For real NBA fans there's not much better than Game 2 of a playoff series. Both teams have had a chance to look at the tape. The coaches make their adjustments and the Chess match can truly begin. The Lakers didn't play particularly poorly in Game 1 - they had more rebounds, points in the paint and second chance points - but there are plenty of areas where they can improve in an attempt to tie this series.

Defending Dirk - Lamar Odom was the primary defender against Nowitzki with Gasol defending him on a handful of possessions. The Lakers left these two out on an island to attempt to defend one of the top scorers in the league. Given the assignment they actually did a decent job. For the most part they limited him to jumpers and forced him into some tough shots. Unfortunately, shots like fadeaway jumpers off of one foot aren't all that tough for him. No one can shut him down one-on-one. The Lakers will need to bring over some guard help early to disrupt his rhythm. They can swipe at the ball and try to force the ball out of his hands.

Limiting Open Jumpers - It will be a fine line for those guards helping out on Dirk. They need to get in quick but be ready to bounce back to their man. The Mavs got too many open looks and converted on 9 of 20 3-pointers. They have to be aware of the shooters who are threats. They have to make sure Peja Stojakovic never gets an open look and do what they can on the rest of the guards.

An Aggressive Bynum - Andrew Bynum was the biggest disappoint for the Lakers in Game 1. After dominating in the Hornets series, Bynum had just 8 points and 5 boards and was thoroughly outplayed by Tyson Chandler. He needs to win that matchup. He's much stronger and is much more talented on offense to let Chandler outplay him. Bynum has to realize that he's not going to be playing starter minutes. He's probably going to be limited to 25-30 minutes a game because Odom needs to be on the floor to guard Nowitzki. Since he's playing less time he has to increase the energy while he's in there. He doesn't need to worry about fouls and should use his strength to muscle people around on both ends of the floor.

Bryant Can't Settle - Kobe Bryant shot fairly well in Game 1, hitting on 14 of 29 shots but only three of those shots were within 10 feet of the basket. He also only attempted 5 free throws. It's true the Mavs were giving him space and Bryant took advantage but he still has to find a way to get to the rim to get easy buckets. In order to get those easy buckets the Lakers have to have much better ball movement. They had far too many isolation plays and Bryant is the number one culprit of that. Moving the ball around will open up driving lanes and that will also open up passing lanes to Gasol and Bynum in the post for some easy points. The Lakers are an extremely talented team but they often make things much more difficult on themselves by not moving the ball around.

Stay Focused - The Lakers had a 16-point lead and let it slip away. Grabbing that sort of lead doesn't mean it's time to relax. Maybe instead of the opposition calling a timeout, Phil Jackson should call one and make sure his team hasn't decided to check out.

In addition to these things it would be nice to see the Lakers' bench pick up its production outside of Odom. But that's been a longstanding problem and there's no reason to think it will change now.

If the Lakers make these adjustments they should have no problem tying this series. And if they don't? That's a road they don't want to go down.