Effortless Won’t Do It for Lakers

In the NBA playoffs, every seven-game series is like a chess match. Because strategy is often as important as talent, the team that makes the best adjustments between games usually gains the title as NBA champion. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Philadelphia 76ers shocked the Lakers with an overtime victory, and now it is up to the defending league champions to make the right moves. A breakdown of Game 2:

LAKERS’ MOVE--Most people noted the 48 points scored by Philadelphia’s super-quick guard, Allen Iverson, as the reason the Lakers lost Wednesday, but it’s a little deeper than that. Because Iverson needed 41 field-goal attempts to get 39 of his points, the Lakers were pretty satisfied with their defense on him. The other areas of their defense failed them. If the Lakers are to turn things around tonight, they cannot allow such role players as Eric Snow (13 points), Matt Geiger (10 points) and Raja Bell (six points) to chip in the way they did in Game 1.

The Lakers made a conscious effort to deny Iverson or Aaron McKie open shots, but they let Snow, even with a fractured ankle, beat them with a key jump shot and drives in the fourth quarter and overtime.

It wasn’t as if the Lakers’ soft trap on Iverson wasn’t effective, but they have to rotate better on the rest of the 76ers, who beat them with extra passes and penetration. Many of the Lakers’ problems stemmed from not hustling to make a play on defense. Too many times the Lakers made the right initial move but not the added effort needed to stop the 76ers.

This also was a problem for the Laker offense. Against Philadelphia, nothing will come easily, and when the Lakers didn’t work hard enough, they either turned the ball over or forced a bad shot. When Shaquille O’Neal hustled to gain deep position on Philadelphia big men Dikembe Mutombo, Geiger and Todd MacCulloch, he usually scored with ease. But sometimes fatigue got to him and he ended up establishing his low post spot farther out than normal.

But the Lakers’ perimeter players didn’t always fight to get the ball inside to O’Neal. Because Philadelphia loves to play physical, on-the-ball defense, the Laker perimeter players have to go hard all of the time. They cannot quit on a play once contact is made, which is one reason they had 19 turnovers in Game 1.

PHILADELPHIA’S MOVE--Going back home for Game 3 with a split would be great, but the 76ers want to be up two games to none. In order for that to happen, the 76ers realize they can’t count on defeating the Lakers in an up-tempo game. They have to control the tempo and grind it out and that means being even more physical on both ends of the court.

One reason for Philadelphia’s success in Game 1 was the 76ers’ ability to send O’Neal to the free throw line. Unlike Sacramento and San Antonio, who seemed afraid to foul the Laker big man hard, the 76ers forced O’Neal to shoot 22 free throws and he missed 12. Coach Larry Brown’s big men combined for 12 fouls banging against O’Neal. The 76ers’ perimeter players weren’t afraid to throw their bodies around either. Their on-the-ball defense helped force the Lakers’ starting backcourt to miss 19 of 26 shots.

Look for Geiger, Jumaine Jones and Tyrone Hill to again play a major part in Philadelphia’s offense. Because the Lakers are using forwards Rick Fox and Robert Horry to help trap on Iverson, Philadelphia forwards are often left alone for jump shots. But don’t be surprised if they fake more shots and take the ball to the basket if the Lakers do a better job running out at them in their rotations. In Game 1, O’Neal was not as aggressive defensively once he picked up his third foul early in the third quarter.

OVERLOOKED--Now that the Lakers got a major taste of Philadelphia’s heart, it is their turn to show some of theirs. Over the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Lakers always seemed a step ahead with their strategic moves. But Brown has already come up with more effective in-game adjustments in one game than the Lakers have seen throughout the postseason. The 76ers are successful because they believe in Brown and it will be interesting to see if the Lakers truly believe in Coach Phil Jackson, now that their own backs are against the wall.