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Metta World Peace’s Recent Struggles Highlight a Bigger Problem

Darius Soriano —  February 11, 2013

As drama does its best to engulf the Lakers’ season and swallow it whole, it’s the big stories that seem to grab our attention day in and day out. Be it Kobe’s shifting roles, Dwight’s shoulder, Nash’s adjustments and attempts to bring the team together, Pau’s foot, or the general sniping through the press, this season hasn’t lacked narratives to explain what’s going wrong.

Lately however, even in the face of these storylines, things have been looking up. The Lakers are 7-3 in their last 10 and their only “bad” loss was to a Suns team that came back after Dwight Howard injured his shoulder. (Yes, the Celtics’ loss was frustrating for a variety of reasons, but they’ve been playing great ball and a loss to them is explainable). This team, while still having the buzzards circling, is actually playing solid basketball as roles become more defined and a reliable style of play has become the norm.

One player, however, who is not playing well is Metta World Peace. The guy I still call Ron is going through his worst stretch of the season and while the Lakers are still finding ways to win through his struggles, his poor play is highlighting the lack of reliable wing depth this team has.

Before we go any further, it’s important to quantify exactly what Ron is going through on both sides of the ball.

Over the last 5 games, Ron is averaging less than 8 points a game while shooting 26.3% from the field, 19% from the three point line, and 55.6% from the foul line. Extend the threshold to 10 games and his numbers aren’t much better with an average of a shade over 10 points per game on 30.6% shooting from the field including 29.7% from behind the arc. Furthermore, Ron has become more of a ball stopper on offense in the last five games, looking to score in isolations more and settling for the type of shots that should only be taken with the shot clock running down.

More of an issue than his offensive struggles is the decline in his defensive effectiveness. First, it should be made clear, Ron still has some of the best defensive hands in the league. The ball is never safe when Ron is guarding his man closely and one second of over exposure can lead to the ball being poked or swiped away. However, his foot speed has declined to the point that he’s having trouble executing multiple defensive slides on the perimeter without giving up a driving lane. This leads to defensive breakdowns that puts even more pressure on the Lakers’ interior defenders.

While PER isn’t a perfect statistical tool and can’t be the sole way we evaluate players, it does a do a very good job of compiling box score stats with usage rates and giving an indicator of how efficiently a player is performing on offense. PER against, then, is a handy way of measuring how well your opponent is playing when being defended by you. Last season, Ron posted a PER against of 11.8 when defending small forwards and a PER against of 8.3 when defending power forwards. These numbers, though not telling the entire story of how a defender is playing, show a very effective defender who could swing between both forward spots. This season, however, Ron’s opponents are posting a PER against of 14.8 when playing SF and 18.1 when playing PF. Again, these numbers don’t tell the entire story, but they do tell a story. And it’s one of a player in decline on that side of the ball.

It’s gotten to the point that Earl Clark is taking the task of defending most of the better wing offensive players (though, to be fair, Ron did “guard” LeBron on Sunday). So, instead of Ron chasing around Kevin Durant, it’s Clark. And instead of Ron taking the next best offensive wing, Kobe is often being asked to defend that player instead. Ron, then, is usually asked to defend the opposing PF or even the C where he has the strength and hand quickness to battle and be disruptive, but not the height or length to be the lockdown force he once was.

While I’ve spent a lot of time knocking Ron down a level (or two) for his recent play and some of his season long shortcomings, this is really more about the Lakers’ lack of a viable alternative on their roster and the best way to use Ron as he ages. What hasn’t yet been said is that while Ron is giving up a hefty PER to opposing PF’s, he’s also playing better on offense as a “stretch four” than he is as a traditional SF. Ron’s PER as a PF is a robust 21.7. In that role he’s usually not at a quickness deficit against his man and has the ability to play the role of a shooter and driver against players who aren’t used to defending on the wing. He gets better shots as a PF and has more advantages in that role.

But, the Lakers don’t have the depth to play him there full time. The only other natural SF on the roster besides Ron is Devin Ebanks and he’s never been more buried. This leaves the option of moving Kobe up to SF (which he can do), but also opens exposes some of the Lakers’ issues at SG behind their future hall of famer. Jodie Meeks is a fine player who can play 15-20 minutes (or more depending on how his shot is falling), but he lacks solid size and can be exposed in more physical match ups. And if Meeks isn’t getting those minutes, the Lakers are stuck playing a PG (Blake, Duhon) at SG and those same issues (size, quickness, defensive ability) are only exacerbated.

