Score: SA 47 LAL 35
Alright welcome in to the halftime post of the Lakers' matchup with the defending NBA champion and 2x defending Western Conference champions, San Antonio Spurs where the champs have a 12 point advantage against the Lakers heading into the half.
The Positives
Defense. The stats don't show it at the end of the 2nd quarter mainly due to the Lakers' inability to finish plays and handling the ball, but I thought the defense played decent in this half. One known stat here is that the Lakers haven't given the Spurs any 2nd chance points, the Spurs just have 1 offensive rebound compared to the Lakers' 6. That's a pretty impressive stat and that's why this potent Spurs offense hasn't blown this game wide open, although they're on the verge. The Lakers are doing a good job finishing the defense, hustling for blocks or boxing out for the rebounds.
Jordan Hill, 10 rebounds. He's had downward slope shooting wise, but Hill just keeps keeping possessions alive one hustle play after another. There's a reason why I call him Mr. All-Out Hustle. Hill fought for offensive rebounding twice in this quarter in one possession, but the Lakers weren't there to capitalize.
The Negatives
Not finishing plays. Every time you make an excellent pass, the recipient has to finish the play and the Lakers aren't doing that on the offensive end. There were a couple of good cuts, good penetration and they just couldn't finish. This is how bad teams lose to good teams. The offense has a good possession with great ball movement and making the extra pass and they miss on a very makeable shot.
Turnovers. Another reason why bad teams lose to good teams. One key play is that Jeremy Lin turned the ball over twice to Kawhi Leonard, leading to easy dunks, although on the 2nd steal by Leonard, Clarkson did a good job wrapping him up, not giving an easy basket.
Bottom Line
How can the Lakers get back into the game? They have to go back to playing that disciplined defense like they did in the 1st quarter. The offense has to finish, that's how you keep up with this Spurs offense by playing at their game. Try and get Kobe involved also to spark this offense up just a little, but continue to play good sound basketball. Let's see what happens.
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