Forum Blue And Gold

Teamwork.

It’s a simple word that has a vast meaning.  It’s what creates a dynamic where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  And in basketball, it results in a beautiful style of play where no one player is king, but all players make an impact.  That’s what we’re seeing from the Lakers and it’s something that I (and I’m sure every other Laker fan) can get used to.

On a night where Kobe missed his second consecutive game and Andrew Bynum was out for his sixth consecutive quarter, the Lakers are playing with less talent but with more togetherness.  Two games is an extremely small sample size, but oh what a two games.  Facing two teams that have traditionally been tough foes, the Lakers have two wins.

Once again, the credit can’t go to just one player and we can’t identify a single play that was the difference in this game.  It was a total team effort and one where the contributions from every player that saw meaningful minutes added up to a double digit victory and tacos for the home fans.  But if we’re going to give out credit, let’s start down low and then work our way out (just like our offense – it just works best).  Pau Gasol was just tremendous.  I don’t care that he missed some easy ones.  The fact that he was even in position to miss those easy ones was an indicator of the work that he was doing to establish position and skill he possesses to get himself a good shot.  Plus, when he’s doing all the other things that he can do to affect a game, I’ll take some missed shots. He didn’t miss ‘em all though.  21 points, 19 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 blocks for the big Spaniard.  That’s putting in work.  Add to that Tim Duncan needing 17 shots to get his 16 points (no FT’s!) and give me more of that Pau, missed shots and all.

Then there was Odom doing his “I’m in complete control of this game with the ball in my hands” thing.  Another double-double for my favorite lefty (16 and 10) with 3 dimes (could have been more if Pau had made some of those bunnies or didn’t get fouled on a couple of others) and too many to count rebound turned fast breaks for LO.  Tonight, we all saw the Odom that I thought was a can’t lose player when he was a FA this off-season.  I really can’t say enough about the way that Odom pushed the ball against the slow-to-change-ends bigs of the Spurs while also making the right reads with the ball – choosing to either force the action or set up in the half court.  And since we’re talking front court players, Artest continues to play the all around, two way game that Lakers fans (and Phil Jackson, I’m sure) were hoping to see when we acquired ol’ crazy pills.  A nice and tidy line of 16/5/4 for Ron and more of his trademark take no prisoners defense on Richard Jefferson (who by the way started oh fer 7 and ended up with 9 points on as many shots).

But this game wasn’t just about our bigs; the guards chipped in their fair share as well.  Derek Fisher has earned much of the (when it’s fair minded) criticism he’s gotten this season.  But tonight he played a controlled game by taking the shots that were there for him and making them.  You can call it coincidence, but in the last two games – games that Kobe has been out – Fisher has had two of his better games all season and really stepped up to fill the void in leadership by playing steady and even more calm than normal.  There will be fans that will still want more from Fish or will call this game fluky but I think he’s been playing well and I am happy for a player that I respect a great deal.  

But, just as with our bigs the credit doled out to our backcourt must also be spread out.  Shannon Brown got the start in Kobe’s place and he filled in admirably.  WOW may not have shot well, but he made a big 3 when the Spurs were making a run and converted an alley oop dunk to open the 2nd half that really got the crowd and the team going.  But, the really solid game(s) were had by Farmar and Sasha.  Farmar really is putting together some good performances of late.  He’s found his groove on offense (still too many P&R’s for my taste, but those are the plays that allow him to get into the lane and create separation for his jumper) and is playing better defense.  Nothing all world about his D, but just solid position defense that was highlighted by an end of the first half stop against Parker where Tony waived off the Duncan screen and tried to cross over Jordan only to have Farmar stick with him, make him reverse his dribble, and then forcing Parker lose his handle when Jordan pressured him.  Overall, I like what Jordan is doing.  Last, but not least, we had a Machine sighting.  Sasha continues to lobby for more minutes (the Boston game aside) by playing under control, making the shots that are available to him, and playing hard in his limited minutes.  He’s still fouling a bit too much, but he’s aggressive on defense so fouls are going to come.