This brings us back to an issue we’ve been discussing for most of the season: the Lakers need another viable wing to help them get through the end of the season. The roster, as it currently stands, has the depth it needs at PG (Nash, Blake), SG (Kobe, Meeks), PF (Clark, Jamison, Ron), and even C (Dwight Sacre). Even with Pau Gasol injured, the team can make enough adjustments with their current group of players to manage their size issues and find a solid rotation at PF/C to get through (as long as Dwight is capable of suiting up). What they don’t have, however, is enough depth at SF to manage — unless they plan at playing guys out of position and going stretches of games with undersized players being asked to do more than they’re capable.

Don’t  get me wrong. Ron can still play SF for some stretches. And Earl Clark’s defensive versatility means that Ron doesn’t have to chase players who are much quicker than him around the perimeter for all his minutes. However, as it stands today, Ron is playing 34 minutes a night and his production doesn’t warrant that — especially not lately. But the Lakers simply don’t have a player on their roster to take any of those minutes away. Not with Kobe still playing roughly 38 minutes a night and Clark playing well over 30 a night since he became a part of the regular rotation.

Plus, the fact is, that even if this is just a bad stretch for Ron (which is possible) and he returns to the production levels he showed earlier in the season (also possible, but not likely), the Lakers are still shallow on the wing. On nights where Meeks or Ron play poorly, there aren’t enough players who are capable to fill in the gaps. Unless you count Jamison as a wing player (and I don’t) or expect Clark to play over 40 minutes a night (which is not reasonable). Something, then, needs to be done.

How the Lakers deal with this the rest of the season will matter. It may not be their biggest problem and it’s certainly not the one that will generate the most headlines. But it’s still something that needs addressing.

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Lakers Take Down Timberwolves, Win First Road Game of 2013

Darius Soriano —  February 1, 2013

If, at the start of the night, I were to tell you the Lakers would win by 11 points and do so pretty comfortably, I think we all would have exchanged high fives and gone about the rest of our Friday night. Well, guess what? The Lakers won by 11 (111-100) and did so fairly comfortably. So, high five, right?

Kind of.

Because while the Lakers won this game, it was the flow of the contest that many will likely have a hard time letting go of. Early in the game, the Lakers came out bombing away from long range, defending on the other end, and built up a big lead in the process. It really was as simple as the Lakers not missing shots.

After the 1st quarter, the Lakers were up 37-24. Six minutes later, the Lakers were up 61 to 32. If there was a shot to be taken, the odds were that the Lakers weren’t only finding a way to take it, but were going to make it. Three pointers fell from all over the floor and from any Laker that was taking it at the time. This really isn’t an exaggeration. Of the 8 players who had seen game time for the team, 7 had made a three pointer, including Pau Gasol. The only blemish was Jamison’s 0-1, but the team as a whole was 10-13 so we’ll excuse him.

That said, even though the Lakers were rolling, you could see things weren’t necessarily going to stay that way. The Timberwolves, though down big, were actually playing well on offense and you had to figure if they kept playing that way and the Lakers stopped making every shot taken, the game would start to turn. And, well, that’s exactly what started to happen.

With the Wolves unable to slow the Lakers in man to man situations, Rick Adelman made the coaching decision of the game by switching to a zone D. Instantly, the Lakers started to look like a different team. The shots they were taking in rhythm started to bounce off the rim. The Wolves, able to rebound rather than take the ball out of the bottom of the net, were then able to push the ball up court and attack the Lakers in the open court. Of course, with this being the Lakers’ weakness, the Wolves started to make a push. By the time halftime came, the Wolves had cut the lead down to 19 and had grabbed some momentum for the second half.

In those final two periods, the Wolves stayed in the zone and the Lakers just couldn’t find a way to break it consistently. Sure, they’d get some baskets here and there, but for the most part the Lakers settled for jumpers and, unlike the first part of the game, those shots didn’t fall. The misses allowed the Wolves to duplicate their success from the latter part of the 2nd period and continue to shave points off their deficit.

