Following that most atrocious “performance” rendered by our beloved Los Angeles Lakers, I honestly had to take a couple of hours before I began trying to piece together the remnants of what was supposed to be a 72 win season back in October. Anger, frustration, and disappointment are the prevalent emotions circulating through Lakers Nation right now, I’m sure. I honestly had to cool off for a bit and not just due to this latest loss. We’ve gone 15-11 overall since the All-Star break and 5-9 against the other division winners in the league (ESPN Power Rankings). Like I said, I had to simmer down, just a tad.
Of all the reactions to the Blazers game that I saw reverberating throughout Facebook, my friend Joey who was (un)fortunately in attendance at Staples Center poignantly summed up the game in saying, “it’s one thing to miss game-winning free throws…it’s another to commit a foul to lose the game”. Apropos to the theme of the season, our lack of aptitude on defense let this one get away.
It is all too easy to get caught up in the fact that our two veteran leaders completely miffed a potential victory at the line by going a combined one for three at the stripe in the last seven seconds, but that is the cop-out excuse to attribute this latest loss to. I can only imagine the fleeting motivation that even Phil Jackson has within his spirit following the contest on a sullen day in L.A.
Jackson has held back no strings this year in suggesting that perhaps he has lost control of the squad, to which the team disagrees. More alarmingly however, it seems that Father Time is finally exacting his merciless repeal of Kobe’s athleticism, which evidently hinders the Mamba’s ability to dominate and dictate the ebb and flow of the game. No. 24 may be locked up until 2014, but Phil’s contract is still a major issue that will certainly have to be dealt with after the season. One can only wonder though what the Lakers could look like next October if the team fails to achieve the most significant of the early season goals that were set – defend our 2009 NBA championship.
NEXT: The Legacy of Kobe Bryant
It’s been a surreal 14 years since we all witnessed the beginning of what has turned out to be an elite Hall of Fame career authored by Kobe Bean Bryant. Four NBA titles, six deep playoff runs into the NBA Finals, and over 37,000 career minutes later, the Black Mamba’s hunger to collect more Larry O’Brien trophies undoubtedly burns as intensely as ever. After watching Kobe during the Blazers game though, I can’t help but deliberate whether or not he can physically grind through what is sure to be one of the more grueling playoff runs he’s been apart of in quite some time.
During the game against Portland, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson agreed that in order for the Lakers to repeat this year, Kobe will have to engineer another set of signature playoff performances where he blows it open with 40 and lets the competition know that he is still one of the most dangerous scorers the league has ever seen. I honestly couldn’t agree more because as we saw last year in Game 4 against Utah (see below), Game 2 against Houston, Game 3 against Denver, and Game 1 in the NBA Finals against Orlando, the Mamba will certainly have to set the tone at particular points in the chaotic race that is the NBA playoffs.
In last year’s post-season run to the title, Kobe averaged 30.2 ppg on 46% shooting from the field and the Lakers went 16-7. While he has obviously been enduring an immense amount of pain playing through an avulsion fracture in his index finger on his shooting hand for the majority of the season, it is a disturbing reality that the injury is still vigorously affecting the Mamba’s offensive game. The laundry list of nagging physical ailments that Bryant is presently battling with is not going to get shorter any time soon. Unless Gary Vitti manufactures revolutionary treatment that will fully heal our battered superstar in the next week, all we can do is believe, as we always have, that Kobe will somehow manage his body and impose his will upon the competition.
The morbid shooting that the Mamba has been displaying (5-23 against Jazz, 8-24 against Spurs, 8-23 against Blazers) as of late is simply not going to get it done. More so than the broken index finger, it’s the health of his legs that is just as concerning. During the Portland game, JVG also pointed out on one of Kobe’s aggressive takes to the cup in which he haplessly fluttered the ball at the bottom of the rim that, in years past, he would have easily come away with the bucket and a foul. However, the elevation is clearly just not as accessible at least right now.
There is no need to panic though because maintaining greatness in the NBA is predicated on the constant ability to evolve and adapt to changing conditions. Age and attrition are a nemesis that no human being can evade forever, but Kobe is one of the most intelligent athletes that professional sports has ever seen and I have nothing but pure confidence that he will figure “it” out. Whether this means living in the post more or even simply cleaning up his shot selection, I am no fool. I will never doubt Kobe Bryant.
