A Good Game Plan Goes a Long Way
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The San Antonio Spurs played a horrible offensive game against the LA Lakers, hitting just 37 percent of their shots from the field and 32 percent from long range. Fortunately for San Antonio, a solid defensive gameplan that forced LA’s perimeter players to make shots ensured that the Lakers would have a rough time scoring as well.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Spurs had notched a 91-79 victory.
San Antonio collapsed on Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol in the lane whenever either one got a touch, daring the big men to fire the ball out to open shooters. Howard’s hardly a distributor, as his lone assist can attest, but Gasol can’t help but move the ball to open teammates.
Whenever he did, the result wasn’t good.
The Lakers shot 41 percent from the field and hit just three of their 15 long-range attempts.
San Antonio will continue to willingly surrender open looks from the perimeter against the Lakers, especially if Steve Nash keeps up his strange reluctance to let fly. In 29 minutes, LA’s best three-point shooter attempted just one triple.
LA is now faced with a game-planning choice of its own: either hope its outside shooters magically find their range or implement some more dynamic action in its offense.