The Wolves got as close as 4 points before the Lakers finally just decided they were no longer going to settle for long jumpers and were going to get shots closer to the rim. They moved the ball inside to Gasol or grabbed an O-rebound or simply drove hard to the paint. And while that wasn’t an every play occurrence, the attacking style did set up the types of outside jumpers that the team made in the first half rather than the off-the-dribble variety that they missed in the middle part of the contest. When those shots started to fall again, the Lakers opened back up their lead and seized control back.

In the end, this wasn’t the most fun game if you sat through the entire thing. Watching the Lakers struggle with the zone and lose the majority of what was close to a 30 point lead was certainly frustrating. However, the win is what matters most and the Lakers were able to get it done. Plus, there are some real positive takeaways too. Pau Gasol filled in well for Dwight, playing well offensively and doing a reasonable job defending Pekovic. The team controlled the backboards, allowing only 8 offensive rebounds while still being able to win the battle of the glass by 17. Despite having issues with the zone, the Lakers were good at taking care of the ball with only 12 turnovers on the night.

So, overall, while there were things to be upset about, the result is not one of them. The Lakers really do need every win they can get and, despite the up and down nature of the game, this contest counts just the same. So, just remember it this way: the Lakers won a road game by 11 points and did so fairly comfortably. Sunday they get another chance to do it again.

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Where Are We Now? A Lakers State of the Union

Dave Murphy —  January 26, 2013

With the nation’s annual State of the Union address approaching, as well as the midpoint to the NBA season, we thought we’d take a moment to reflect. The subject at hand of course, the Los Angeles Lakers and their state of being. This certainly isn’t the team’s finest hour but it is what it is – a few of us offered observations within a basic context of past, present and future. It’s not surprising that there’s a commonality of disappointment and sharp criticism at play in the following capsules. There is also pragmatism, thoughtful analysis and possible ways out of a morass that nobody would have predicted during a summer that now seems long ago. Settle in for some good reading and commentary from J.M. Poulard, Emile Avanessian, Zephid (Jeff King) and Rey Moralde:

J.M. POULARD

Where Lakers Have Been

Forget Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain; or Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, Karl Malone and Shaquille O’Neal, these new Lakers would be by far the best collection of individual talent on one team in franchise history.

But that wasn’t to be.

Steve Nash fractured his leg and thus missed a huge chunk of the season and consequently the Lakers had to manage without their superstar point guard steering the offense.

Things looked promising despite a few early setbacks because Kobe Bryant was shooting the heck out of the basketball and looked 28 again on some nights.

Dwight Howard was a little different; check that, plenty different because his back injury that sidelined him the previous season affected his mobility.

And well, Mike Brown got fired.

In came Mike D’Antoni, and out of the post went Pau Gasol.

Things looked bad for a stretch, but everything would be fine once again as soon as Steve Nash would rejoin the team.

Nash came back and the Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena and everything in Laker Land was fine…

Until the team started losing again. Thus bringing us to…

Where Lakers Are Now

Lost.

It’s the one word that perfectly characterizes what’s happening with the team at present time.

The offense is statistically good, but we expected it to be miles ahead of everybody else’s and because it hasn’t been, that’s been somewhat of a disappointment.

The defense has been awful. The communication has been non-existent and the rotations just aren’t there. The trust on this side of the ball just seems broken more often than not.

Consequently, every player is operating in ways that they think serve the team best, but no one is quite sure.

Nash is turning down shots to get others involved but is actually hurting the team in doing so at times, while Pau is camped out on the perimeter doing his best to emulate Dirk Nowitzki.

Kobe is Kobe while Dwight is not quite himself but certainly acting as such. This leads us to…

Where the Lakers are Headed

There’s no obvious answer here:

·         Staples Center?

·         Trades?

·         Phil Jackson?

·         NBA Finals?

·         Western Conference Finals?

·         Western Conference Semifinals?

·         First round?

·         10th seed in the Western Conference?

All of those answers come in play. The Lakers could figure things out and go 30-10 the rest of the way by virtue of the performance of their stars, make the playoffs, catch the right matchup and make some noise in the postseason, or simply go 16-24 as their winning percentage (.405) suggests and then the front office might just throw a stick of dynamite at the coaching staff and the scouts and blow it all up on that front.

No team in the NBA has a higher ceiling or lower floor level than the Lakers right now. And really, that’s what makes them the Lakers.

Always keeping you on the edge of your seat.

EMILE AVANESSIAN

Where We’ve Been

The top of the mountain.

