We are going to quickly breakdown 3 possessions, and for a change, instead of the offensive end, we are going to look at the defensive end.  There were a few key defensive mistakes made late by both teams.

The Lakers’ Mistake(s)

Poor Double Down

When Shaq gets the ball down low, he is going to have the size advantage over just about every center in the NBA.  This means that you are going to have to double-down on Shaq to keep him from just backing down his defender.

As Shaq makes the catch, everyone freezes.  There is no immediate double-team because most teams like to double on the first dribble.  When you double as a center dribbles, you have a better opportunity to steal the ball.  Plus, it is harder for centers to pass off the dribble rather than passing on the standstill.  So everything is done right so far.

Shaq’s a veteran, so he knows that the double is going to come on the dribble (and he probably knows where it is coming from too).  So he quickly takes one dribble to get in position and spins baseline.  Derek Fisher takes a quick step towards him, but when he turns baseline, he returns to Anthony Parker.  That is where the mistake is made in my opinion.  If you are the double man (and I am pretty sure Fisher is), you need to double hard, the rotations are designed around the double, and your teammates have your back if Shaq does in fact pass it.

Shaq pump fakes and spins inside.  Shaq has a lane for the spin, because Fisher backed out of his double team.  If Derek Fisher was doubling on Shaq, he wouldn’t have the space to spin and get to the basket.

But instead, Shaq is able to get to the rim and finish with the basket.

The Cavs’ Mistake(s)

Late in the game, the Cavs made a bunch of mistakes that could have cost them the game.  They were up by 7 and pulling away, but a few defensive mistakes allowed the Lakers to tie the game up.

Not Boxing Out

The mistake was a lack of box out.  When you watch this play live, it looks like just a lucky bounce for the Lakers, but a poor box out is what allowed for the ball to bounce to Ron Artest:

As Kobe takes the turnaround, the Cavs seem to be in good position to grab the rebound.  They have 4 guys inside the paint, the problem is they are all looking at the basketball and not boxing out.  This allows for Lamar Odom to slip inside and get position.

His inside position is what allows for him to get his hands on the basketball, and the deflection bounces out to Ron Artest.

Artest makes the catch and drills the three, cutting the lead to 4.

Poor Pick And Roll Defense

It is under the two-minute mark so the Hack-A-Shaq tactic can’t be executed, and Shaq returns to the game.  Right after he returns though, the Lakers attack him, going to the pick and roll with Shaq’s man Pau Gasol setting the pick.  Here is Henry Abbott’s take on Shaq and the pick and roll:

Then the Lakers ran a high pick-and-roll with Pau Gasol setting a high screen for Bryant. The brilliant part of this is that the guy guarding Gasol is charged with slowing Bryant so Delonte West could catch up. That guy was … Shaquille O’Neal. There are a lot of things O’Neal can’t do anymore. One of them is slow someone like Bryant on the perimeter.

I totally agree with this, which is why the other Cavs defenders need to help Shaq out by doing things properly.

Here, Delonte West doesn’t.  As Bryant goes around the screen, West goes under it.  Team’s usually go under the screen when they have a mobile big man or a poor shooter using the pick.  None of that is the case here.

Kobe pulls up and with Shaq worried about the drive, he is unable to close-out on a jumper.  This gives Kobe a wide open shot.  If West went over the screen trying to stay attached to Kobe, he would have done two things.  One, he would have forced Kobe to drive, and Shaq is better equipped to handle Kobe on the inside instead of the perimeter.  Also, if West was chasing Kobe over the screen, he would have the opportunity to alter the shot from behind.

Instead, Kobe is able to knock down the jumper and tie the game.

The Cavs have only lost 11 times so far this year in 43 total games, but there is a trend that is starting to develop when you look at who the Cavs have lost to.  The Cavs really seem to struggle on the defensive when there is a shooter in the frontcourt.  It doesn’t really matter if it is the PF or the C who can shoot because Anderson Varejao ends up covering them either way.  The Cavs like to put Shaq/Big Z on the less active frontcourt player (for example they were matched up against Bosh when they played Toronto), with Varejao covering the outside shooting threat.  Let’s look at 4 examples:

• 10/28 Loss To Toronto – Andrea Bargnani – 23 points on 11-15 shooting.
• 12/20 Loss To Dallas – Tim Thomas – 22 points on 7-14 shooting (only one of which was in the paint).
• 1/14 Loss To Utah – Boozer/Okur – 32 points on 10-28 shooting
• 1/20 Win vs. Toronto – Andrea Bargnani – 19 points on 7-15 shooting.

So why are stretch the court/shooting big men so successful against Cleveland?  Because Varejao is so active on the defensive end, he tends to over-commit, leaving slight openings where shooters can take advantage.  Here is an example:

Here the Raptors are running a play where there point guard, Jose Calderon, has an two screens to run off of.  Calderon picks Chris Bosh to be his screener, and Big Z is hedging out.

Because Big Z is one of the slower big men in the NBA, Varejao slouches down to help out on Chris Bosh’s roll.

As Varejao slouches, Bargnani spots up at the three point line.  He has a good 15-20 foot cushion.

Bargnani makes the catch with Varejao closing out, but Bargnani is so tall Varejao’s hand doesn’t effect the shot, which is knocked down.  Check it out in real time:

By my count there was only 1 game in the NBA last night (yes, I know that the Pacers and Heat played each other, but the final score of that game means it doesn’t count), and it was a pretty good one.  We are going to breakdown a good amount of possessions from the Cavs and show you a number of ways they manage to get LeBron the basketball.  Here we go:

Getting Shaq Involved

I noticed this when I did my opponent breakdown for the Nets vs. Cavs match-up a while back.  When the game starts or whenever Shaq enters the game, the Cavs love to feed him the ball, get him some touches, keep him happy, and go from there.

