It was interesting watching the last play in regulation. A timeout wasn't called and it was perfectly clear that the gameplan was to have the team clear out to the edges to give Tyreke the opportunity to isolate and get to the rim.
Considering this was exactly what was supposed to happen against the Cavs, I was hoping to see the team execute it better and was also hoping for a better result.
Well, the team did execute it properly, and we had Tyreke isolated against Kobe.
Now if you were watching the game you'd have seen that Tyreke actually had good success getting to the rim against Kobe. The problem had been with Gasol/Odem/Bynum already being set in the paint and contesting Tyreke's shots.
So when this play was developing, I have to admit that I was perfectly fine with it. Either it works and we win the game, or it doesn't work and we go into Overtime.
Next, I have to point out the fact that Tyreke had to wait till the last second or two before starting his move. He was looking to make a 2-point shot. If he makes his move with 6-7 seconds left and gets past Kobe with the 2 point shot he runs the risk of letting the Lakers have 2+ seconds to set up a 3-point shot to win the game.
Anyway, it was clear to me what the gameplan was, and I was perfectly fine with it. Isolate a player who's been able to get to the rim, clear out the area so it won't be contested by the bigs, wait until the final seconds so that if you do get the bucket you don't give the defending world champions the time to set up a play to beat you.
It didn't work tonight, but it was good experience for Tyreke, and I won't have any problems seeing it run again in the future. If it works 50% of the time I'll be quite pleased, because I've seen Kobe take those last second turn-around fade-aways and on-the-move 3-pt shots, and miss more than he makes. So I'll take an iso play with a clear-out over a jumpshot anyday, especially as an iso play also gives you a far higher percentage of picking up a foul by the defender.
I'm really disappointed that we didn't get the win. But I'm thrilled that we took both the Lakers and the Cavs to overtime. If we play with that same sort of consistency we are a playoff team this year, and if we get a defensive big man to anchor the post, we'll be really dangerous.
Finally, huge props to Donte. He played an absolutely fantastic game, and his defense against Kobe was spectacular. I'm not sure how you can walk away from this game not feeling anything other than supreme optimism. If Donte and Tyreke can both keep this up we'll have two players who can play lock-down defense against 1s, 2s, and 3s while being outstanding athletes and very good offensive players. We just need to get a player who can lock-down 4s and 5s and we'll be set.
Go Kings!
