Lakers-Nuggets Game 2

Execution has been the key in both Game 1 and Game 2 of the Lakers-Nuggets series. I’ve studied all the different statistics: field goal percentage, three point percentage, free throw percentage, turn over’s, steals, etc. Everything boils down to execution—and whether your team is able to be disciplined enough to commit to and execute the offensive and defensive game plan.
I felt like Game 2 was the reverse of Game 1. The Lakers did a good job of controlling the game and not allowing Denver to take them out of what they wanted to do on the offensive end. It was, not surprisingly, on the defensive end where the Lakers lost focus. Countless times the Lakers fell victim to quick Billups pull up jumpers off the pick and roll or had a complete mental lapse and helped off Carmelo to try and contain Denver penetration. Rebounding is HUGE in this series. After getting absolutely killed on the boards in Game 1, (17-7 offensive rebounds in favor of the Lakers) the rebounding totals in Game 2 seems almost like a ghost stat. The Nuggets grabbed 1 more offensive rebound than the Lakers in Game 2. Automatically, that jumped out to me as a humongous gain for the Nuggets in Game 2.
Looking ahead to Game 3, I see a couple of keys for the Lakers. They must get contributions from Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. Odom should have a field day against the Nuggets defenders. His “unique” athletic abilities should allow him match up against the Nuggets forwards and use his length and speed to shoot over or blow by Martin or Kleiza. In 33 and 30 minutes respectively, Odom has scored 7 and 10 points. Odom is the X-factor in this series—he needs to play big. The defense of perimeter players like Trevor Ariza becomes so much more effective when the bigs are standing as the last line of defense. In Game 1 Bynum was hampered by foul trouble which came about because his conditioning is not where it needs to be. Playing defense by reaching and grabbing will get you 5 fouls in 16 minutes. The Lakers also need to continue to attack the basket and outrebound the Nuggets.