After dropping Game 1 at home, the Lakers can even their second-round NBA playoff series against the Mavericks on Wednesday night with a victory. SB Nation Los Angeles offers this look around the network to see who's saying what.
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Silver Screen and Roll questions some of Phil Jackson's "curious" coaching decisions in the Game 1 loss, in which L.A. led by as many as 16 points and held a seven-point edge after three periods. Chief among them, says C.A. Clark, is Jackson's utter refusal to call a timeout during Dallas' 20-6 run in the fourth period:
The Lakers didn't need to work out their issues. They needed to be slapped in the face. But Phil doesn't do that. He never has. He believes in letting his teams figure these things out on their own. [Monday] night, nothing ever got figured, and by the time he stepped in, there was no more lead to protect.
The folks at Mavs Moneyball have taken a different tactic, instead comparing the Mavs' and Lakers' statstics side-by-side. It's worth noting that Dallas' starting lineup has played like a juggernaut compared to Los Angeles'.
Game 2 between L.A. and Dallas is set for a 7:30 tip. Catch it on TNT.