Lakers Illegal Zone Defense in Game 2

I wrote the other night how I felt the Spurs looked fatigued in the 4th quarter of Game 1 and how that contributed to them letting the Lakers overtake them for the win. Well, tonight, that fatigue looked more like defeat as the Lakers just beat and pounded them in each and every way.

One of the defensive adjustments that Phil Jackson has gone to quite often in the first 2 games has been the zone defense. We know Jackson doesn't like double-teams, but he seems to like using the concept of tilting the floor to overload on defense to match the strength of the offense. In these 2 plays, Lamar Odom gets called for the illegal defense as he gets caught hanging in the paint,



Illegal Defense:

The Lakers basically ignore the man on the weak-side corner and bring Odom into the lane to have 3 defenders cover the ball-side. As Doug Collins of TNT says, Odom is hedging. Gasol will force Duncan middle to Odom's help, then Duncan has to pass out. Kobe Bryant and Jordan Farmar have to zone up 3 people on the weak-side,


Summary:

I think that the Spurs are simply emotionally and physically spent. They just went through 2 very emotional series against the Suns and the Hornets and they're running on fumes at this point. The Lakers have done what they needed to do to win both games. But we all know Pop and his crew are fighters, if there is a way for the Spurs to win, Pop will find it. Unfortunately, I don't think they will this time, I think the Lakers are just fresher at this point in the season.

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