It’s April 18, 2012 and the (39-23) Los Angeles Lakers are in the East Bay – Oakland, California – to face the (22-38) Golden State Warriors. Last night, the Lakers did not match the intensity of their opponent and were broken in half by the San Antonio Spurs 112-91. It was their worst loss of the season.

That defeat, which was the sixth game the Lakers have played without shooting guard Kobe Bryant and the second against the Spurs in six days, was made possible by some outstanding adjustments made by San Antonio. The Lakers have had impressive wins over the Spurs, the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks; without their best player. However, this last loss puts to bed the most ridiculous argument in the history of ridiculous arguments:  that L.A. is better off playing without Bryant.

After an embarrassing loss to the Lakers at home last Wednesday (April 11), the Spurs wanted to return the favor last night.

San Antonio made the required adjustments. Their game plan was to increase the tempo, double-team Lakers’ center Andrew Bynum and power forward Pau Gasol hard, cut off the passing lanes to all inside passes and get into transition as fast as possible. This caused the Lakers’ big players to run while trailing the action, unable to protect the rim.

The Lakers are the team that has to make the adjustments. These teams – L.A. and San Antonio – will meet again on Friday April 20 and the Lakers will have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and playing defense without fouling.

Tonight’s game against Golden State is a trap game for the Lakers. To avoid falling into that trap, L.A. cannot look past the Warriors. The purple and gold have to adjust to how the Spurs defended them on Tuesday, work on those adjustments tonight and put those changes on display this Friday night.

The Lakers’ ball movement, player movement, outside shooting, offensive rebounding, turnovers and limiting their opponent’s second-chance points has to improve.

Los Angeles leads the season series with the Warriors (3-0) and they won last year’s series 3-1. L.A. has swept four of the last six season series with the Warriors and has not lost a season series to them since losing 2-3 in the 1994-1995 season. The Lakers are 29-4 in the last 33 games against Golden State.

This team must bounce back and play a much better game against a depleted Warriors team. It is imperative that the Lakers start fast, play with a lot of energy, a sense of urgency and execute. It is necessary that they do a solid job of defending the pick-and-roll play, stop the dribble penetration of the guards, control the tempo, get back in transition, control the boards and do a better job of rotating out to open shooters.

Starters
Lakers: R. Sessions, K. Bryant, M. Peace, P. Gasol, A. Bynum
Warriors: C. Jenkins, K. Thompson, D. Wright, J. Tyler, M. Gladness

Tip-off: 7:30 PM PST

Television –

  • Los Angeles: KCAL 9 (Bill Macdonald & Stu Lantz)
  • Golden State: CSN Bay (Jim Barnett & Bob Fitzgerald)

Radio –

  • Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (John Ireland & Mychal Thompson)
  • Golden State: KNBR 680 (Tim Roye & Jim Barnett)

Injuries –

Lakers:

  • Kobe Bryant (Tenosynovitis, Left Shin) Out
  • Ramon Sessions (Sprained Left Shoulder, AC Joint) Probable

Warriors:

  • Stephen Curry (Ankle Sprain) Out
  • Andris Biedrins (Groin) Day-to-Day
  • Andrew Bogut (Ankle) Out
  • Richard Jefferson (Knee) Out
  • David Lee (Groin/Hip) Out

 

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