There appears to be only a small group of teams that are a legitimate threat to derail the Lakers chances at a 3-peat; those teams being Boston, Miami, Chicago, San Antonio and Dallas. Three of those teams made significant pick ups this past week from the pool of players that were waived by other teams: Troy Murphy signed with Boston, Mike Bibby with Miami and most recently, Corey Brewer signed with the Dallas Mavericks.
Those names, while not sexy, should be of some concern for the Lakers as they could provide exactly what some of those teams need to reach that next level.
Late in-season pick ups have worked very well in the past for teams looking to add that small final piece of a championship puzzle. Most recently, the 2008 Boston Celtics were able to fill their need for size and depth with the late season signing of veteran PJ Brown, who was instrumental in their championship run that season.
We take a look at the three most significant signings of this past week and see how they affect the Lakers title run this season.
Next: A familiar face in South Beach
Mike Bibby / PG to Miami:
What he brings: Veteran leadership at the point and the ability to hit big shots in crunch time.
How he can directly affect the Lakers chances:
Bibby has lost a step at the age of 32, but his game wasn’t ever heavily reliant on his athletic ability. What he is and always has been is a cold blooded outside shooter that the Lakers fans are very familiar with from his days with the Sacramento Kings and those memorable playoff series against the Lakers in the early 2000s.
The guy is simply unconscious and won’t be timid about taking that big shot in the closing moments of the game. While Bibby is no longer the player we remember in his Sacramento Kings days, he is still an effective long range shooter and an offensive upgrade over Mario Chalmers and Carlos Arroyo – who was waived this week to make room for Bibby.
With Atlanta this year, Bibby was shooting a career high 44% from behind the arc and dropped 113 three pointers which accounted for almost 60 percent of his made baskets.
The Miami Heat now have a formidable line-up of long range shooters at their disposal by adding Bibby to the group of James Jones, Eddie House and Mike Miller.
Early on this season the Lakers were routinely late on their rotations and getting back to shooters on the perimeter. The Lakers will not be able to get away with that early season malaise and not get back to the shooters against the Miami Heat if they meet in the Finals, because this time they will get burned.
Next: The hated ones in green get their big man.
Troy Murphy / PF to Boston:
What he brings: A big man that can stroke it from the outside and a tenacious rebounder.
How he can directly affect the Lakers chances: A Celtics v. Lakers rematch in the Finals seems to be the most predicated by NBA analysts and if it does come to fruition, the Lakers will have quite a quandary on their hands with the way Troy Murphy plays.
Murphy combines the blue collar work on the boards that you would expect from a 6’11 power forward but also has the unique combination to stroke it from the outside. Murphy is a career 39 percent shooter from three point land and it was just two seasons ago that he made a career high 161 three pointers, while shooting them at an impressive 45% clip.
He has played sparingly this season so his paltry numbers of 3.6 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game are not indicative of his capabilities or how he’ll perform for the Celtics. Murphy battled groin and back injuries early this season and by the time he returned he couldn’t supplant Kris Humphries or Derrick Favors, who were established in coach Avery Johnson’s rotation.
Murphy will provide much needed help on the boards for the Celtics who are currently next to last in the league in that category. If the Lakers do meet the Celtics in the Finals, rebounding might be the key again as in last year’s finals match up, the team that won the rebounding battle won the game and ultimately the series.
Next: Stocking up players with Kobe in mind
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Corey Brewer / SF/G to Dallas:
What he brings: A young, athletic and energetic defensive wing to defend the likes of Kobe.
How he can directly affect the Lakers chances: If you had to start from scratch and build a player to guard Kobe Bryant, the final product you would come up with is a player that possesses all of the physical traits and abilities of Corey Brewer. Brewer is a long 6’8″ who is super athletic and has a ton of energy which is a product of his youth. He is limited offensively but his role on this team will be the defensive stopper for players like Kobe Bryant and Mano Ginobli.
Prior to acquiring Brewer the Mavs already had an abundance of swing men; Brewer will join Shawn Marion, Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson in the group of players that Dallas will have at their disposal to stick on Kobe Bryant. The depth at this position will allow Dallas to provide sufficient rest to each player being given the assignment of guarding Kobe, which is ideal for high energy, harassing defense for a full 48 minutes. Dallas will also be able to give Bryant multiple looks throughout the game by switching defenders which will prevent Bryant from figuring out his opponent in a game or series.
We have seen how long and athletic wing players have affected Kobe in the past. In the 2004 NBA Finals against Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons, Kobe shot a horrid 38% from the field and an even worse 17% from behind the arc. Last year’s NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, Kobe shot 40% from the field due to contributions defensively from Tony Allen. Corey Brewer is in same mold of those players that have shown to be very effective against Kobe in the past which could mean trouble in the series for the Lakers if someone else on the team doesn’t step up offensively.
This is by far the most substantial of all the late waiver signings and one that can have a major impact on the Lakers title hopes because of the amount of times that the two will face each other this season. The Lakers have two games remaining on their schedule against the Mavericks and there is a high possibility that the two will meet up in the playoffs. As it stands now the Mavs and Lakers are in a battle for the second and third positions in the West respectively; both teams are unlikely to catch the Spurs for one spot with only around 20 games remaining, and I can’t see either team dropping to the fourth spot.
Outside of a major upset in the first round the Lakers and Mavs stand to match up in round two of the playoffs. Dallas is hoping that Brewer will provide that extra push to finally break through the Lakers dominance of the West.
The Lakers brass is obviously confident that their current mix of players are capable of winning a championship this season as they were inactive at the trading deadline and so far have not picked anybody up off waivers. This can be a troubling thought going in the stretch run of the NBA season considering so many of the Lakers legit competitors improved with in-season moves.
What Laker fans have to hang their hat on is the success with the decision making of Mitch and company during their reign.
It was the right decision to not trade Kobe prior to the 2007-2008 season despite his adamant trade demands.
Management found a diamond in the rough in Trevor Ariza; who the Lakers got for Brian Cook and Maurice Evens from the Orlando Magic.
The tough call to allow Trevor Ariza to leave via free agency and pick up Ron Artest in his stead proved to be the right call.
The decisions that were made resulted in two straight championships and a current run for a third.
As far as the decisions of the Heat, Celtics and Mavericks, we will have to wait and see if the late season acquisitions were the missing pieces for any of those respective teams to topple the Lakers. I would recommend siding with the history of Lakers’ recent personal decisions and their current decision to stand pat over those of the competitors as it relates to championship viability. History, as it always seems to be, is on the Lakers side.