Hornets Host Lakers at the Bayou

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The New Orleans Hornets return home after going 3-0 on a recent road trip, as they welcome the Los Angeles Lakers tonight to New Orleans Arena.
This is the second meeting of the campaign between the clubs. On Tuesday, Peja Stojakovic drained 10 three-pointers and ended with 36 points as the Hornets downed the Lakers, 118-104, at the Staples Center.

The Lakers have won two of their last three at the Hornets, who have won three of the last four overall contests in the series.

New Orleans plays the first of a two-game homestand. Chris Paul scored 28 points and handed out 10 assists to help the Hornets edge the Phoenix Suns, 118-113, at US Airways Center.

Stojakovic scored 23 points and Tyson Chandler finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the loss for New Orleans, which also defeated the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers on the swing.

Morris Peterson ended with 22 points, as the Hornet played without forward David West, who sat out with a bruised left hip. West is averaging 19.4 points and 9.4 rebounds this season, and is questionable for Wednesday.

The Hornets are 9-6 at home this season. They will host the Miami Heat on Friday at New Orleans Arena.

The Lakers wrap up a two-game road trip tonight. On Tuesday, Derek Fisher scored 26 points on 10-of-11 from the floor, including 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, as the Lakers led wire-to-wire in a 117-101 triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum.

Superstar Kobe Bryant contributed 25 points, six assists and five steals for the Lakers, who have won seven of their last eight contests overall. All five Laker starters were in double figures. Andrew Bynum contributed 12 points and nine rebounds, while Lamar Odom chipped in 10 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. Luke Walton totaled 10 points, while Jordan Farmar came off the bench to post 13 in the victory.

The Lakers return home to host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday and the Grizzlies on Sunday at the Staples Center. They are 9-6 as the visitor this season.</div>

Source: CW Arkansas

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Records: Lakers 22-11; Hornets 23-11
Offensive ratings: Lakers 111.8 (6th); Hornets 109.4 (11th)
Defensive ratings: Lakers 105.5 (7th); Hornets 104.1 (4th)
Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Luke Walton Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum
Hornets: Chris Paul, Mo Peterson, Peja Stojakovic, David West, Tyson Chandler

Lakers Notes: Last night was a reminder of just what a big improvement the Lakers have a point guard this year. Mike Conley is a good young guard — he was still able to get to the rack with Fisher playing five feet off him, Conley just couldn’t finish consistently — but Fisher was the savvy veteran who took him to school.

And, this was another “quiet” night from Odom where he still had 10 points and 15 boards. To me, the key is, with the emergence of Bynum and steady play out top from Fisher, the ups and downs of Odom’s game don’t impact the team as much any more.

On a different topic, Lakers.com did a big two-part interview with Mitch Kupchak, and I thought a couple comments he made deserved note:

On the bench’s struggles of late: The NBA season is ebbs & flows and NBA teams will take note of a bench that is effective and make adjustments as the season goes on. Just like a player that starts out great going to his right, the second time around they’re going to take away his right and make him go to his left. Our bench is going to have to make adjustments because they’ve made some notoriety for themselves and there will be more pressure for them to perform. Now it’s up to them to make an adjustment and continue to provide us with a boost off the bench.

On the team getting more lay-ups and fewer jumpers from their guards: I know our coach has made a point of having a so-called secondary break, which means that if there’s not an official fast-break, we do have a secondary break where he allows the players to freelance before getting into the triangle. A lot of times a player will react to the freedom of getting out and running, cutting, and being more innovative which might lead to more lay-ups.

Typically out of a set offense with the clock running down you’re probably going to end up with jump shots. A higher percentage shot would normally come in a break of secondary break situation and that is something that our coach’s worked on this year versus last year.

On Coby and Javaris: Coby’s been sent down to the D-League, incidentally that’s something that we might do with Javaris—we’ll evaluate that as the season progresses, perhaps by the end of January we’ll have a better feel.

The Hornets Coming In: They are one of the hottest teams in the NBA, and are linked in headlines nationwide with the Lakers as the “surprise” teams of the NBA this season. So what is going on in The Big Easy? We asked the guys from At The Hive:

Chris Paul has improved his shooting this season, both inside and outside the arc. The stats say he’s shooting 10% more jumpers and hitting a higher percentage of them (up to 48.5% this season). What is he doing with his game to create shots for himself?