With the exception of the New York Yankees, no team in the annals of American sport has so consistently taken up residence at the pinnacle of its respective game. You’re likely acquainted with the numbers: 59 playoff appearances in 65 seasons of existence, including 34 in the past 36 years, and appearances in 31 of 64 championship series since inception – 16 of the last 32, with 16 victories. On another 11 occasions they’ve stumbled at the postseason’s penultimate hurdle. And consistent within that staggering consistency has been generational greatness.

From Mikan, to Baylor, West, Wilt, Kareem, Magic, Shaq and Kobe, not a chapter of NBA history can be written that does not prominently feature the Lakers’ talisman of the day. This summer, the 2012-13 season seemed destined to be the opening stanza of yet another glorious entry in the Lakers tome. Following a pair of substandard (by Laker standards) campaigns in which they’d failed to advance past the postseason’s second round, the new-look Lakers – a new Buss at the helm, Phil Jackson on a ranch (again), Magic no longer officially in the fold – as they are wont to do, pulled off a retooling for the ages, filling a long-running void at the point with the greatest playmaker-shooter in NBA history and not only upgrading an already strong center spot, but putting in place a cornerstone that would make seamless the transition from this dynasty to the next. That was the plan…

In roughly three months (how has it only been three months?) since the season’s inauspicious come-from-ahead loss to the Mavericks, Steve Nash broke his leg, Mike Brown got the boot, the salad days of Bernie Bickerstaff came and went, Phil Jackson was wasn’t was wasn’t brought back to anchor a minefield roster seemingly created to test his mastery of Zen, in favor of Nash’s Phoenix co-mastermind…

Ok, you know what? I’m tired. I am tired of doing this, rehashing the laundry list of missteps, shortcomings and indignities for which this season will – in all likelihood – ultimately be remembered.

Other than Kobe Bryant playing extremely well (at times, even by his own standards) and Earl Clark showing himself worthy of a place in an NBA rotation (yep, we’re there), literally nothing has gone right this season.

At the time of Mike Brown’s ouster, I, like most, believed that in a vacuum, Phil was the best candidate to assume the top spot on the bench. However, I also understood the Busses refusal to be held over a barrel by a smug now-in-law-to-be that they cannot stand. I will also admit, however, that the hiring of Mike D’Antoni to coach Nash-run team with the preapproval of Kobe Bryant did not trouble me one iota. Granted, the expectation of smooth sailing was buoyed by the assumptions that Dwight Hoard would have regained more of his trademark dominance by this point, and that a healed Steve Nash would be back to being Nash, pulling solid, sometime spectacular play out of otherwise middling guys, while burying 40% of his numerous 3-point attempts per game, and that D’Antoni’s first order of business would not be a scorched earth campaign against Pau Gasol’s psyche.

It felt safe to assume that the Lakers under MDA would be just fine.

Where We’re At

Old as sh*t and completely adrift.

As much as any team in recent NBA history, the 2012-13 Lakers are a monument to instant gratification. Sure, the talk of eras to come and Dwight’s expectant place in the pantheon of legendary Laker big men put a forward-looking spin on the situation, but no team that trots out a pair of starting guards that have each been playing professionally nearly as long as Kyrie Irving has been alive – one that severed its final remaining ties to the first round of the draft for the foreseeable future to do so – is not overly concerned with the long term.

And now halfway though (seriously, how is this thing only halfway over??) what was to be if not a coronation then a slow, tantric build to title contention, has spiraled out of control. On the floor, the offense, though statistically effective, is disjointed and inconsistent. Turnovers continue to be a bugaboo, both when the Lakers have the ball, as only 10 teams are giving the ball away more frequently, as well as on the defensive end, where only the Orlando Magic have proven more inept at taking the ball away from the opposition. There is no communication on defense, nor, on most nights, is there a good faith effort. Keeper of the effort flame, Jordan Hill, is lost for the season, and Steve Blake might as well be.

Meanwhile, off the floor, the not-so-good ship Laker is taking water at an alarming rate. Closed-door meetings have barely concluded before they are in the press. The Lakers are contemplating flipping Dwight. No, they’re not. But are they really not? Dwight hates D’Antoni. If not for the fiasco of two months prior, D’Antoni would likely not last the season. To placate Dwight, he might not make it to the summer. Dwight might hate Kobe. Kobe asks Dwight if Dwight hates Kobe – Dwight gets the sads.

