Western Conference Semifinals – Game Two

It is May 16, 2012 and the (3) Los Angeles Lakers are set to make the necessary adjustments and get back into the series against the (2) OKC Thunder. The Lakers looked in need of a collective B12 shot Monday night against a young, rested and well-coached Thunder team en route to a 119-90 blow out. They were tired and weary from a long, grueling seven-game series with the Denver Nuggets and were simply outplayed.

OKC had a nine-day layoff after quickly dispatching the defending-champion Dallas Mavericks in four games. Before the Lakers’-Thunder’s first game, the question of rest-versus-rust arose and afterwards, it was clear that OKC was ‘lying in wait’ for L.A.

Oklahoma’s Russell Westbrook, the 23-year old former Leuzinger High School Olympian and UCLA Bruin is a blur. Dangerous on the perimeter, this All-Star’s game has matured. Defensively, the Lakers are in need of multiple efforts on the pick-and-roll play and the guards have to fight over the screen or trap the pick and roll.

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden – as well as OKC’s hot shooting and bench scoring – were too much for the Lakers in Game One. It is easy to say that Los Angeles must control the impact of that trio , but it’s a much harder task to accomplish.

The Lakers have to put the Game One debacle behind them and correct their mistakes. Their defense on the pick-and-roll play has to improve dramatically. It is imperative that they play with more energy, control the tempo, stop the dribble penetration of the guards, get back in transition, contest shots and control the boards.

The Thunder has led the league in turnovers but, with only four in their first game against L.A., that was not a factor. The Lakers have to do a better job of pressuring the ball and getting into the passing lanes to cause turnovers. Offensively, their ball movement and player movement has to improve.

The ball has to go inside to the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. Both are in need of more touches and have to be much more aggressive when the ball gets inside. OKC is doing a good job of denying passes to the post and literally sitting in both Bynum and Gasol’s laps, daring L.A. to make perimeter shots…  something they have failed to do so with any consistency.

Los Angeles’ Ramon Sessions was non-existent in Game One and has to be more of a factor. He has to be able to attack Russell Westbrook off the dribble and get into the paint. L.A. has to make protecting the paint a team effort, with everyone getting involved. The Lakers’ reserves will have to step their game up and knock down shots.

Lakers: R. Sessions, K. Bryant, M. Peace, P. Gasol, A. Bynum

Thunder: R. Westbrook, T. Sefolosha, K. Durant, S. Ibaka, K. Perkins  

Tip-off: 6:30 pm pst

Television -

• Los Angeles: TNT
• Oklahoma City: TNT

Radio -

• Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (John Ireland & Mychal Thompson)
• Oklahoma City: 640 AM & 98.1 FM (Matt Pinto)

Injuries -

Lakers:

• Matt Barnes (Sprained Right Ankle) Probable
• Devin Ebanks (Middle & Ring Finger Contusions, Left Hand) Probable

      Thunder:

• Eric Maynor (Torn Right ACL) Out

The Host of The Locker Room Jeff Little joins Jarman to talk NBA Playoffs

Jarman Breaks Down The NBA Playoffs

Western Conference Semifinals Game 1

It is May 14, 2012 and the (3) Los Angeles Lakers are set to battle the (2) Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at Chesapeake Arena. The Lakers are facing an uphill battle dealing with a talented, young and rested OKC Thunder team. This second-round match-up is the first series in which the Lakers are the underdogs since power forward Pau Gasol came to L.A. in 2008.

The Lakers lost the season series to the Thunder (1-2) this season. Here is how both teams match up:

Tip-off: 6:30 pm PST

Television -

• Los Angeles: TNT
• Oklahoma City: TNT

Radio -

• Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (John Ireland & Mychal Thompson)
• Oklahoma City: 640 AM & 98.1 FM (Matt Pinto)

Injuries -

Lakers:

• Matt Barnes (Sprained Ankle) Probable
• Devin Ebanks (Middle & Ring Finger Contusions, Left Hand)

      Thunder:

• Kendrick Perkins (Strained Right Hip) Day-to-Day (Game-Time Decision)

Starter Match Up’s

Lakers’ PG Ramon Sessions 6’3” 190 lbs. 4^th Year, Avg.11.3 Ppg, 5.5 Ast, 3.3 Reb, 0.7 Stl.

vs.

