A gut-wrenching win on Wednesday, a head-scratching loss on Saturday, and finally the Lakers second road win of the season, came despite the Lakers completely wiping away an 18-point advantage in the third quarter, with 4:09 left to play in the fourth.
Just another stretch of games along the roller coaster ride that is the Lakers 2011-12, lockout-shortened season. The Lakers can breathe a collective sigh of relief, but how long will it last?
Any expectation for the Lakers to start the season should’ve been completely blanketed after every failed attempt to end the lockout. With the unfamiliarity of Mike Brown and his system, even for seasoned veterans, learning it all on the fly was a tall order to fill from the get-go. While the Lakers can use this as justification for their struggles early on, it’s an excuse that’s beginning to lose credibility, 21-games into the season.
—- Play Fantasy Basketball for Fun & Cash Prizes | Use “LN2011” 30% Deposit Bonus —-
To say the Lakers have (at times) lacked consistency, focus, and execution, would be putting it lightly. It really only scratches the surface of what ails the Lakers. The Lakers are hardly the team we’ve become accustomed to watching since their last big shake-up in 2008, after they acquired Pau Gasol. While we as fans have noticed the difference, so too have other teams. They’ve become just like any other team, vulnerable at both ends of the floor. The Lakers are no longer the crème of the crop when it comes to NBA offenses. In fact, their offense is average on most nights, and on a handful of nights, it’s been well below average. While their turn around defensively has been a bright spot so far this season, their defensive effort is still directly related to the amount of energy they exert during the entire 48-minutes they’re out on the floor—which some nights, isn’t enough to make a ripple, much less a difference in determining wins and losses.
The Lakers were the team with the inherent size advantage. That, coupled with simply having Kobe Bryant in the lineup, was what catapulted them to success. Who could ever compete with two seven-footers guarding the basket on defense and owning the painted area on offense? If the Lakers continue to look baffled on the court, any team can. As the aura of the Lakers big men begins to dwindle, the confidence of opposing teams only intensifies. The Milwaukee Bucks, even with a depleted frontline, were empowered once the Lakers went along with their run-and-gun style of play, instead of slowing it down in the half-court and getting the ball to Gasol and Bynum down low. Adding insult to injury, neither Bynum nor Gasol could muster-up the physicality required to get good deep position on the court. Instead of wrecking havoc for the Bucks, they allowed their offense to be disrupted. Gasol only scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, Bynum not much better with 15 points, and nine rebounds.
Next: Lakers near loss in Minnesota, should serve as lesson to keep Bynum and Gasol active offensively
The following evening against Minnesota, the Lakers let an 18-point advantage dissipate in the third quarter, allowing a zone defense by the Timberwolves take them off their inside game, resulting in a flurry of missed shots around the perimeter. Those missed shots lead to long rebounds that only enabled Ricky Rubio to shine in transition—spurring a 12-0 run that nearly notched another hash mark under the loss column for the Lakers.
What was once thought of as impossible before is completely attainable now. The Lakers are beatable, even with Bryant, Gasol and Bynum. Here’s a news flash, it’s likely to be just the same if Dwight Howard were to suddenly fall from the sky in purple and gold warm-ups. Without maintaining a disciplined, or at the very least, fundamentally sound offense, teams can dismantle the Lakers and manipulate the tempo of the game. Yes, it’s become that easy, and the Lakers have only themselves to blame for providing the league with their own kryptonite.
If you’re the Lakers, it’s hard to feel good about a win, when it could have easily been a loss. It’s hard to say, that the Lakers will finally comprehend that in order to win, and win consistently, the offense has to run through all of the team’s assets—Bryant, Gasol, and Bynum. Everyone should be involved, but only after their options, one through three, have been exhausted.
—- Play Fantasy Basketball for Fun & Cash Prizes | Use “LN2011” 30% Deposit Bonus —-
Case and point: the last four minutes of the game against the Timberwolves. With 4:09 left in the fourth quarter, the game was tied, Gasol made a move to the basket resulting in a foul, and two made free throws. The next Lakers possession was a Bynum slam dunk. The next a Gasol 20-foot jumper, followed by another Bynum slam dunk. Kobe posted the last four points, cementing the win, and the rest of the points came by way of free throws.
Without a method of orchestrating the offense to take advantage of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol’s efficiency at the rim, the Lakers are just average. Without the Lakers big men bodying up against the other big men in the league, grabbing rebounds, getting second-chance points, and making aggressive moves towards the basket, the Lakers are just average.
But the Lakers aren’t just average.
As long as Kobe Bryant suits up for the Lakers, they’ll never be just average. He’s too good a player, and even as he enters what many believe to be the twilight of his career, he still battles to be considered the best player in the league, perhaps even the best player anyone has ever seen. On Saturday, Bryant passed Jerry West to top the list as the player with the most free throws made in Lakers history. Just yesterday, Bryant would add to that, the top spot on the Lakers all-time field goals made, with 9,946. Still, the legacy that Bryant continues to harp on is the one that involves rings.
Championship rings.
The Lakers big men aren’t average either. If the Lakers can consistently incorporate them into the offense, 13-game stretches of less than 100 points posted, will be a thing of the past.