Blink Again and They May Miss Chance

It was early in the third quarter of Game 1, and the Lakers’ starting five -- Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, Devean George, Karl Malone and Shaquille O’Neal -- was dominating the San Antonio Spurs.

Thanks to great ball movement and offensive cuts, the Lakers used O’Neal’s active play inside and Bryant’s penetration to turn an eight-point deficit into a seven-point lead.

San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich struggled for answers. His starters struggled with their offensive position and were a step slow on defense.

Then the Lakers blinked. They let Tony Parker get loose to score two consecutive baskets to end the third quarter and the Spurs used that momentum to carry them into the fourth and eventually to an 88-78 victory.

Lakers’ move -- Coach Phil Jackson experimented with rookie Luke Walton at small forward and the Lakers got burned in the second quarter. Walton’s reluctance to shoot and his mistakes with the ball helped the Spurs get their transition offense going. Jackson needs to stick with George, who again had a strong offensive third period in Game 1, or use Bryant more at the position to help the offensive flow.

At times, George, Bryant and Payton jumped into lanes, preventing the Spurs’ back cuts without the ball.

The Lakers also helped Malone against Tim Duncan by playing a cat-and-mouse game with their double-teams, which gave the Spurs’ half-court offense problems.

The Lakers do not have legs to keep up with the younger Spurs and will have to take smart shots. When they forced shots and missed, the floor opened up for the Spurs, especially when some Lakers were slow getting back on defense because they were complaining to officials.

Spurs’ move -- San Antonio not only runs a variety of pick-and-roll plays, the Spurs are patient with them. It’s not unusual to see the Spurs use three on-the-ball screens in one half-court possession with such big men as Rasho Nesterovic, Robert Horry and Duncan setting picks.

In the fourth quarter, the Spurs exposed O’Neal in a series of pick-and-roll plays. In the most impressive, Nesterovic screened for Duncan, who dribbled away from Malone before making a jump shot over O’Neal, who followed his normal tendency of sagging into the lane. Popovich also picked on O’Neal when he inserted Horry at power forward and moved Duncan to center. The Spurs directed their offense against O’Neal with pick-and-roll or clear-out plays.

Something to look for -- Both the Lakers and Spurs are flawed by big men, O’Neal and Duncan, who can’t make free throws. They missed 17 of 24, far too many for quality players.

Whichever player starts making free throws will turn the series in his team’s favor. The Lakers also need to run more. The more easy baskets they can score in transition, the better.

A faster-paced offense would also help Payton, who should have plenty left to give Parker more of a challenge with his offense.