Thunder PG Russell Westbrook 6’3” 187 lbs. 3^rd Year, Avg. 23.6 Ppg, 5.5 Ast, 4.6 Reb, 1.7 Stl.

Sessions vs. Westbrook is a match-up of two athletic veteran guards. Both bring speed and quickness, the ability to be dangerous on the pick and roll play, attacking the basket or shooting from the perimeter. Sessions will have his opportunities to penetrate the painted area to set up teammates, attack the basket or score in the mid-range game. All-Star Westbrook has taken his talent to the next level by being able to use his speed and quickness to score on the perimeter, knock down mid-range shots, attack the basket and finish with the best in the league. Slowing him down will have to be a Laker team effort. Advantage -Thunder

Lakers’ SG Kobe Bryant 6’6” 205 lbs. 16^th Year, Avg.27.8 Ppg, 4.6 Ast, 5.4 Reb, 1.2 Stl.

vs.

Thunder SG Thabo Sefolosha 6’7” 215 lbs. 5^th Year, Avg. 4.8 Ppg, 1.1 Ast, 3.0 Reb, 0.9 Stl.

Kobe vs. Sefolosha is always a good match-up to watch. Sefolosha is a solid wing defender with good size and lateral movement. He is a very good rebounder. Although known mostly for his defense, Sefolosha can score. Bryant is a devastating post-up guard who knocks down mid-range jump shots over the top of the defense and is an excellent ball handler for his size. He sees the floor and is a natural scorer who can create and finish. Advantage – Lakers

Lakers’ SF Metta World Peace 6’7” 260 lbs. 12^th Year, Avg.7.7 Ppg, 2.2 Ast, 3.4 Reb, 1.1 Stl.

vs.

Thunder SF Kevin Durant 6’9” 235 lbs. 4^th Year, Avg. 28.0 Ppg, 3.5 Ast, 8.0 Reb, 1.3 Stl.

MWP vs. Kevin Durant is another excellent match-up to watch. Metta World Peace stepped his game up, improved his shot selection, started knocking down shots and finished the season strong; raising his scoring average to 15.1 points in the last nine regular season games. He is an elite one-on-one wing defender with quick hands, superior strength and good feet.

Kevin Durant is a problem for everyone. He is a tall, long-armed scoring prodigy with an unblockable release who is deadly in transition. He has a good handle for his size and is a strong foul shooter who won the NBA scoring title – again – this year. Advantage – Thunder

Lakers’ PF Pau Gasol 7’0’ 250 lbs. 10^th Year, Avg. 17.4 Ppg, 3.7 Ast, 10.4 Reb, 1.4 Blks.

vs.

Thunder PF Serge Ibaka 6’10” 235 lbs. 2^nd Year, Avg. 9.1 Ppg, 0.4 Ast, 7.5 Reb, 3.7 Blks.

Pau Gasol and Serge Ibaka were teammates on the Spanish National team, the reigning European champions that won Eurobasket 2011. Ibaka’s game has progressed leaps and bounds in his two-year NBA career and he is destined to continue to improve. An athletic, long-armed shot-blocker, Ibaka was a key component for a Thunder team that recorded the highest blocks per game (8.2) by a team in the NBA in nearly 20 years. This power forward is the NBA leader in blocked shots.

Pau Gasol is a long, highly skilled post scorer and a dexterous, big man with range. He is a smart player that sees the floor well and can score with either hand. An excellent rebounder and shot blocker, Gasol has added the role of part-time facilitator to his bag of tricks. Advantage – Lakers

Lakers’ C Andrew Bynum 7’0” 285 lbs. 6^th Year, Avg. 18.7 Ppg, 1.4 Ast, 11.8 Reb, 1.9 Blks.

vs.

