Progress reports, like Paul Revere riding through the night, exist solely to alert dear old mom and dad that “The report cards are coming, the report cards are coming!” And if report cards represent the final word on performance, than progress reports are the warning sign that trouble may be brewing…that is if mom and dad ever get them!
For those of us devious enough to try, beating our parents to the mailbox became a rite of passage. Getting to those progress reports first became our mission and we’d do just about anything to extend fun time just a bit longer.
Which brings me to the Lakers…
To say that their performance in the first half of the season was disappointing is putting it lightly. For three and a half months they chose to slack off and show up only occasionally, and when it came time the players were the ones who got to the mailbox first.
Their progress reports never made it home and what resulted was a half season of basketball unworthy of back to back defending champions.
Prior to the season, which he himself dubbed, “the Last Stand,” Phil Jackson spoke as if this team was finally ready to realize its full potential. He spoke as if the team was about to ride to a record setting season, along the likes of the 1996 Bulls which went 72-10.
Needless to say, this wasn’t the case. From Andrew Bynum’s decision to delay off season knee surgery to Ron Artest’s decision to go all “Artest” on us, this season has been anything but record setting. It got so bad that the Lakers record going into All Star weekend (38-19) looked more like Custer’s Last Stand, as opposed to Jackson’s…and for those of you that don’t know Custer, let me just say…it wasn’t pretty!
Since the All-Star break, however, the Lakers have shown improvement. Having been embarrassed enough by the Milwaukee’s, Cleveland’s and Charlotte’s of the world, the team has finally started to come around. Currently riding a 5 game win streak, the Lakers seem to have finally turned the corner…or have they?
To this team the regular season, with the exception of a few key match-ups, falls into those that do not.
Take the Lakers recent game against the Minnesota Timberwolves for example. Just when we thought the team had “thrown the switch,” they again reverted back to playing down to their competition and barely squeaked out a win against a team with a 14-47 record.
For those of you that missed that last part, it was 14-47!
So, please…stop with all this ridiculous nonsense about throwing the switch.
There is no switch. It doesn’t exist. It never has!
What does exist is human nature. And playing to the level of your competition is as natural to the world of sports as are the cliché’s that are used to describe it. The Lakers are a perfect example of this.
In the last four years, this team has played in the most important, pressure filled games that professional basketball has to offer. They’ve beaten the best there is on their way to back to back NBA titles. They are attempting to go to a fourth NBA Finals in four years.
And yet, almost as incredibly, in that same stretch they’ve continually lost in cities such as the ones previously mentioned over and over again.
The reason being is human nature.
It’s a common argument, one that my cousin Ray and I engage in regularly. Every team gets up to play the Lakers. This means that every night the Lakers face their opponent’s best effort. Expecting the Lakers to match that effort, night in and night out, is not only unreasonable, it’s also impossible…at least that’s what my cousin says! And since the guy averaged more points per game than I ever did, I guess I’ll finally give him his due and proper; but I digress.
Put simply, on a cold winter night, playing against some team that’s had this game circled on their calendar for months, and who’s only motivation is a regular season win against the champs, the Lakers basically go through the motions. They show up, and they shoot, and they rebound and maybe they’ll even play a little defense.
But what they won’t do is play like it matters; and not because someone forgot to flip some imaginary switch.
It’s because these Lakers do not play for the regular season.
They play for championships.
And yet, amazingly, and based solely on their regular season record, this team has somehow become incapable of winning it all again.
This cliché, by the way, is as absurd as the one about flipping the switch.
In truth, the NBA regular season really only matters for those teams that have no shot at winning the title, or for guys named Lebron. For the true title contenders, the regular season is like that long, dreary ride through the desert on the way to Las Vegas; necessary but definitely not worth staying awake for.
And that’s exactly what the Lakers have done. They’ve hit the cruise control and coasted along all season, biding their time until the lights of the big city are finally visible on the horizon.
The Lakers received mostly F’s for their mid-season grades. And, with 20 games left until playoffs, it’s almost report card time again.
As they approach what Jackson refers to as the “meat” of their remaining schedule, the Lakers will soon find out if they truly have what it takes to repeat. The results of the next 10 days, in which they will face Charlotte, San Antonio, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and Orlando should provide the final word heading into the playoffs on where this team will likely end up.
Phil Jackson has always said, it’s more important for his team to be playing the right way come March and April as opposed to December and January. So the team gets a hall pass for the first half of the season.
As for now, the post All-Star game progress report has the Lakers receiving an “E” for effort.
They’re trying to be better.
They’re trying to recapture the focus and execution needed to win a third consecutive championship.
Most importantly, they’re trying.
There’s no telling how the Lakers will finish this season. But whether they pass or fail is entirely up to them. When the Lakers have played against potential playoff teams this year, you can still glimpse the greatness of a champion still lurking inside.
Even when those games haven’t resulted in wins, it’s good to know the Lakers can still compete when they put their hearts and minds to it. And I’d still pick them in a seven game series against anyone.
The problem is and always has been effort. When the Lakers give it, they win. When they don’t, they lose. The bright lights on the horizon aren’t as far off as they seem, and their progress reports are on the way. This time, let’s hope they get there!