Overall, this was another very good win from our guys.  When the game started and Tony Parker was going crazy and the Spurs put up a 34 spot in the first 12 minutes, I thought this might be a long night.  But the Lakers defense tightened, we started to push the ball and the game started to turn.  And as the game developed, every Spurs run was answered and the game was in control for the entire second half.  Against a solid opponent – one at full health – I couldn’t have asked for a better performance from our team.  The teamwork shined tonight and that is something that I can get used to.

Records: Lakers 39-13 (1st in the West), Spurs 29-20 (6th in the West, 8.5 games behind the Lakers)
Offensive ratings: Lakers 109.6 (9th in the NBA), Spurs 110.0 (7th in the NBA)
Defensive ratings: Lakers 102.6 (4th in the NBA), Spurs 104.8 (10th in the NBA)
Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant? (game time decision), Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol
Spurs: Tony Parker, George Hill, Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan, Antonio McDyess

The Lakers Coming in:  That screeching sound you hear are Lakers fans coming to quick halt as we learn that Kobe is undergoing further tests on his bum ankle and Bynum is likely out for tonight’s contest.  Suddenly, the high that we all felt after the Portland game is gone and we’re now feeling a real concern for two of our best players.  I still have Kobe listed as a starter, but I really don’t know if he’ll play.  But since he’s still a game time decision, I think he may test out his bum wheel (if only because we will be even more short handed with Drew out) and give it a go tonight.  He always loves to play the Spurs.  Based off the history of both players, I’d be a bit more concerned about Bynum than Kobe.  Any time the words Bynum, injury, and knee appear in the same sentence I start to think bad thoughts about his long term health and need to be talked down off the proverbial ledge.  With the way that his past two seasons have gone, I don’t think any issue with a knee is minor for him even if it did come about from a routine knee to knee bump that happens pretty frequently.  But with anything injury related to Kobe, I tend to shrug it off just because he consistently comes back early from any prolonged absence and is notorious for getting treatment 24/7 until he’s back into playing form.  Maybe I’m giving Kobe too much credit here, but I think he’ll be back sooner rather than later.

The Spurs Coming in: The Spurs are a mystery that even the experts can’t crack.  Before the season started, they were universally hailed as a team that could contend for a championship.  They went against their past history of conscientious spending and jumped into luxury tax land for the first time in the Duncan era.  So far, the results have not been what many expected.  The problems they face are real and they’re in a dog fight for a top 4 seed and home court in the first round of the playoffs.  And while it may not be time to hit the panic button for fans of the Spurs, the truly concerned button was probably hit a couple of weeks ago.

Not all is bad for the Spurs, but they are underperforming as a group.  Part of that can be directly attributed to the uneven play of Parker and Ginobili.  Parker has been slowed by a variety of injuries all season.  Most recently he’s had to deal with an ankle sprain that kept him out of three games before returning to the last two.  And while I give Tony credit for fighting through the pain and trying to help his team by being in the lineup, his stats are down across the board and it’s affected his team.  As for Ginobili, he’s just had an uneven season and may just be showing his age and the results that come from a career of relentless attack on the basket.  Manu’s points are down to 13.2 per game (the lowest average since his 2nd season) and his impact as a sixth man has diminished in a manner that has really hurt the Spurs as they can no longer rely on a “starter” coming off the bench to change the game the minute he steps on the floor.

The one player that has not seen any real decline is Tim Duncan.  He’s once again having an All-NBA type season on both ends of the floor.  This man still guarantees you stat lines of 20/10/3 with almost two blocks a game while only committing two fouls.  Fantastic stuff from this future hall of famer.  Every year people who follow this league think Duncan is going to stop being effective and every year those people are proven wrong.  I’ll believe he’s falling off when I actually see it.  One other player to really watch is the emerging George Hill.  Hill has been playing quite well this season and is doing everything well (though no one thing excellently).  Hill has shown he’s a capable shooter and his deceptive size makes him a good finisher in the lane.  He’s also a good off-the-ball mover and is a guy that you can’t turn your head on as he’ll sneak into the paint for easy buckets if you end up watching the ball when one of the other Spurs is going to work.

Spurs Blogs:  48 Minutes of Hell is a great place to start.  Also check out Pounding the Rock for anything Spurs related.