The Cavs are coming off of a Cavs miss, and they quickly get it into LeBron’s hands.  That is a smart decision.  He is such a threat with the basketball and such a good decision maker that you want the ball in his hands as much as possible, especially on the break.  Notice Shaq busting it down the court.  This is because it is early in the game and he knows the Cavs are going to go out of the way to get him the basketball.

As LeBron pulls up, Shaq pins Chris Bosh right on his back.  The only way that the Raptors are going to be able to stop this is if one of the two defenders eying LeBron drops off.

This doesn’t happen though, and both of the defenders close out on LeBron as he rises up to shoot.  At the last second though, LeBron decides to pass it to Shaq who has fantastic position.

After making the catch, Shaq has deep position with Chris Bosh trying to body him up.  Who do you think is going to win this battle?

Yup, Shaq.

What Makes LeBron So Good

What makes LeBron great is not only the ability to pass, but the willingness to pass.

Here, LeBron is attacking the middle of a quick screen from Anderson Varejao.  Everyone is in proper help defense right now, but the man to focus on for the Raptors is Jarrett Jack.  This is the guy the Cavs are isolating on this play.

As LeBron starts his drive, Jack knows that Mo Williams is wide open.  Why?  Because he left him to help on the LeBron drive.  Right now, the Raptors have three guys basically covering LeBron.  This is where LeBron being a willing passer comes into play.  Teams can’t load up on him like this, because if they do…

LeBron just finds the open person.  In this case it is Mo Williams.  Another reason that LeBron is great?  He can hang in the air for such a long time.  You are convinced he is going up with the ball because he hanging on with it for so long you think he is going up.  But at that last second, he will pass it.

Mo Williams makes the catch and he is wide open and he knocks down the three.

Getting LeBron Touches

LeBron James can get his own shot whenever he wants, he is that good.  There are times though where he gets a little shot happy.  Normally you don’t mind because he is still hitting these bad shots, but when he isn’t the Cleveland staff does a great job of getting James the ball going to the basket.  You will notice that all of these end with a LeBron dunk.  This also gets the crowd going.

Pick & Roll As A Decoy

The first way they get LeBron going to the basket is by running the pick and roll away from him.  Since he is standing 30 feet away from the basket, opposing teams think that he won’t be involved in the play.

As the pick and roll gets set and run, LeBron is still hanging out 30 feet away.  This is key, because there are some plays where he actually stays there the entire set.  I think they do it in part to set this kind of stuff up later in the game.

The Raptors switch the screen and Mo Williams drives the baseline.  As this happens, the defense starts to focus on Williams.  With that happening, Big Z is now allowed to sneak up on LeBron’s man and set a backscreen without nobody noticing.

The screen gets set, and LeBron is now going fullscreen to the basket without anybody looking at him.  You have arguably the best player in the NBA, not being covered with the defense focusing on somebody else.  This is incredible, and such great playcalling.

LeBron makes the catch and finishes strong with the dunk.  Here it is in real time:

Lobbing To LeBron

Here is the next one.  This is another quick hitter that ends with LeBron getting the lob.

As Mo Williams dribbles out to the wing, LeBron cuts in front of him with Anderson Varejao setting the backscreen.  Anthony Parker is a three point shooter, so the defense needs to stick with him.

As the backscreen gets set, J.J. Hickson clears to the wing.  This is where the Raptors messed up.  Hickson’s man follows him instead of staying in help position to help defend the lob.  Bargnani realizes it and tries to back up into the lane, but it is too late.  LeBron has a ton of free space to make his catch.

LeBron makes the catch and finishes strong with the dunk.  Here it is in real time:

LeBron Moving Without The Ball

Here, the ball gets dumped into Shaq, and Mo Williams and LeBron switch positions.  The Cavs just ran this and hit Mo Williams for a three pointer, so the Raptors are naturally going to hedge to that.

As LeBron finishes his cut, instead of going to the top of the key, he quickly cuts to the inside.

Shaq dumps the ball to LeBron.  Bargnani is too close to Shaq (because he is trying to body him up and not let him get an easy basket in the post), so he is in no position to help, and once again, the lane is wide open for one of the best players in the NBA.

LeBron finishes strong with the slam.  Here it is in real time:

There were a ton of great plays from this game (LeBron’s three off the missed free throw, LeBron’s 30 foot fade away three, Kyle Korver’s over the basket shot, and finally Sundiata Gaines’ three pointer for the win), but there wasn’t really anything to “breakdown” so to speak.  So today, I am just going to talk about a few things in bullet form.

• The first thing that I noticed (and liked) was the Jazz fouling so early.  After a Ronnie Price 3 cut the lead to 3, the Jazz fouled with 28 seconds left.  The TNT guys didn’t like it, but I love that decision.  You have to think, LeBron was in full LeBron mode, hitting shots that he has no business making.  So what is the point in letting the Cavs run down the clock and having him knock down a shot as the shot clock runs down?  That would have meant they were down by 5 with 4 seconds left.  No way could they have won the game then.  Fouling extends the game, and if the Cavs miss free-throws (which they did), the Jazz could find themselves with a chance to win or tie, and that is exactly what happened.
• During the final 28 seconds, LeBron was the one inbounding the ball.  Why?  He is the team’s best player and a pretty big target.  He would give the inbounder a nice option, plus, I would rather live with LeBron missing free throws than with Anthony Parker missing them.

And just because this was so awesome it gave me goosebumps:

Every morning (or late-afternoon), I am going to breakdown the some key possessions from the previous night’s games.  Good possessions/bad possessions you can find them all here.

Last night there were two close games, both ending with the losing team having a chance to tie the game with a 3.  Both teams ended up with a tough look from the corner.

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