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Los Angeles Lakers: Adjustments that need to be made to beat Suns

By Casey Ahmed

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 09: Mikal Bridges #25 of the Phoenix Suns shoots againsst Kentavious Caldwell-Pope #1 and Talen Horton-Tucker #5 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Staples Center on May 9, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 09: Mikal Bridges #25 of the Phoenix Suns shoots againsst Kentavious Caldwell-Pope #1 and Talen Horton-Tucker #5 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Staples Center on May 9, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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Game 1 was a nightmare for the Los Angeles Lakers as they got absolutely destroyed by the Phoenix Suns in all phases of the game. Lots of questions were raised on rotations and the obvious space-altering line-up that involves AD times two.

The Lakers shot 43% from the field, a putrid 26% from three and were outrebounded 47 to 33 by Phoenix. As individual matchups go, the Suns won that as well as Devin Booker dropped 34/7/8 in his first playoff appearance and Ayton matched that with a monstrous 21 points on 10-11 shooting plus 16 rebounds.

The duo outplayed the defending champs in AD and LeBron, with the former having the worst playoff game in his career.

The Los Angeles Lakers need to adjust and here are some suggestions:

AD at the five

If you needed a game to show why AD needs to be comfortable playing the five for the majority of the playoffs, Game 1 against Phoenix was the best example.

AD put up a dud with 13 points 7 rebounds (He had zero with 2 mins remaining in the second quarter) and 3 blocks. All game it was clear to see that Drummond and AD were significantly hurting the Lakers’ half-court offense.

Vogel needs to view this like the Houston series of last season and commit to playing AD at the five and have small ball lineups involving LeBron plus shooters.

Tighten the rotation

After the first game of the series, I like to say that you get a gauge of what type of players are ready for the moment.

Last game it was clear that Alex Caruso, Wesley Matthews and Kyle Kuzma were all ready to make an impact off the bench as soon as they were inserted.

Talen Horton-Tucker and Montrezl Harrell, on the other hand, were targeted on defense repeatedly, more so Harrell than THT. Vogel should make some tough choices that will help the Lakers in the long run.

Key in on Booker

For all the flack that Frank Vogel gets about his rotations and line-ups, he makes up for it with his defensive mind. After every Game 1 in the bubble last year, Vogel seemed to craft up a scheme to contain the opposing team’s best player.

Booker provides an interesting case as he is the first player the Lakers have gone against that is a three-level scorer. The Lakers need to time the double teams on Booker and have the rotation already preplanned to be able to contain the talented scorer. I expect to see LeBron guarding Booker in the fourth quarter at some point in this series.

Bron going downhill 

This adjustment is a fairly easy one in that LeBron needs to attack the basket as long as the Los Angeles Lakers space the court. Cramping the space for LeBron takes away his greatest weapon in his arsenal and severely limits the ceiling of the Lakers’ offense.

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Simply put, surround LeBron with KCP/Caruso/Wes/Gasol and watch how easy it is to score. The Lakers need scoring Bron to win this series, so it’s best they surround him with the personnel to do so.

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