After a half-hazard win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the usually calm and collected Derek Fisher had a few choice words for his teammates.
“The way we played tonight was irresponsible and it was reckless and it was disrespectful,” Fisher said. “I can’t get any clearer than that. There was an air of complacency, of arrogance, of ‘we don’t have to play as hard as the other team to win’ that I didn’t like tonight.”
Such post-game proclamations are usually reserved for Kobe Bryant, but in that instance, he opted to stay quiet and respectfully downplay Fisher’s comments. He didn’t want to be too harsh. At that point, the Lakers were 8-0 despite being without Andrew Bynum, there was no reason to panic, no reason to get under anyone’s skin, even after an ugly win over the lowly Timberwolves.
Forty-six days, nine loses and one Christmas debacle later, the Lakers still haven’t gotten the message.
Go ahead and add “oracle” to Fisher’s resume.
Okay, so maybe Fisher’s comments weren’t exactly a result of divine intervention, but the lack of effort he saw from his team that day was something that needed to be nipped before turning into bad habit. Timing aside, Fisher understood where his team was heading, even if no one else dared to point out the obvious.
The Lakers have a knack of not showing up for games and this just in, going up against three proven superstars isn’t reason enough to get the old competitive juices flowing.
Next: The Heat expose more than just the Lakers’ character flaws We don’t all have the luxury of attending a Lakers game, for us fans, any of the 82 games played could be considered premier matchups, but the Lakers organization only considers two games worthy of the premier title; the January 30th matchup against the Boston Celtics and the December 25th game against the Miami Heat.
Apparently, the Lakers didn’t quite get that message either.
The Lakers were supposed to be the superior inside force, but Dwayne Wade wove into the paint, breaking down the defense with relative ease. Ron Artest was supposed to contain LeBron James, limiting his damage and preventing him from making plays or getting his way in transition, but James ended the night with a triple-double. Pau Gasol was supposed to dance circles around Bosh, but in the end, Bosh was the one making the right moves, prompting Phil Jackson to refer to Gasol’s shot release as being “soft.”
Ouch.
To say that the Lakers of late have lacked luster would be the understatement of the year. Perhaps adding to that their apparent lack of interest, passion, urgency and grit, and it sounds more accurate. So now is it time for Bryant to chime in?
“I think these games mean more to our opponents than they do to us,” Bryant said. “I think we need to get that straight. We need to play with more focus and put more importance on these games.
“We know what we’re capable of doing and that’s the problem. We’ve been there before and we know what we need to do and it’s kind of like, ‘OK, we’ll do it.’ But we need to get going here.”
There Bryant stood before the media, unimpressed by the Lakers effort against the Heat, visibly upset and using the podium to send a message to his teammates to “show up and work.” In case they didn’t happen to catch him the first time, he made sure to let everyone know he’d repeat it at practice on Monday.
Next: Lakers can no longer rest on their laurels
Jackson is telling everyone to be patient, but it seems as though Bryant is the one losing patience with his teammates. He may have been quiet before, but the Heat’s dismantling of the Lakers has awakened the beast inside Bryant. It’s time for Bryant to send a message to the rest of the squad and set the tone for the remainder of the season.
It would be wrong of me to judge this game based solely on the Lakers character, as it wouldn’t do justice to the way the Heat played or how they’ve been able to find a method that works and execute it each night.
Complacency isn’t the only thing that plagues the two-time defending champions. If they intend on competing for something only three teams have done since 1966—that is, to three-peat—they’ll have to do more than just an attitude adjustment.
Thanks to advanced scouting, teams have figured out how to beat the Lakers. Coming to the hardwood prepared in combination with simply outworking the Lakers appears to be the recipe for defeating the Lake Show, and everyone’s in the kitchen taking down notes.
Next: Lakers need to get on pace with the rest of the West With all the talk of a diminished Western Conference, the Lakers went soft. They’ve allowed their foes to gain confidence. Titles aren’t handed out at the start of the season and clearly the Western Conference title is still up for grabs. Tell the rejuvenated Spurs they don’t have a chance at representing the West in the Finals. They’ve only lost four games. Tell the Mavericks their offense just isn’t going to get it done, it isn’t like they haven’t been playing great ball of late.
If the Lakers think they can air-mail the season and flip the switch in the playoffs, Dr. Jerry Buss may not have to pay for another championship parade out-of-pocket. He’s already saved some money by trading Sasha Vujacic, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind saving another million bucks.
Obviously, the Lakers loss to the Heat doesn’t make or break their season. It doesn’t even make them any less likely to win the title in June. It’s just one game in December.
Any more just-one-games and the Lakers might find themselves taking an early vacation. Doing the same thing they’ve done that’s won them the title two years in a row is just not going to get it done in 2011.
Bryant knows it, Phil Jackson alluded to it and it’s what Fisher has been preaching all along.
“We could be playing Minnesota –Yeah, I said it — and I’d still be concerned,” Bryant said.
Well, better late than never.