Keys to game: The last time these two teams met, Duncan just killed us on the block.  The Big Fundamental used his textbook game to hit a variety of hook shots, wing banks, and runners that reminded everyone why he’s one of the all time great big men.  Tonight, the Lakers bigs (sans Bynum) are going to have to contest every shot and force him to take the shots that he doesn’t want to take.  That’s easier said than done, but I think we might see the occasional double team to force Timmy to pass the ball out when he’s got deep post position and give him his jumpshot (especially from the top of the key) as a preferred result in any set where Duncan is the shooter.  If Duncan beats us with 15-18 footers, so be it.   The Spurs are another team that will test our P&R defense with Parker and Hill handling the ball and Duncan/Blair/Dyess/Bonner doing the screening.  In these sets, Dyess and Bonner are strictly pick and pop players, Blair will almost always roll to the cup, and Duncan will do both.  So, we need to know personnel and tendencies and play each player to their strengths.  As for the guards, Parker and Hill both love to turn the corner and get into the paint so our goals should be to make them jumpshooters.  Make these guys bury low-ish percentage jumpshots and live with the results.  Tonight is another night where we’ll need sharp rotations as the two players that are in the P&R can be decoys as the Spurs look for either a shooter in the (Joel Meyers sponsored) short corner  or the other big man sitting stationary on the baseline for an open 15 footer.  The Spurs are a team that run a bunch of set plays but they are all a part of a larger system that all the players have confidence in.  In order to stop them, you need to play disciplined D and contest shots (or you just need them to go on one of their patented dry spells – I’m hoping for a bit of both tonight).

On offense, the Lakers need more of what they showed in Portland.  The Spurs are a team that excels at making teams play in isolation and if the Lakers start to play a lot of one on one, the Spurs will have one the “style” game even if the shots go in.  The Lakers need to enter the ball into the post, cut, screen, and move the ball.  As individuals, the Spurs are not strong defenders (save Duncan) but as a group they can still get the job done (though not as well as in years past).  So, move the ball, get the defense scrambling, and then attack them in their weakspots.  One place where the Spurs have always been vulnerable is in the inbetween parts of the court – FT line, elbows, shallow wings.  So, I hope to see a lot of our elbow sets and mid-range post ups for our wings where they can turn and face, then attack with either crisp passing to cutters or get up easier shots when they get into the paint.

Where you can watch: 7:30 pm start here on the West on TNT (which means more like 7:45) or on ESPN Radio 710am.

First, things first: I enjoyed the Lakers win in Portland as much or more than any Lakers fan. It was kind of cathartic. And because of the circumstances for that win, I am now on the bandwagon for having Kobe as the sixth man, coming in off the bench. What do you want in a bench player? A guy who can light up the scoreboard and just comes in and changes the tempo and feel of a game. Does that describe anyone better than Kobe? Clearly, this is the direction Phil needs to go.

I kid, I kid. My quick 2¢: The win in Portland and the team’s play may have had something to do with the locker room mood after the Denver loss. The Lakers, more than any time this season, seemed clearly stunned by that outcome, it hit them in a way other losses have not. It seemed to make them think about how they are doing things, going about the games. At least that seemed to be the feeling. Whether or not that translates into anything beyond a win against a banged-up Portland team remains to be seen, but the feeling was there. And there is plenty of time to right the ship, if the will is there. As a fan, that remains my hope.

While Kobe has been taking nights off, sitting with his feet up in the back of the bus, I’ve been busy at my new project, which launched today: Pro Basketball Talk. Please click the link, come on by and check out my new digs. There’s a great group of bloggers there working with me, and I’m excited about what we can do with the site.

I again can’t thank everyone who reads and comments at this site for all they have given me the last five years. I have loved talking basketball with all of you, I’m a smarter and better basketball fan for it. I see and think of things differently.  This blog will always be close to my heart, and I’ll still be around commenting this year. And celebrating (I hope).

Now you may resume arguing about Derek Fisher.

—Kurt

It’s an off day for the Lakers and I’m sure like many other sports fans around the country a lot of our guys are watching the big game with their family and friends. And I’m sure they’ll enjoy the game a bit more after last night’s win. So before we move on to the Jazz, wondering about when Kobe will return, if Andrew will miss any additional time, and what this team will play like down the stretch of the season. Let’s talk some pigskin.

