The Los Angeles Lakers look to continue their strong play this week as they have won five out of their last six, and their last three road games.
Before losing at home Sunday night for only the third time this year, the Lakers had won five straight games before Utah squeaked by them. It started with back-to-back road wins, first in Memphis and then in New Orleans. In both of these games, the Lakers started off the night slow and a little sluggish, but showed poise and confidence forcing both games into overtime before sealing the victories.
The game against Memphis went into double overtime with the Lakers winning 116-111, led by Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum, who combined for 71 of the Lakers points. Kobe showed why he is one of the best clutch players in the league as he knocked down the tying bucket at the end of regulation. And Bynum proved once again that his size and skill is just too over-powering for most NBA centers to handle. He scored a season high 37 points and had 16 rebounds. This was a game that Memphis let slip through their fingers–their largest lead was 17, they forced 18 turnovers, and despite being out rebounded 51-47, grabbed 14 offensive rebounds. These stats are what usually help a team win, but give credit to the Lakers for battling through adversity till the very end.
Following the game in Memphis on Tuesday night, the Lakers flew to New Orleans to battle against the worst team in the Western Conference, the Hornets. Once again the Lakers started slow, but finished strong. Maybe this will be the style of the Lakers from now on, slow start and strong finish instead of the strong start and slow finish like they exhibited this year against Washington, Philadelphia, and others.
Despite Jarrett Jack’s 30-point effort, and Kris Kaman’s 21-point night, the Lakers proved too strong overcoming a 15-point second half deficit. The Lakers received solid scoring from their three main players, Pau Gasol, 18, and Kobe Bryant, 33. But Bynum stole the show again with 25 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Friday night, the Lakers returned home to face the Minnesota Timberwolves, but this was not the same Lakers team from Wednesday. The NBA trade deadline had come and gone and the Lakers made a few moves. The biggest move was trading Luke Walton and Jason Kapono to Cleveland for Ramon Sessions, and Derek Fisher to the Rockets for center Jordan Hill. Hill did not play, but Sessions helped fuel the Lakers past the Timberwolves for the fourth time this year in his debut with seven points and five assists.
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Sunday the Lakers were not so fortunate against the Utah Jazz as they showed a lack of energy all night despite another outstanding performance from All-Star center Andrew Bynum, 33 points and 11 boards; Kobe probably had his worst shooting game ever going 3-20. He did have 15 points but eight of them came from the free throw line. Kobe did have an opportunity to tie the game at 102, but missed the three-point attempt resulting in the Lakers third home loss of the season.
The Lakers have a tough week ahead of them as they fly to Houston and then Dallas before returning home to play Portland and Memphis. Houston, Dallas, and Memphis are playoff teams while the Blazers are on the cusp, 3.5 games out of first place. Besides playing two playoff teams in Houston and Dallas, the Lakers have to go on the road again and face their problems head-on again. They won their last three road games, hopefully they continue their good road play this week.
Next Page: The Week Ahead
Tuesday night the Lakers fly to Houston to battle the Rockets, 24-22, who are led by point guard Kyle Lowry and shooting guard Kevin Martin. They are a quick team that likes to get out and run while also having the ability to score in their half court set. Lowry, Martin and Chase Budinger are efficient three-point shooters so the Lakers are going to have to play solid defense.
Bynum and Gasol are good enough at the defensive end that they should not need help guarding their players. This means that the guards do not need to drop down into the post to double team the Rockets’ post players leaving their perimeter shooters open. That is the key for the Lakers to be victorious, allow the post players to play one on one so they can defend the three point line.
The same type of defensive strategy against the Rockets still applies for the Lakers Wednesday night in Dallas. This is another back-to-back game on the road for the Lakers and fatigue in the second half is going to play in favor of the Mavericks. The Mavericks do not have enough talent in the post, besides Dirk Nowitzki, to have to double team. Although Dallas is having a sub-par shooting year, they are still one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league when left open. Not allowing the guards to penetrate the middle of the defensive is what will give the Lakers their best chance at beating the Mavericks. Dallas relies on penetration and kick-out passes to wide open shooters to power their offense. Also, they hurt teams on the offensive board, so rebounding and keeping the Mavericks to one shot per possession is important.
Los Angeles returns home for two games at the Staples Center. First up are the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night. The Blazers have been an up and down team this year, mostly down, as they have not lived up to the expectations of the beginning of the year. They are an under .500 ball club, and after a 42-point loss to the New York Knicks last week, they fired their coach and traded Gerald Wallace and Marcus Camby before going to Chicago and beat the Bulls. However, two days later they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder and find themselves 3.5 games out of the final playoff spot. This is a team trying to find their new identity under new coach Kaleb Canales, but is facing a tough home, and newly improved Lakers team. Despite the troubles the Lakers have against Portland in Portland, the opposite goes for them at home. Keeping the Blazers from getting out on the fast break is one key for the Lakers Friday, along with feeding the post. Losing Camby hurts the Blazers against the Lakers as they have no one else who can match size with Andrew Bynum.
Sunday features the second meeting between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers currently stand two games ahead of the Grizzlies in the Western Conference playoff picture, so it is imperative that the Lakers are victorious. Los Angeles was lucky to come away with the win last week in Memphis after having 18 turnovers against Memphis’ pressure defense, but this is a game where the ball handling skills of new Laker, Ramon Sessions, should show its value. The Lakers must take care of the ball and limit their turnovers against the Grizzlies, who lead the league in causing turnovers. Limiting turnovers means more offensive shot attempts for the Lakers and keeps the Grizzlies from scoring easy fastbreak points. Since Bynum had a monster game last week in Memphis, he needs to be a focal point in the offense during this game as well.
The Lakers have a tough week ahead of them, four games in seven nights, a back-to-back road trip where they have not been good, and then a Sunday game against a tough defensive team. The addition to Ramon Sessions and Jordan Hill will be on full display, as they get more and more comfortable playing with a new team, and playing against playoff caliber teams. As always, the Lakers must limit turnovers and continue to exploit team weaknesses by giving the ball to Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the post.