their will on the Blazers. James did a little bit of everything, and dominated with a solid overall performance. AD did a great job getting quality looks around the basket, while using his size and athleticism against helpless Portland defenders.  He specifically did three things better tonight:

 

-He attacked the hoop with ferocity, both on and off the ball, grabbing weak side rebounds, and snagging easy put backs against the Portland bigs.

Anthony Davis was too much for the Blazers front court

-He didn't settle for jumpers, and scored many of his points inside the paint. Only after he established himself as an inside terror did he step out to shoot some jumpers. His 3 point shooting was on tonight as he knocked down 3 of 4 from deep.

 

-He didn't hesitate to be aggressive. Davis may have put up decent numbers in game 1, but his overall performance left fans pining for more. They got it tonight.  AD became the first Lakers player to put up 30 points in under 30 minutes (last accomplished by The Captain, Mr. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, back in the 1980's). 

 

*Other players stepped up. A miserable showing by the Lakers backcourt in game 1 is a distance memory after tonight's performance. KCP came out of the gate firing, knocking down his first two threes. He eventually would make 4 from beyond the arc, and finished with 16 points. You could see his confidence building with every shot. He also played solid defensive against Lillard, giving him very little room to operate.

KCP after one of his 4 three pointers

Danny Green, Anthony Caruso and Markieff Morris did their best by tirelessly harassing Lillard and McCollum into shooting a combined 12 from 30 from the field.

 

Javale McGee made some noise in his short 13 minute stint. He finished with 10 points, 8 boards, and 3 assists, and effectively banged down low against Portland's front court.

 

No other player's stats really jumped out from the box score, but it was a great team effort nonetheless. 

JR Smith scored 11 points in his Lakers Playoff Debut

*Another telling stat: the Blazers finished with only 14 assists, and it was plain to see why: the Los Angeles defense was stifling. The solid team offense the Blazers displayed in game 1, devolved into a mess of questionable shot selections, wide-open missed shots by not-so confident shooters, and far too much one on one basketball.

 

This was a great statement game by the Lakers. But just like the first contest on Tuesday, it's just one game. The series is tied at one game apiece, and you can bet good money, bent finger and all, that Lillard will find a way to will his team to be competitive Saturday against the purple and gold.

Lillard suffered a dislocated finger colliding with Anthony Davis's shoe

The Lakers played and looked like Champions tonight. Let's hope they can do this 15 more times before it's all said and done.

 

The Lakers, in Their 1st Playoffs Game in 7 Years, Lose to the 8th Seeded Blazers 100-93

 

"When you're the favorite team, you have to come out against the smaller teams and dominate in the early rounds of the playoffs." (sic). 

 

That was, more or less, Shaquille O' Neal's pre-game quote before the game 1 of the Lakers/Blazers game tonight. One of the most dominant players in NBA history, with four rings and six NBA Finals appearances to his credit, was calling out everyone on the Lakers with the possible exception of LeBron James. It's the playoffs: time to step up; time to dominate. Time to live up to the billing, and time to start earning the pay the Lakers franchise gave you to attain banner #17.

But the Lakers came out flat. They got out of the gate against the hungry, something-to-prove Blazers, like they were still dreaming in the beds in their fancy bubble hotel rooms. It's time to wake up. I don't think they were cocky prior to the series, but if they were, this 100 to 93 loss should humble them somewhat.

 

Here are some quick thoughts about tonight's game:

-LeBron was solid, but the main advantage we have is that no one can guard James (or AD), especially down low in the post. Shooting stats for LeBron? 1 for 5 from 3 point land, 8 for 15 otherwise. His 17 rebounds and 16 assists were great, but a loss is a loss. I know father time has caught up with LeBron a bit, but I'd rather see him a little more aggressive, especially in the 4th quarter.

 

-Anthony Davis went to the free throw line 17 times (but only made 12 of them), and he grabbed 11 boards. Fine. But am I the only one who's waiting for this kid to step up and take his toughness level up another notch? Oh there were flashes of what he could be, but Davis has already stated he doesn't want to play the 5 position. However, when it comes to the playoffs, you gotta leave it all on the floor, and do what's best for the team.

 

I don't like seeing him camped out on the three point line. There aren't many players as big and quick as he is. Chris Webber made a good point during the TNT broadcast tonight (or was it Stu Lantz on Spectrum?): when Davis gets the ball, he needs to strike quick and be aggressive getting his shot. He can't wait for the double team. Especially when LeBron is on the bench. 

 

-Kyle Kuzma did about everything he could tonight. I really liked his aggressive attitude.  Not bad for a player who has been roasted over the coals by fans and media for not being the reliable 3rd guy the Lakers need. He had 14 points and 8 boards off the bench, and played some decent defense. It was a solid performance for a player with no playoff experience.

-The bench, minus two key guards in Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo, played decent. Dwight Howard has to keep his anger an ego in check, and Caruso needs to grow up a little faster. Other than thought, I didn't think they played that bad.

-It's just one game, but Danny Green and KCP need to be a little more productive as our starting guards (4 for 21 from the floor, 2 for 13 from beyond the arc).

 

-In the playoffs, and during crunch time, for my money, I want the stars shooting the ball most of the time. LeBron was aggressive, but in the 4th quarter, during money-ball time, I though he passed up on too many key opportunities. Other than Anthony Davis, he should be only passing to the other players out of a double-team, or if they are wide open. 

 

-Davis's shot selections: Offensively I compare him, somewhat to Hakeem Olajuwon. A big man with decent ball skills (probably better handles than Hakeem) with good speed, and great moves. If he gets the ball down low, or within 15 feet of the basket, neither Nurkic or Whiteside have a chance of stopping him. And if the double team comes, the team has to do better than 5 for 32 from three point range.

-The 1st and 4th quarters: the Blazers outscored the Lake Show in both of these key quarters. They were outscored by 16 points in the the 2 quarters combined. You don't win championships starting off slow and finishing the same way.

 

-Typically when you out rebound, out assist, out steal, and have 18 more shots than your opposition, it's a good bet you're going to win the game. Unfortunately that wasn't the case for the Lakers.

All that being said, it's just game one.

We, the card-carrying members of the Lakers fandom, have been here before. In the first game of the 1985 NBA Finals, the Celtics beat the Lakers by 34 points. This on the heels of the Lakers losing to the Celtics in 7 games in the 1984 Finals. However the Lakers persevered and beat Boston in six games.

 

It's still early in the playoffs, and early in this series. It's the best out of seven, not the best out of one.

A few of the veterans have been here before: James, Green, and Javale McGee. Even Howard has been to the Finals. They have weathered the storms, and the Damian Lillard's of the world.

 

For the newbie's, including Davis (only 14 playoff games to his credit), it's time to step it up. You don't earn the best record in the West, and then fall flat in the playoffs

I do have one last criticism, and it's for the coaching staff: go to your strengths. The three point line has not been a consistent strength for us all year. Draw up some schemes to get the ball to your best players on the best spots on the floor. If those two guys are draining shots, and the double teams force them to pass the ball, our other players should get more wide open looks.

 

I expect  the Lakers to come out with a better game plan in game 2, and more realistic point of view as to this series. There's a reason that no one in the West wanted to face a now full-strength Portland team in the first round: they can be spoilers.

This series is going to be a dog fight. I expect the Lakers to adjust accordingly.