Although Pau has shown a propensity to feature as a reliable offensive force in games that Kobe has missed, there have been just as many instances where he has succumb to the notion that he is no more than the league’s best “second-best” player (turning it over in the waning moments against the Nuggets last week). With Andrew Bynum’s tender Achilles making no guarantees about his status, I really believe that if we are going to repeat as champions, Kobe will have to be the one to shoulder the load and carry us back once again to the Promised Land. He obviously has already cemented himself as one of the greatest players of all time, but we all know that deep inside the Black Mamba burns the fire to match, if not surpass Michael Jordan’s count of six rings.
Like I said though, I’m no fool. There will be no expansion of Kobe’s basketball legacy or 16th parade in the City of Angels if the whole Lakers team does not begin to play consistent, disciplined defense.
NEXT: Defense Wins Championships
Game 4 of 2009 Western Conference Quarterfinals, Lakers v. Jazz
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yJ5YJbnF4I
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With Gary Vitti probably having one of the most stressful seasons of his career as the legendary trainer of the Los Angeles Lakers, there have been a multitude of games since the All-Star break where the team has struggled to put the ball in the hoop. However, no team should ever rely on their ability to outscore their opponents because defense will always be the ultimate equalizer in the playoffs. The NBA’s 16 team tournament necessitates a much slower tempo that forces teams to buckle down and grind out hardy victories. Sure, the Lakers may need to make huge shots on their way to repeating as champs, but above all else, they will need to earn monumental defensive stops.
Offensive execution in the triangle offense should easily be tidied up by the Lakers in the playoffs given that this team has been together for enough years now and after all, they did bring that lovely golden trophy back to L.A. last year. Defense on the other hand, is said by all analysts and coaches alike, to be an aspect of the game that requires developing good habits and eliminating as many bad ones as possible. Although the Lakers have steadily remained in the top 10 in terms of points allowed per game all season, albeit in 9th, the squad does seem to have fostered a few bad habits that will spell the difference between repeating and not.
I do hate to keep bringing up the Blazers game, but the loss really summed up the Lakers’ defensive flaws in the proverbial nutshell. None of our guards could stop Andre Miller when it mattered most (all game for that matter), poor communication led to late or absent defensive rotations, and we couldn’t stop a team that was missing its best player at home, ala Denver and San Antonio. For all the fierce proponents of home court advantage, I beg to differ in the debate. Having the edge in home court means nothing if you can’t defend make-or-break possessions with continuity in the clutch.
What frustrates me the most is that it’s not as if the Lakers don’t know what they should be doing. Blowing leads and getting blown out all have the same central cause – a lack of concentration and effort, especially on the defensive end. While we all agree that the entire team must execute together, it’s just as obvious that Kobe and Ron Ron will need to be the ones to lead the way. Most importantly though, we do also need Drew back in the mix commanding the paint with his length and affection for swatting away shots.
All of us in Laker Land are growing increasingly impatient and the team included, cannot wait for April 18. However, to say that the Lakers are guaranteed to strap down and defend teams in the playoffs with championship moxie is more of a hope, not a guarantee. What I am counting on though is that there is no way the team will hand the crown to any of the challengers that are looking up at us. The effort, energy, and focus will be there come Sunday. Well, it damn well better be.
NEXT: The Road to the Repeat
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Repeating as NBA champion is obviously no simple task as it is leaps and bounds more difficult than winning a title to begin with. While this general perception may hold true more often than not, Phil’s career history suggests otherwise. In their potential repeat years the Chicago Bulls went 67-15 (1992) and 69-13 (1997). The Lakers went a relatively pedestrian 56-26 (for a defending champion) in 2001, but went into the playoffs scorching hot riding an eight game winning streak, which translated to a near perfect 15-1 cleaning of the house in the playoffs.
This season has potentially diminished, rather than encouraged Phil’s impetus to keep coaching beyond this year. As I harped on earlier, PJ feels a growing sense of failure in getting the team to adhere to his coaching and laments that once you reach that point as a head coach, there really is no point in continuing on. The man does already have an astounding ten titles to his name after all.
Here at Lakers Nation, we’ve been calling it the “Road to the Repeat” all season and navigating down the road towards a 16th NBA championship will require as much patience and effort from PJ as it will from the team itself. This may quite possibly turn out to be coach Jackson’s toughest repeat year to date. We can only hope that the squad snaps out of this uncomfortable malaise and trusts in the words of the best coach to have ever led grown men in the Association.
The time for making excuses is all but over folks. Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals is right around the corner and we’ve all grown weary and fed up with the Lakers’ continuous assurance that everything will be different come playoff time. No more talk, show us that championship walk.
The real season begins now. Let’s silence all the haters and prove to the world that the NBA belongs to L.A.
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