The Los Angeles Lakers’ 102-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers was an embarrassing defeat that revealed all of LA’s major flaws; many of them were the same flaws that doomed their quest to win a championship in 2007-2008.
-The Lakers' interior rotations were soft or non-existent. It appeared as if Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum were scared of Shaquille O’Neal’s and LeBron James’ boulder-crushing strength.
-That Bynum was lost and confused on defense—offering no resistance on off-ball screens, late in his help assignments, gambling and missing entry passes—is simply par for the course for the mistake-prone youngster. However, Gasol played defense like a timid rookie, a characteristic not seen since the Lakers’ humbling Finals defeat to the Celtics two postseasons ago.
-Bynum (2-5 FG, 4 points and Gasol 4-11 FG, 11 points) were visibly bothered by the Cavs’ size and length upfront. Without the overall length advantage the Lakers normally have, Bynum and Gasol were pushed around under the hoop, and Gasol couldn’t find the range on his jumper.
-Kobe Bryant forced a number of shots and passes and couldn’t find easy basket ...
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Article written by Erick Blasco
Los Angeles Lakers Breakdown: Massacre Exposes Lakers’ Ugliest Warts
December 25th, 2009 by Erick Blasco Leave a reply »
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