The Lakers defensive strategy inGame 1 of the Western Conference Semifinalswas brilliant.
AttackShai Gilgeous-Alexander in four different waysin an attempt to choke off the oxygen of the Oklahoma City offense. By doing so, the Lakers were daring anyone else on the team to beat them.
While the Lakers were busy blitzing, trapping, shading, swarming, and hedging the reigning MVP, Holmgren slipped through the cracks like a cool breeze under a locked door.
He finished with a team-high 24 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks. He drained two threes, and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
This is why it’sso difficult to beat the Thunder.
Just when you cut off the head of the snake, another head reappears and bites you.
The Lakers made SGA look human in Game 1. They held him to 18 points—the first time he’s scored under 20 in almost a year—and forced him into a shocking seven turnovers and only three free throw attempts. Bothwell off his season averages.
“We got back in transition, we matched up, and then all of a sudden we walked away from him and he got a wide open dunk,” said Lakers’ head coach J.J. Redick, when asked how Holmgren was able to slip through the cracks while the defense was locked in on SGA. “That is not something we want to do in Game 2.”
The Lakers’ Holmgren problem is something to look for in Game 2 on Thursday.
When he and SGA are on the floor together, he gets wide-open looks when the Lakers’ big runs out to hedge the post. Oftentimes, both Deandre Ayton and Jaxon Hayes were able to force SGA into throwing the ball away, but sometimes he was quicker than they were and found a wide-open Holmgren.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
