Western Conference 1st Round – Game 6
It is May 10, 2012 and the (3) Los Angeles Lakers are back in Colorado to closeout the (6) Denver Nuggets. The Lakers came up short in their first attempt to closeout the Nuggets, at home in Game Five, losing 102-99.
L.A. did everything wrong. It started with center Andrew Bynum stating that “closeout games are easy.” This provided fuel to the fire for a Nuggets team fighting for their playoff lives. The Lakers were under the mistaken notion that all they had to do was show up.
The Lakers got off to a slow start. They looked lethargic, got behind early and failed to show a sense of urgency or fight until the end of the fourth quarter. The worse part of the game is that they missed six free throws. Had the Lakers knocked down their free throws, this article would discussing them battling the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Semi-Final round of the playoffs rather than dealing with the Nuggets again.
Nuggets’ point guard Andre Miller and center JaVale McGee were the difference makers in game five. McGee clearly outplayed Bynum and power forward Pau Gasol with his 21-point 14-rebound performance.
Miller was also able to take advantage of his match up with either the Lakers’ Ramon Sessions and Steve Blake. This is where the Lakers their suspended player Metta World Peace’s defense. Peace is a solid defender capable of ending Miller’s size advantage that overpowers both of L.A.’s point guards. He comes out of the penalty box after game six. Lakers’ guard Kobe Bryant’s 43-point effort nearly beat the Nuggets single-handedly. His performance was his 13th career 40+ point playoff game.
Sounding more and more like a broken record, the national media is laying the loss at the doorstep of Bryant and Bynum. It has been alleged that Kobe shut out Bynum due to the latter having a total of 11 shots and Kobe putting up 32 shots – as if Bryant did not allow Bynum to play.
The truth is that the Nuggets are doing a good job of denying entry passes to the post. The Lakers’ ball movement and player movement became stagnant during the game and there were no ball reversals. Apparently, some members of the national media are expecting Bynum and Gasol to take bad shots over multiple players.
The Nuggets are double-teaming Andrew Bynum (18 points per game) and Pau Gasol (12.8 points per game), hard limiting their production and leaving Kobe to carry the bulk of the scoring load. Ramon Sessions, Matt Barnes and Steve Blake are all shooting under 40-percent from the field as well as from behind the arc. L.A. is shooting 29-percent from three-point range; Denver is shooting worse at 23-percent.
The Lakers have to find different ways and use different actions to get the ball into their big players. The Lakers are now forced to play another game at the Pepsi Center – the can, at the corner of Chopper Circle and N. Speer Boulevard – for failure to seize an excellent opportunity at the Staples Center.
There are only two positive things about the Lakers Mile-High city mulligan… the purple and gold get another chance to right a wrong and the city of Los Angeles gets another Lakers’ road game on KCAL channel 9.
Game Six will be a huge test for the Lakers. Championship teams beat closeout teams, winning on the road says a lot about the Lakers championship aspirations and this team has to prove that they can win on the road consistently in the postseason. The Lakers are in need of both offensive and defensive adjustments. They have to win the points in the paint and the second-chance points battle.
L.A. has to play with a sense of urgency, a high energy level and play defense with desire. They have to play better defensively. The Lakers have to do a good job defending the pick-and-roll play, control the tempo, get back in transition, out-rebound the Nuggets and quickly rotate out to open shooters.
It is imperative that this team limit their turnovers and get a strong contribution from everyone wearing a purple and gold jersey.
Starters
Lakers: R. Sessions, K. Bryant, D.Ebanks, P.Gasol, A. Bynum
Nuggets: T. Lawson, A. Afflalo, D. Gallinari, K. Faried, K. Koufos
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. pst
Television –
- Los Angeles: KCAL (Bill Macdonald & Stu Lantz) & TNT
- Denver: Altitude Sports & Entertainment (Chris Marlowe & Scott Hastings ) & TNT
Radio –
- Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (John Ireland & Mychal Thompson)
- Denver: KKFN AM 950 (Jerry Schemel & Mark Bertagnolli)
Injuries –
Lakers:
- Metta World Peace (League Suspension – Game 7) Out
- Matt Barnes (Sprained Right Ankle) Day-to-Day
- Devin Ebanks (Middle & Ring Finger Contusions, Left Hand) Probable
- Kobe Bryant (Gastroenteritis) Game-Time Decision
Nuggets:
- Al Harrington (Knee, Nose) Day-to-Day