Whether you’re in school or caught up in the daily grind of the working world, when has rest and time off ever been considered a detrimental thing? We all want it because we all recognize the value in it.
The Lakers, keeping in line with their next round opponent, the Phoenix Suns, decisively seized a golden opportunity to earn a blissful seven days off by completing a 4-0 sweep of the Utah Jazz Monday night.
For those of you that may be concerned with the potential side effects of such a lengthy hiatus, consider the benefits of having a week off from playing intense playoff basketball as well, especially for the slew of banged up players like Kobe, Drew, Lamar, Ron, and Sasha.
We can’t discard the fact that since the break between Game 4 and 5 of the OKC series in which the Lakers had their first set of a full two days off, the Mamba has scored over 30 points in each of the last six playoff games while shooting above 50% from the field – a return to form so to speak. The team is 6-0 in that span as well if you needed any more reassurance.
If you’re wondering how I can compare two days off to seven, I’m not. What I’m saying is more affixed on the notion that we need our collective roster to be as close to 100% as they can possibly get. The substantial need for a healthy Kobe Bryant goes without saying.
Remember, this next series with the Suns is not where the road ends by any stretch of the imagination, should the Lakers prevail. We must stay tuned into the long run and how this hard-earned rest can reap huge dividends for the team as they hopefully play well into June.
Before the Utah series got under way, I made it clear that I was a proponent of finishing the Jazz off in no more than five games because I really felt, and still do support the idea of having abundant time to physically recoup. I’m sure we all recall Kobe grimacing in pain during Monday night’s clincher following an inadvertent swipe at his mangled index finger by Kyrylo Fesenko – enough so that he even had to call for a timeout.
That is precisely the kind of freak play that we should all want to avoid and who knows what could have happened in a Game 5 or Game 6 had the Jazz series been extended?
I couldn’t be more ecstatic that we have the luxury of merely speculating rather than having to observe.
NEXT: Falling out of rhythm.
[phpbay]Lakers, 3, “”, “”[/phpbay]
The concept of being rusty and losing the flow of a progressive pace in the playoffs is quite possibly one of the most perplexing issues to deal with in all of sports. However, lucky for us, the Suns have to find a way to stay warm for seven days as well.
One could very well argue that this team is indeed vulnerable to having “too much time off” as was the case with Game 1 last year against the Rockets, in which the Lakers were about as impressive as Carl Lewis’ lovely rendition of the National Anthem.
My rebuttal to that point would be, hopefully the Lakers’ coaches and players alike, are able to look back to the aforementioned Game 1 and figure out how they can maintain the ebb and flow that they’ve been playing with during this 6-0 run. Playoff experience is not strictly relegated to what a player can learn during games.
The team obviously did not go about last year’s elongated period of rest correctly so that is something Phil and the coaching staff must address with all of the players. They did come back with a vengeance in Game 2 though so I’m quite honestly not concerned at all.
Bottom line, I don’t buy loss of rhythm and rust as being much of a hindrance. At the NBA level, none of these players should be so susceptible to things of that nature that it can completely derail their game for an entire series. Even if the Lakers come out flat and out of sorts in Game 1 next Monday, I don’t expect it to compromise the game, much less the series.
We have a true championship veteran ball club and our team leaders, Kobe and Derek, are amongst the best in the league, if not the absolute best. They know and realize all the same things that us fans do so rest assured, the Lakers will be ready on May 17th.
Rest up and stay hungry boys. History awaits you.
[phpbay]Lakers, 3, “”, “”[/phpbay]