The eye test said the Lakers did a lot of things better in Game 2 than in Game 1 (beyond just winning the game). The difference in physicality was particularly visible on the defensive side, where LA was, for the most part, pretty suffocating all night. But it also showed up on offense, even though the Lakers only scored on more point on Tuesday compared to Saturday. They ran more action, set considerably better (and more frequent) screens. And it bears out in passing data, too. The Lakers passed more frequently, particularly the big three, all of whom threw more of them in Game 2 than in Game 1.
And all of this stuff is related. More urgency getting into the offense gives more time to throw more passes. More, better run actions create more opportunities to make good passes. Better spacing. Harder cuts. And so on.
It's an energy the Lakers will need to sustain heading into Friday's Game 3 in Minnesota. One more thing that might help? Paying less attention to Rudy Gobert. The opportunity to light him up seems to pushing LA's offense off the rails, at times.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: The Lakers moved the ball more effectively in Game 2.
SEGMENT 2: How physicality helped them on offense, too.
SEGMENT 3: Should everyone—players, media, etc.—be focused less on Rudy Gobert?
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