The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most frustrating teams in the NBA to watch as their road troubles continue to haunt them.
After defeating the Miami Heat Sunday March 4th, the Lakers headed out on a four-day, three game road trip facing Detroit, Washington, and Minnesota. Detroit and Washington are two of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference with a combined record of 24-56. After having leads of greater than 15 in both games, the Lakers lost focus late in the third quarter, which carried on to the fourth, ultimately resulting in losses in both.
Their shot selection against these two teams when the game was down the stretch are baffling. Whether they were down by one or up by one, when the Lakers needed an important basket, they shied away from the hot hand, which was Andrew Bynum in both games, and chucked up 3-pointers. As the second worst 3-point shooting team at 30.1 percent, and one of the best at scoring in the paint, one has to question the coaching for not demanding that the Lakers continue to feed the post in the crucial stages of games. However, the lack of focus throughout the second half of the game falls solely on the players, and on the road this needs to change.
In Minnesota, things were somewhat similar to the two previous road games as the lack of focus was still a mystery during small lapses during the game. They showed an absence of concentration in the beginning of the game, but battled through it and were able to pull out a victory.
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Despite the Timberwolves being without All-Star Kevin Love, who was battling back spasms before the game, the Lakers still struggled against the Timberwolves, who were led by center Nikola Pekovic, 25 points 13 rebounds, and rookie power forward Derrick Williams – who had an amazing game filling in for Love as he went for 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Wolves did everything they could to fend off Kobe and the Lakers, but in the end, Kobe Bryant’s 34 points and Andrew Bynum’s 26 points and 10 rebounds were too much. The Lakers escaped with the 105-102 victory.
The Lakers returned home Friday night and awaited their rivals, the Boston Celtics, for a nationally televised game Sunday afternoon. This game kicked off a tremendous eight-game road trip for the Celtics, who had the luxury of having a back-to-back without leaving the city as they took on the Clippers Monday night. The game against the Lakers started with the Lakers looking focused, determined, and ready to play, but the Celtics were not ready to roll over and die, and they played an impressive game after the first quarter.
Los Angeles showed great poise and confidence in each other as they overcame a five-point deficit late in the game, and managed to score the game’s final eight points to beat the Celtics 97-95. Kobe scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. However, the most amazing play happened when they were up by one. Kobe decided to pass the ball into first time All-Star center Andrew Bynum, who scored over Kevin Garnett to give the Lakers a 97-94 lead with 15.5 seconds left on the clock. This ultimately became the final score, but it was a milestone for the Lakers as it showed the fans, the NBA world, the Lakers players, and himself, that Kobe Bryant could trust the rest of his teammates with the game on the line.
Next Page: The Week Ahead
The Lakers enjoyed the victory over the Boston Celtics for the day but must get right back to work as they go on a mini-road trip to Memphis, and then over to New Orleans. If the Lakers want to be a successful and championship caliber team, the players must figure out a way to keep themselves focused. When they get into trouble on the road they constantly rely on outside shooting, their weakness, instead of going into the post, their strength.
If they are to be victorious Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, they will have to rely on their defense and post play. Andrew Bynum has proven that he can be consistent as he has averaged 22.2 points per game, and 11.4 rebounds in the last five contests. Now it is up to the rest of the team to start showing consistency on the road. Metta World Peace is going to be called on again for this game because he will have has hands full guarding Rudy Gay, although he cannot just show up defensively. He needs to give the Lakers around eight points to help take the pressure off the other starters. Steve Blake, too, has been inconsistent in play, as he has been too unselfish at times. He was lighting it up from behind the arc before his rib injury, and now needs to trust that his ribs are fine and shoot with more confidence.
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Wednesday night marks the first meeting this season between the Lakers and the New Orleans Hornets. This is another back-to-back road game for the Lakers, who have not won the second game of a back-to-back on the road this year. The Hornets are the worst team in the Western Conference, but that is no excuse for the Lakers to sleep walk through this game. Led by first-year Hornet shooting guard Eric Gordon, formerly of the Clippers, who was acquired along with center Chris Kaman in the infamous Chris Paul deal, the Hornets are a team that will try and push the tempo to get easy baskets. The Lakers need to get back on defense quickly and prevent easy fastbreak opportunities to keep the Hornets from keeping the game close.
The team returns home to take on Minnesota for the fourth and final time this season Friday, and then Utah on Sunday.
Having played Minnesota three time already this year, and beating them all three times, the Lakers know exactly what to do against the Wolves – dominate the post play. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves will be without star rookie point guard Ricky Rubio for the remainder of the season after he sustained a torn ACL in his left knee during their previous match-up.
Sunday features the Jazz versus the Lakers. Utah is similar to the Lakers since they are not very good playing away from home. At 5-15 on the road, the Jazz are fighting for that eighth and final playoff seed. They are only 2.5 games behind Dallas and Houston for a playoff spot. Since this will be a home game for the Lakers, they should have no trouble staying focused and beating the Jazz in an easy victory.
Consistency has been the major issue with the Lakers, who are tied for first with Miami and Oklahoma City for the best home record at 18-2, but are the 20th worst team on the road at 7-14. The players need to start taking responsibility for the losses on the road, and not blame the coaching staff. It is the complacency of the players during the road games that gets them into trouble.