Great coaching by Lakers, great defense by Artest help pull out Game 2 win

[Erick Blasco]

I doubt many people watching this play immediately jumped up and said, "Wow great coaching by Phil Jackson!" (I didn't, I didn't even watch the game), but it's an example of a great job by LA's coaching staff of recognizing what's going on late and taking away one of OKC's pet plays late.

Ron Artest fights through the backscreen and stays attached to Kevin Durant. Durant has to come up off of a set of stagger screens, but first he has to try and get Artest off of his hip.

 

As Durant attempts to go off of the screen, look where he is standing? Ron Artest has bodied him up so hard, that Durant is now out-of-bounds when trying to come off of the stagger screens. This might not seem like a big deal, but it really is. This is because with Durant coming off the screen starting out of bounds, there is space for Ron Artest to stay attached to Durant and not even be hit with the screen.

 

After Durant clears the first screen, Artest is still attached for him. Now, this is where the Lakers’ coaching staff and scouting comes into play. Look where Pau Gasol is standing. The only reason Gasol would position himself there is because he recognizes the play, and the only way he would recognize the play is because the Lakers’ coaching staff went over it during film sessions.

 

So what about the Thunder’s second option in Jeff Green? Well Kobe knows what is going on, so he beats Green over the screen to deny him the pass, and he doesn’t let himself get caught in the Collison screen.

 

http://nbaplaybook.com/2010/04/21/the-lakers-defend-a-thunder-go-to-play-perfectly/#more-1937

[OldChili]

It was great defense, but that foul shouldn't have been called in the first place. I think we all know that Durant can make shots whether he's smothered by defenders or not.