While the numbers do indicate that he’s taking a significantly higher portion of his shots on jumpers, I really don’t think he’s been “looking” for his own shot. The reason I say that is his “assisted on” numbers for jump shots have stayed virtually constant (20% last year, 19% this year). To me, those numbers indicate he’s taking a lot more shots in the rhythm of the offense. To answer your question, Peja and Mo-Pete have done a lot to create jump shots for Paul simply by standing out on the wings.

I’d say the main reason his eFG% is up is because he’s wide open so often. Teams are saying “go ahead and knock down that 20 footer; we’re guarding the drive.”

The biggest change this year is how much improved the Hornets defense is compared to the last couple years. What is different?

I can talk all I want about how CP’s so awesome at driving, West hits jumpers, this, that. But I’d be kidding myself if I said defense isn’t the reason this team has played so well. For starters, Mo-Pete has made a very underrated contribution as a one-on-one defender since coming over from Toronto. As much as people may make fun of Peja’s defense (myself included), there’s an undeniable level of difficulty added to a shot when you’re firing over a 6’10” SF. Of course, he wouldn’t even be able to guard the a driving Manute Bol, but David West and Tyson Chandler are very physical help defenders. Quieting LeBron was a real test for this team, but they were up to the task. Of course, there will be two huge challenges this week in Kobe and D-Wade.

Last year it seemed like Chris Paul against the world, although David West was always solid. This year Peja and Tyson Chandler are healthy and contributing points. How has that changed the team on offense?

This one can be answered sort of anecdotally. The impact those guys have had can be illustrated by a single play the Hornets seem to obsessed with: the high screen and roll. In fact, I’m willing to bet the Hornets go to the high screen at least 5-6 times versus the Lakers; it’s basically become the go-to play. The unique thing about this play is that any of the five guys on the court can score. Normally, it’s set on the left wing, and Chris Paul will drive hard to his right (toward the hoop). If the center helps the point guard with Paul, he’ll throw the alley-oop. If the SF or SG come to help, Peja or Mo-Pete can get off a three. David West is usually the last option on this play. Last year, when they ran the high screen and roll, the SF and SG could cheat off their men to guard the CP drive. And of course, if nobody comes to help, Paul has a lay-up.

So Much Good Reading: Lots of good things I just wanted to link to today.

First off, Kelly Dwyer over at Yahoo asks why it’s only the bloggers that seem to talk about defense? And sure, I linked to a story that quotes me, but KD’s work there has fast made this one of my favorite stops on the NBA Web. You need to read his stuff.

The always-insightful Bethlehem Shoals posts about the NBA’s up-and-comers (including the Lakers) over at Deadspin. And another of my favorites, Harlan at Hoops Analyst, also has a good look at the NBA surprises (although he thinks the Lakers defensive turnaround has less to do with everything than I do). Hoops Analyst was one of the first NBA blogs I read, and I still read everything there.

Last Time These Two Met: It was just the fourth game of the season and it was a real stinker for the Lakers, who lost 118-104. The Lakers were all geared to stop Paul (who, as Henry at True Hoop noted yesterday, may be the fastest player from high pick to lay-up in the league), so the Lakers collapsed on him when he got in the lane. Paul kicked out to a wide open Peja Stojakovic, who hit 10 of 13 threes on the night and finished with 36. David West chipped in 22.

Keys To The Game:My thoughts watching that first game was that the Lakers needed to take the “Steve Nash” approach — make Chris Paul the shooter. Yes, he can shoot, yes, he will have a big night. But, while Paul is shooting 51.2% (eFG%) on the season that is a lower percentage than a Tyson Chandler dunk or letting Peja have open shots from three again.

The Hornets are a slower version of the Suns (NO is averaging 8 fewer possessions a game than the Lakers) — the offense is predicated on letting a great point guard create. That happens in transition screen and rolls (Chandler gets his points on that roll). David West and Peja spot up around this and hit the kick out shots. Also, Paul gets a lot of steals that leads to easy buckets the other way, Fisher and Farmar need to take care of the ball.

