The Lakers face the 76ers tonight at Staples Center seeking their fourth straight win over them and seventh straight at home. The Lakers and the 76ers are both 4-1 in their last five games. The Lakers are coming off of a win over the Mavericks.
As we all know NBA basketball is a game of runs but the Lakers got the victory on Sunday by putting together a 12-0 run that answered a 21-2 Dallas run that saw them take the lead late in the game.
The move to place Trevor Ariza in the starting lineup has paid huge dividends; his career-high 26 point effort in his third consecutive start was huge against the Mavericks. His defense on point guards, shooting guards and small forwards is excellent and expected but his improvement offensively is a welcome sight for the Lakers.
The 76ers beat the Heat 85-77 on Sunday allowing their lowest point total of the season and pulling them to within two games of Miami for the fifth position in the East. Philadelphia with a 33-31 record; currently holds the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Lakers beat them 114-102 on 12/3/2008 in Philadelphia, Kobe scored 32 points.
Tonight’s game starts a five-game Western Conference road trip for the 76ers. The Andre Iguodala vs. Kobe match up will be exciting to watch but also look for Trevor to defend him as well.
The Lakers will win tonight by running their triangle offense from the inside out, displaying excellent ball movement and player movement and outworking the 76ers.
The Lakers need to control the tempo, glass, stop the dribble penetration, get back in transition and rotate out to three point shooters. The Lakers need to limit the 76ers to one shot per possession.
The Lakers are playing to their advantage by establishing Pau Gasol in the post; he started the Dallas game going a perfect 10-10 in the first half. Dallas countered by running a zone defense against the Lakers which limited Gasol’s touches. Pau has averaged 24 points and 12.8 boards against Philadelphia.
The 76ers are a solid defensive team; the Lakers will see a zone defense from them as well as a full court press to take the Lakers out of their offensive rhythm.
I want to see more of Kobe in the low post. Lamar needs to catch the ball closer to the basket and attack the rim. The Lakers need to work on re-establishing that killer instinct and put teams away. The Lakers have lost too leads in games this needs to stop.
Defensively is where this game will be won or lost.
Tipoff: 7:30 PM PST
Television -
- Los Angeles: Fox Sports West 1 HD (Joel Myers & Stu Lantz)
- Philadelphia: Comcast Sportsnet (Marc Zumoff & Steve Mix)
Radio -
- Los Angeles: AM570 KLAC (Spero Dedes & Mychal Thompson)
- Philadelphia: WIP 610AM ( Tim McGinnis & Todd MacCulloch)
Injuries -
Lakers:
- Andrew Bynum (Knee)
76ers:
- None to report.
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