Kobe’s already said who he likes when the Colts face the Saints. Personally, I don’t have a horse in this race so my rooting interests are in seeing a good game that isn’t outdone by the commercials. If I had to make a prediction, I’d say the Colts win. Peyton Manning is just one of those guys that impresses me with the way he can control a game. You throw in the experience factor and I think they’re favored for a reason. But, I never count out the Saints as they’ve had a great season and have a pretty good QB themselves. Should be a fun game. In a bit of a tribute to ‘Nawlins, I’ve got the gumbo on the stove and am getting ready for this game. Comment away on anything and everything Super Bowl and we’ll get back to hoops a bit later. I hope everyone enjoys the game (if that’s what you’re doing this afternoon).

-Darius

We knew about an hour before tip off that at least one streak would be broken in this clash between the Lakers and the Blazers when it was announced that Kobe would miss his first game in 235 contests due to his sprained ankle.  But by the time the final buzzer sounded, a second streak would also end up being no more as the Lakers won in the Rose Garden for the first time in its last ten tries.  The final score: Lakers 99,  Blazers 82. Boy was that fun. And it was fun because we saw team effort again.

When this game started, I really didn’t know what to expect.  In the comments, Zephid said:

This’ll be a good character measure. Let’s see how our guys respond without Kobe to bail them out.

I thought that was a good way of looking at this game.  This game was going to be one where we learned something about this team.  I too wanted to see how they were going to respond.  I’d say they did quite well.

What I thought was going to be an interesting game to begin with, started out in a way that even I was surprised by.  When it was announced that Kobe was not going to play, the safe money was on Shannon Brown replacing him the starting group.  Brown *is* the backup SG and is a guy that the coaches have shown confidence in.  However, I did think there was a slight chance that Phil would go with Luke as the fifth starter.  I though that Luke would be a good compliment to the starters as an offensive initiator and player that was going to focus on running our sets and passing and that Ron was the player best suited to fill in for Kobe as a primary offensive threat from the wing.  Turns out I wasn’t too far off base and Phil took this idea to the extreme by starting Odom for Kobe and throwing out a supersized lineup of LO, Artest, Pau, and Bynum to flank Fisher.  Nice choice, Phil.

Odom ended up having a huge impact on this game.  He ended the night with 22 rebounds (19! defensive) and six assists.  You throw in the steal, the block, and only a single turnover (in 37 minutes with how much he handled the ball? I love that low turnover number) and I couldn’t care less if he scored at all, much less get the team 10 points.  The man was everywhere and as his team high +25 on the night implies, he had a tremendous impact.  But Odom wasn’t alone.  In fact, almost everyone came along with him.  Fisher had a vintage night with 14 points and 6 assists and was 2-2 from three point range.  Artest was even more impressive, playing a fantastic two way game and tossing in a team high 21 points to go along with his standard dogged defense.  Shannon turned in a game that we all hoped we’d see more of this season after his teasing us with his playoff success from last year.  And Pau played a very good game.  I know that many have been down on Gasol recently, what with the fumbled passes and the less than stellar shot making.  But, go look at that link again (seriously go – it’s a nice 3 minutes).  Look how many plays he made.  He was the anchor of our half court offense and there is no way the Lakers win that game without him.

What we saw was a return of team ball and some of the best execution we’ve seen in weeks (if not months).  The ball was moving, players were cutting, guys were making the extra pass, and the recipients of those passes were rewarding their mates by finishing shots.   Our guards ran the P&R as a change up to our normal offense.  Players didn’t over dribble and instead they passed and moved.  It really was great to see.  Can this last?  I don’t know, but tonight this team once again showed that they are capable of playing the type of game that helped them earn a championship last season.  They were selfless, smart, and worked hard.

But all news isn’t great.  Bynum is banged up and nursing some nagging injuries.  He left this game in the first half and did not return due to a bruised hip.  And this was after he came into the game with a new sleeve on his left knee.  And Kobe is obviously in more pain than we’ve thought.  We’d all seen him looking not as explosive over the last several games, but the fact that he actually sat out a game is meaningful.  The all-star break couldn’t be upon us at a better time as hopefully this will allow our guys to get rested and healed up for the playoff push.

But those are thoughts for a later day.  For now, I’m happy with a victory.  A true team effort in a back to back in a place where we haven’t won in a long time.

-Darius