This is going to be a key game for Bynum and Kwame, they have to stop Paul’s penetration (no PG in the league is fast enough to do that alone) and the bigs need to do it because you can’t leave the shooters on the wings.

Also, the one big weakness for the Hornets is the bench — the Lakers bench needs to shine tonight if LA is going to get the win.

Tonight’s Game: Where Jambalaya Happens: Second game of a back-to-back on the road against a quality team that matches up well with you (quick PGs give the Lakers fits) is never a good situation. The good news is that all the Lakers starters, save Kobe, rested the fourth quarter last night.

I look for a close game this time around, the question is how much the Lakers have in the tank at the end.

Where you can watch: Game time is 5 p.m. (Pacific). In Los Angeles tune into KCAL (9).</div>

Source: ForumBlueandGold

 

The Lakers used a different look on defense last night in defending guard penetration. They were using Odom as the rotating defender every time Conley got into the paint.

Gasol would set the high pick, but instead of Fisher switching off of Conley he stayed on Conley's hip and followed him all the way to the basket. Fisher tried to angle him into the middle of the paint where Odom would come over to challenge the shot.

With Odom coming over to help out Conley didn't have a passing lane to kick the ball out and was forced to take a difficult layup, or forced to pull up early and shot a running jumpshot to avoid the double team.

This was an effective strategy and I hope they have success using it against Chris Paul tonight. The key is Odom not hesitating and coming with an aggressive rotation. If he shows to early Paul will make the read and find the open shooter, or redirect his dribble and buy time for someone to cut baseline for a backdoor layup.

In the last game Fisher was switching off on Paul defensively instead of sticking on him. This created a mismatch with Paul being defended by a taller, slower player and he went to work picking us apart defensively.

I hope Fisher can continue his hot hand tonight and the Lakers give themselves an opportunity to win this game.

Right now the Lakers are seeded to face the Hornets in the 4 v. 5 matchup. I'd prefer the Lakers have the homecourt if these two teams end up facing one another. The Lakers have to win the regular season tie-breaker by avenging the earlier loss to the Hornets.

 

Scouting Report

The Hornets are playing well. They are winning games and playing together. They compliment each other well with Chris Paul, the Western Conference Player of the Month, leading the way. They are on a roll with the only problem so far being a lack of major production from their bench. Their bench has been outscored in 11 of the last 14 games and Coach Byron Scott has commented recently on the need for their bench to step it up. Since our bench has been a major reason for our success so far this season, this will be an area to monitor to see how the game is flowing.

The Hornets want to run on makes and misses. Paul is the engine that makes this plan go with his speed but more importantly with his change of pace and speed. He will push the ball, probe the defense, pull back and explode again to the paint. We must sprint back on defense and try to build a wall to stop his penetration. Our bigs especially can act as a deterrent to him. Limiting Pauls penetration is essential to our success. We must also locate their shooters in transition so we don’t give up wide open looks. Once again, communication is key.

New Orleans doesn’t run a lot of intricate offensive sets. They used to rely on the Princeton offense now they use some of those sequences mainly out of timeouts or in deadball situations. Now, the Hornets rely on Drags (transition screen and rolls) and Double Drags (transition screen and rolls where both 4 and 5 set the screens). In the regular drag they do a great job of having Chandler sprint the floor and set the pick and roll hard. While the defense converges on the paint to stop the penetration, West trails in at the top of the key for a catch and shoot. In the “Double” Tyson Chandler does a great job of rolling to the hoop looking for the lob and David West pops looking for the 20’ jumper which he can drain. We must also be ready for multiple pick and rolls within the same possession. They often set one and if it defended well Paul will just have his big set another from a different angle. It is important that our guards do not stick to the screens like its Velcro. We need to keep playing and fighting through it. Finally, we must end our defensive possessions with strong rebounding. Chandler loves to go to the offensive boards for follow up dunks so we must not let him fire up his teammates and the crowd with one of these. We did a poor job in the loss at Staples Center in early November of tracking Peja Stojakovic and he made us pay. We need to limit his catch and shoot opportunities.

On offense we need to be mindful of the fact that in addition to what he does offensively, Chris Paul is among the league leaders in steals. We need to be strong with the ball and use our ball fakes – as they say “fake a pass to make a pass”. Like we try to do with any good offensive player, we need to make Paul expend energy on the defensive end of the floor. If he only has to play one end we may be in for a long night.

