As they did against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Los Angeles Lakers took their foot off the gas in Game 2 against the Golden State Warriors after snatching home-court back in Game 1.
The Dubs eclipsed 40 points in the second and third quarters and rolled to a 127-110 win on Thursday at the Chase Center, largely thanks to a scorching night from Klay Thompson and a tentative showing from Anthony Davis.
Steve Kerr made the first surprise chess move of the series, starting JaMychal Green in place of an under-the-weather Kevon Looney. Green scored 15 points and hit 3-of-5 from 3, which effectively opened up the floor for Golden State.
“They made their adjustments,” said LeBron James, who scored 21 points in the first quarter but only two after the break. “We knew they were going to do that. That’s what a championship team does. They held serve on their home court tonight.”
Postgame, the Lakers pledged to “be better” in Game 3. Here are a few adjustments for them to consider before Saturday night's showdown at Crypto.com Arena.
Lakers Game 3 adjustments
3) Give Austin Reaves a break
Before the series, I wondered if chasing around the Splash Bros would impact Reaves' scoring. The Lakers have relied on Reaves as their third-best scorer for months (17.8 PPG post-All-Star break).
So far, so bad. In Game 1, Reaves helped limit Thompson to 9-of-25 shooting, but he scored just 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting and looked like he ran an Iron Man after the game.
Reaves is cooked After chasing Klay all game 😂 pic.twitter.com/UDOsULtJfG
— 🦉 Lakers Vino (@VinoUncorked) May 3, 2023
In Game 2, Reaves looked like he was plodding through mud. He had 7 points on 3-of-11 shooting while Klay torched him for 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting. (Jeff Van Gundy pointed out Reaves' sluggishness more than once on the broadcast). Reaves is 7-of-20 from 3 on the series, including numerous misses short. The NBA's March Drawing Foul King has yet to attempt a free throw in this series.
I understand why Reaves drew the Thompson assignment. They're similar in size, and Austin is a tough, quality defender with an impressive motor who excels at navigating screens. But, considering the every-other-day cadence of the series, the Lakers need to find a way to save some of Reaves' juice for offense (Klay is probably going to get his, anyway). They could switch him onto Andrew Wiggins part-time, play more zone, or even use him as a sixth man.
2) Don't overplay Steph Curry
The combination of Jarred Vanderbilt and Dennis Schroder (with some Reaves sprinkled in) did a nice job harassing Curry in Game 1. Steph finished with a team-high 27 points but needed 24 shots to do it.
In Game 2, Golden State countered by putting the ball in Steph's hands early on and running more pick and rolls. To respond, the Lakers' had their bigs (usually AD) hedge Curry in order to force a pass and protect against a 3.
That's logical in theory, but Curry was quick to adapt. He consistently passed out of traffic and used his gravity to create 4-on-3 opportunities with the paint wide-open.
Steph and Dray running the pick & roll, AD is brought out of the paint, Steph sends a quick pocket pass to Draymond, Bron has to help, Dray finds JMG for an open three. pic.twitter.com/90VYDKmVmB
— 𝙒𝙤𝙠 (@goatedwok) May 5, 2023
Steph finished with 20 points (7-for-12 FG, 3-for-5 from 3) and, more importantly, 12 assists. All five Warriors' scored finished in double-figures as a result of Curry's dishing.
Steph anticipates the pass and steals it, gets doubled at the 3pt line, and finds an open Klay Thompson at the wing. pic.twitter.com/IEXNdHeZAz
— 𝙒𝙤𝙠 (@goatedwok) May 5, 2023
You have to make concessions against all-time greats. Obviously, the Lakers want to throw bodies at Steph and contest his shots. But, aggressively blitzing him and pulling AD away from the basket isn't going to work, either.
1) Feed Anthony Davis in the post
Here are AD's point totals in the playoffs, in chronological order: 22, 13, 31, 12, 31, 16, 30, 11. Notice a pattern?
Davis' scoring inconsistency has been an issue all season. Ham has frequently admitted the need for his coaching staff to find different ways to get AD the ball, as he did following Game 2.
“I thought they did a good job of crowding the paint and not allowing us, trying to prevent us from playing downhill as much,” Ham said. “That, in turn, affects what we do at the free-throw line. … We got to go back and look at ways we can move A around, put him in different spacing, different actions, just try to diversify his attack.”
Davis, for his part, was satisfied with his shot selection.
“I think they were a little more active in the pocket. They kind of clogged the paint in our pocket passes that were pretty open Game 1. … I took all the same shots I took in Game 1. I just missed them. Elbow jumpers. Pocket passes to the floater. Same exact looks. Didn’t shoot no shot that I didn’t shoot in Game 1. Just missed them. That’s all.”
Davis' shot charts look similar, but that's misleading. Anybody watching Game 2 could see that Davis — whether because of the Warriors' defense, heavy legs after 44 Game 1 minutes, or just untimely passivity — was nowhere near as aggressive in Game 2. He settled for a plethora of short jumpers and attempted merely one free throw.
The Lakers need to call more post-ups for AD, run more side pick-and-roll actions, and utilize inventive screening/cutting to get him the ball on the move below the elbow. Ham can't magically make AD voraciously attack every single play, but they can force-feed him the rock inside.
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