The problem is also the man who's gaurding the screener. The Pacers practically shut down Rip when the screeners man flashed hard and forced Rip to swing wide allowing the defender to catch up. Croshere was awesome in that regard but when he was not in the game it looked like Rip did last night.
I'm with WayOut on this one. The reason Rip got into the lane is because of the screener's man not showing strong. However, I also have a theory on WHY that happened.
Generally speaking, if you show strong on the screen, a good passer will find the screener going toward the basket. This creates a rotational mismatch. In such a case, someone like Shaq would be coming over to defend. And Shaq was carrying 5 fouls.
This is where I think the Lakers miss Robert Horry. Horry was a lenghty shot-blocker and was one of the best at taking charges. If Shaq doesn't show on the post move, Horry could.
I don't agree that Rush should have gone under the screen. Yes, Hamilton will be forced into a jumper. It will be an UNGUARDED jumper. It will be an unguarded jumper that he'll have time to set his feet on. In other words, it will be a PRACTICE SHOT. Stockton used to do this to the Lakers ALL THE TIME when Harris was the coach. He simply picked out a spot, ran to it, with the Laker guards trying to go beneath the pick, and shot.
What I find surprising is why Jackson isn't forcing the pick to the baseline, like he did against Utah when he was in Chicago. Force the pick to the baseline, and you limit the options of the man with the ball. Ate up the Jazz pick-and-roll better than anything I've ever seen before. My theory on that is that the Lakers don't have shot-blocking forwards, whereas the Bulls, when their defense was going best against the Jazz, had Luc Longley, either Brian Williams (Bison Dele) or Jason Caffey, and Scottie Pippen on the floor. Malone isn't a big shot-blocker. I think that's part of the problem.