Note: West did not play in their last game after taking a hard fall the night before but they have been off since the 5th so he is expected to play.


..........
Lakers vs. Hornets - 11/06/07

Wednesday, Jan 9

New Orleans is 3-0 coming off a win at Denver on Sunday. The biggest difference in the Hornets this season is that they are healthy. They battled through injuries last season and were in the playoff picture until the last few days of the season. They are ready to compete at a high level this season. The biggest change in personnel is that they lost Desmond Mason but signed Morris Peterson (3 point threat). New Orleans likes to play at a very up-tempo fast pace. They like to get the ball in Chris Paul’s hands and let him push it up the floor and explore the opportunities. They will set a plethora of “DRAGS” (early/transition screen and rolls) at any location, any angle. When they set up a play other than a screen and roll they still like some variations of the Princeton offense. Defensively, the Hornets usually play man-to-man with Tyson Chandler providing a shot-blocking last line of defense.

Coach Byron Scott will start Paul and Mo Peterson in the back court, Peja Stojakovic (healthy again after missing most of last season – still trying to get his timing/rhythm back) and David West at forwards and Chandler at center. This starting lineup features players who complement each other well. They have the fast point guard who is capable of scoring or setting up his teammates (Paul). They have the shooters with unlimited range (Peterson/Stojakovic) who will spread the floor. The power forward who can rebound, pick and pop and hit the mid range shot (West). They also have the unselfish center who will get the occasional postup but most of his offense comes from lobs and offensive rebound putbacks.

New Orleans also has some weapons coming off their bench. Bobby Jackson provides an offensive spark and can score in bunches. Rasual Butler is a good shooter with 3 point range. Jannero Pargo is a scoring point who can come in firing also. Ryan Bowen brings in unlimited energy and hustle. Melvin Ely can give them a low post scoring threat. Julian Wright is their athletic rookie who is trying to fill the void left by the loss of Desmond Mason.

From the opening tip to the final buzzer we must be ready to defend. All five guys must get back and stop penetration while also finding shooters. Communication is crucial as we might be cross-matched in transition. By taking good shots where we have the proper floor balance and rebounding pattern we give ourselves the best chance to defend this team. A big part of the success we have had in the last two games is due to the fact that everyone who has played has contributed. This is especially true with the guys coming off our bench. The bench will once again be a key tonight.

 

I agree the Lakers are better off with Paul making two-pointers instead of watching Peja light us up again from 3 point territory.

However, if the Lakers decide to force Paul into scoring then they better make sure they are difficult shots and not uncontested layups. We need him scoring 20 points on 20 shots.

The Lakers also need to slow Paul down by making him play defense and running him into screens the entire game.

David West might not play tonight for the Hornets improving our odds.

 

I read this suggestion on how to stop Chris Paul from a member on LG. I had to share it.

Let's put Luke on him. That way CP will be so tired due to scoring 60pts before half time his defence and play making will suffer rest of the game.

LMAO

I think a key could be placing Kobe or Ariza on Peja early on and locking him down. Peja is a two-way liability for the Hornets when he's not scoring.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 9 2008, 02:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>^ lol

Anyways, I wonder how well Fisher will play today. I'm hoping he can continue to stay hot, because if he is scoring the ball, it will force Paul to play tougher defense, and hopefully tire him out later on in the game. And as for Peja, he lit us up the last time we played, knowing Phil, Peja will somehow end up being Luke's defensive assignment</div>

I think Odom was defending Peja the first time around, but kept leaving him open. Luke was getting lit up by West.

At least we have Ariza now and if Luke struggles PJax can yank him out of the game.

I hope Fisher has a hot hand again, too, but I also want to see him drive the lane and force the Hornets interior defense to scramble. This will allow Bynum and Odom to get easy putbacks or dunks.

Rudy Gay struggled against Luke last night, maybe he can get lucky again tonight. LOL.

 

Lakers = 2nd best team in the west. period.

 

Luke is still playing like shit, IMO. He misses easy inside buckets. Bench him, start Ariza!

Kwame's been playing great IMO for what he does. He really seems to thrive with that second unit. I'm loving it!