Key #3: How do the Los Angeles Lakers defend Duncan Robinson?
Miami’s offense operates as if they are always down three with 10 seconds left. Duncan Robinson sprints everywhere on the court in a frantic attempt to immediately shoot a three-pointer. His efforts were worth it – 26 points in the NBA Finals is an amazing achievement.
(If Kyle Kuzma jumped as straight up as he did on his reaction to his foul call, he would not have the foul called on him.)
Duncan Robinson (20 PTS) with his 5th trey of the night... this time a 4-point play!@MiamiHEAT 88@Lakers 82
— NBA (@NBA) October 10, 2020
Headed to the 4th quarter of Game 5 on ABC. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/QrlnGtq46Q
Don’t just blame Kuzma. A lot of it is strategy. Lakers coach Frank Vogel does not like switching screens. Vogel has said over-switching opens up the paint for opposing offenses.
I agree. All good defenses start from the inside-out. I disagree with his non-switching stance in this series. The Lakers need to switch all guard-to-guard off-ball screens. Going over the screens is giving Robinson the split second he needs.
My solution would be to jump-switch all screens involving Robinson. Caruso unnecessarily dropped back to the paint on that possession. Kuzma would not have been set up to fail had Caruso hedged Kendrick Nunn’s screen to cut off Robinson’s sprint to Bam. Nunn was not a threat to slip the screen with an extra help defender lurking from the weak side.
Miami often takes it to another level with intricate screen-the-screener actions for Robinson and Herro. Switch twice when that happens. The priority is to stop Miami from shooting threes. No one on Miami (except for Jimmy Butler) is a threat to score from the low block.
Do not expect Duncan Robinson to score 26 points if the Lakers heed my advice. I would urge Coach Vogel to make this adjustment to take away Miami’s outside shooting. At worst, Miami is temporarily thrown out of rhythm. They may score a bucket or two via slipping screens. It is a small price to pay to prevent Robinson from going off again.
(I cannot believe I would ever type those words. That the mighty Lakers need to make adjustments to stop Duncan Robinson. Goes to show just how awesome Robinson is playing.)