How the Los Angeles Lakers can counter the Suns’ potential adjustments

Do not let the popular narrative fool you: the Phoenix Suns are NOT running out of answers to deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. I have already outlined on FanSided’s sister website, Valley of the Suns, on how the Suns will use Chris Paul to adjust to the Los Angeles Lakers keying in on Devin Booker.

Chris Paul is no longer a threat to score on the Lakers due to his injury. Still, Devin Booker (over 30 points both games!) and Deandre Ayton (a walking 20 & 10 this series) are a problem. Cameron Payne may be able to sustain his excellent offensive performances coming off the bench.

Then again, Phoenix cannot stop LeBron James and Anthony Davis when they take it right to the basket, and not settle for midrange fadeaways.

LeBron and AD are better than Booker and Ayton in a vacuum. That fact does not necessarily equate to the Lakers automatically winning this series. However, Chris Paul’s shoulder injury has (probably) wrapped up an otherwise compelling series. It is sad to see such an amazing competitor like Paul suffer an injury so devastating to his game.

But probably is not definitely. The Phoenix Suns are more than capable of winning this series, even with an injured Chris Paul. It’s not likely, but it’s still a possibility.

The red flags for the Lakers are still glaring. Even in a win, the box score had some ugly truths that Lake Show Life should address:

• Anyone not named Drummond, Davis, James, or Schroder scored a combined 13 points
• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 0 points in 31 minutes
• The Lakers shot 10/33 from three-point range

I do not intend solely to be negative – the box score also had some incredibly positive signs – but in the context of the Lakers playing their best basketball, these things need to be addressed regardless of whether Chris Paul is healthy or not.

Without further ado, here are two defensive adjustments Phoenix will make in Game 3 to throw the Los Angeles Lakers’ offense for a loop.

Adjustment #1: Force Dennis Schroder to take jump shots

In the words of pro wrestling announcer Jim Ross, Dennis Schroder is quick as a hiccup. Very few NBA players can stay in front of Schroder when he takes it straight to the basket. But because Schroder is as stubborn as a government mule (another JR saying), Lake Show Life writers have been very displeased with his performance.

RELATED: The Los Angeles Lakers need less Dennis Schroder

And with good reason: Dennis Schroder has not lived up to our expectations as to what a point guard should look like. He does not like to pass the ball, nor is he as effective playing alongside LeBron James or Anthony Davis because he needs the ball in his hands.

However, when Schroder does not overthink things (or forces up shots like that he is playing for a $100 million contract), he is an awesome third scoring option for the Lakers.

However, Schroder has one glaring weakness: his three-point shooting (33.5% this season). As a score-only point guard, his inability to consistently knock down outside shots gives the defense an avenue to stop Schroder at the rim.

Phoenix’s defenders will just take five steps back and make him shoot. Until he makes one, they can leverage Schroder’s score-only tendencies against the Lakers’ offense due to his reluctance to pass the ball once he gets it from LeBron.

Or in much fewer words, Phoenix knows Dennis Schroder does not pass the ball.

Los Angeles Lakers counter: The Lakers know this too and can use Schroder as a screener for LeBron James when The King brings the ball up the court. Given Schroder’s man will be further back than usual, that will give LeBron a runway to attack the basket.

Adjustment #2: Run a box and one on Anthony Davis

Nobody on the Phoenix Suns can guard Anthony Davis. When AD attacks the basket with force, Phoenix’s frontcourt of Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, and Dario Saric does not stand a chance.

A box and one will at least guarantee that two defenders will guard Anthony Davis when he has the ball in the mid-post area. AD struggles with double teams so maybe a box and one might be a temporary solution to an unsolvable problem. Dribble drives are very tough against a zone defense because the help will already be there.

Obviously, the Suns will get killed on the boards whenever they play zone. They need at least one guy to box out Andre Drummond. They will also have to concede outside shots to LeBron James, Dennis Schroder, and whoever else is on the perimeter.

While the box and one would not always yield ideal outcomes for Phoenix’s defense, they can use the gimmicky defense as a temporary means to slow down Anthony Davis.

Los Angeles Lakers counter: run the offense through LeBron James in the high post. The other guys will have to knock down open three-pointers… may as well be now if Phoenix insists. Andre Drummond will feast on offensive rebounds because it is much tougher to rebound off a zone than man-to-man.

How will these hypothetical adjustments impact the game

The Phoenix Suns are maxed out on offense. Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton are playing as well as they can possibly play. Assuming Cameron Payne cannot sustain his offensive brilliance, Phoenix will have to slow down the Los Angeles Lakers’ offense to have a chance.

Of course, slowing down the Lakers’ offense means slowing down LeBron James and Anthony Davis. LeBron’s ankle slows him down automatically, but the Suns will need to scheme up something masterful to slow down AD.

These two defensive adjustments might not strongly impact the Lakers’ offense, but five points the Suns can steal from the Lakers might be the deciding factor in this game.