Thunder C Nazr Mohammed 6’10” 250 lbs. 13^th Year, Avg. 2.7 Ppg, 0.4 Ast, 2.7 Reb, 0.7 Blks.

Nazr Mohammed will probably start due to teammate Kendrick Perkins’ injured hip. Mohammed is a clever big man and a solid reserve with above-average footwork.  A good positional rebounder, he has uncanny ability at short-range scoring. All-Star Bynum is a dominant scorer inside, a solid rebounder, an excellent shot blocker, a good passer, a good post defender and basket protector. Advantage – Lakers

Bench

The Thunders’ bench is deep and talented and includes the reigning Sixth Man of the Year James Harden, Derek Fisher, Nick Collison and Daequan Cook. The Lakers’ bench production has been an issue all season, but Steve Blake, Jordan Hill, Matt Barnes and Devin Ebanks have done the heavy lifting and need to continue to be a factor in this series. Advantage – Thunder

Predication: Thunder in Six

The outcome of this series is not a forgone conclusion. The Lakers have a puncher’s chance. They have to control the tempo, control the glass, do a solid job of defending the pick-and-roll play, stop the dribble penetration of the guards, get back in transition and protect the paint.

Jarman discusses The NBA Playoffs

Western Conference 1^st Round – Game 7

It’s May 12, 2012 and the (3) Los Angeles Lakers find themselves with one last chance to end their series with the (6) Denver Nuggets. The hope in L.A. is that the Lakers have learned their lesson from failing to beat the Nuggets at home, with a three games to one advantage and momentum on their side.

The Lakers’ failure to make adjustments and close the game gave the Nuggets a new lease on life and turned what should have been a task completed into a seven-game series. The purple and gold got behind early for the second consecutive game and came back to get the game within reach at halftime, only to allow the Nuggets to extend their lead and push said lead back into double-digits en route to an embarrassing 113-96 loss.

After getting literally run off the floor, it is imperative that the Lakers rely on aggressiveness, energy and owning every possession if they are going to end this series.   They are facing a 48-minute season and need to play accordingly.

Los Angeles has to play hard and prove that they want it more than Denver. Metta World Peace’s defense will make a huge difference for L.A. His presence will prevent the Nuggets from posting up teammates Ramon Sessions and Steve Blake as an example.

The Lakers need to make the following adjustments: 1) Laker guards have to stop getting into mismatches on the pick and roll play where a smaller player is defending a larger player; 2) Laker guards have to fight over the screen; 3) Laker perimeter defenders have to keep the Nuggets from attacking the painted area; and 4) Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol must be physical, aggressive and attack the glass and the basket.

In order for L.A.’s season to continue, the purple and gold have to play hard, play with energy and finally get off to a fast start. They have to play with a sense of urgency, execute on offense and play with passion on every possession. Los Angeles must use solid ball movement, good player movement, get into a flow offensively, use proper spacing and knock down shots . Solid ball movement and proper spacing are big for this team and they need ball reversals to move the ball from the strong side to the weak side to find a high percentage shots.

The Lakers have to control the tempo, do a solid job of defending the pick-and-roll play, stop the penetration of the guards, get back in transition and quickly rotate out to open shooters. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol have to be a huge factor in this game on both sides of the court and both have to do a better job of protecting the paint.

Starters
Lakers: R. Sessions, K. Bryant, M. Peace, P.Gasol, A. Bynum
Nuggets: T. Lawson, A. Afflalo, D. Gallinari, K. Faried, K. Koufos 

Tip-off: 7:30 pm pst

Television -

• Los Angeles: FS West (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:

• Matt Barnes (Sprained Right Ankle) Day-to-Day
• Devin Ebanks (Middle & Ring Finger Contusions, Left Hand) Probable

Nuggets:

• Al Harrington (Knee) Day-to-Day

Western Conference 1^st 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 13^th 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

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