Midway through a season for which #4 or 5 seed that “no one wanted to see in the postseason” seemed a worst-case scenario, the playoffs are becoming a pipe dream.

On the bright side, I hear that whole tanking thing has worked out well for some teams. We could try that…

Where We’re Headed

In times of crisis, fixation on a single tree often diverts attention from the forest. Other times, so transfixed are we on said forest that the loss of a tree here or there is overlooked. Whatever your perspective, right now, it’s all burning.

Outside of the occasional kneejerk outburst, I tend not to be alarmist about the Lakers struggles. Too many times history has taught me that to trust those at the helm, and that there is, in fact, a plan in place.

The problem is, this thing working out was the plan.

In this bleakest of times, I will, as I always have, trust the guys upstairs to unearth a trump card. I must, however, wonder aloud, what exactly that card will look like. There are no draft choices for which to tank. The Phoenix-bound unprotected first-rounder – over the summer a lock to ensure no better than a mid-20s pick – accumulates ping-pong balls by the game. Hell, should they so choose, Dallas has the right to swap second-rounders with the Lakers. There’s always assessing the young guys for next year. Well, with Hill on the shelf, Earl Clark stands alone among those to be assessed. Maybe some of the NBA’s underexposed, ascendant commodities can be convinced to part ways with cap relief or picks in exchange for some of the Lakers’ 15 remaining national television appearances…

And then there’s the question of Dwight Howard. Wishy-washy on his best day, and with a right to blow town on July 1 should he so choose, the Lakers are likely in store for an Orlando-esque Dwightmare of their own, one whose happiest ending will involve a healthy D-12 sticking around, though probably only after the appointment of a third full-time head coach (fourth overall, counting Bernie) in under a year, with the best candidate for the job still waiting for the stitches in back from his last run-in with Dwight to heal – and the second choice his brother.

On the bright side, we’re probably in store for some vintage 2006 Kobe the rest of the way, right?

ZEPHID

Where the Lakers Have Been

To fully answer this question, recent historical context is necessary.  Where have they been?  Winning championships.  2009 and 2010 are still very much fresh in the minds of Lakers fans, many wanting to recapture the magic of those seasons and somehow transfer it to the here and now.  It is why there was so much fervor to bring back Phil Jackson.  It is why many lament the loss of Lamar Odom.  It is why Pau Gasol is viewed with such vitriol, unable to reproduce the skills and energy he had in those seasons.  It is why so many lament the Lakers lack of depth, energy, and youth, crying for names such as Trevor Ariza, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Shannon Brown, etc.  And there are even some who decry the sabotage of the Chris Paul trade, seeing his success on the Clippers and claiming that his success should be for the Lakers.

Where the Lakers Are Now

But as it always is, the past is colored by rose lenses.  Could Phil have brought out the potential of this team of all-stars and cast-offs?  Perhaps, perhaps not.  Frustrations with D’Antoni stem from so many things: an unwillingness to alter his system, an inattentiveness to defense, constantly altering rotations, lacking the gusto to lead a team of strong personalities.  Many of these could be said of Phil, many are the opposite of what was said about Phil.  Phil was also unwilling to bend his system, albeit his was the result of 9 NBA championships.  Phil’s teams weren’t necessarily known for their defense, but generally played well on that end.  Phil refused to alter his rotations on a whim, sticking with guys long after fans would have abandoned them.

The magic of players like Odom and 2009 Gasol is alluring to so many, but these players are simply not as they were those few years ago.  Odom is now a shell of himself, with absolutely no outside shot, and even though many see similarities between he and Earl Clark, Odom’s unique skill set will almost certainly never be reproduced on this current incarnation of the Lakers.  Even more frustrating is those who have seen the greatness of Pau Gasol first hand, and are now stuck with this poor imitation we see now.  The truth is that Gasol is now several years older, with several years of 40+ mpg season and several years of international competition.  His lateral movement has eroded to the point where anyone who would call him a power forward would be absolutely ridiculed.

And the vaunted Lakers depth of 2009 and 2010?  How many years did we spend claiming the bench mob was useless, giving up huge leads and forcing the starters to play huge minutes?  We soon forget how awful Farmar, Vujacic, Brown, and even Ariza could be at times.

But mostly, we the fans remember the winning.  And we miss it dearly.  Kobe is still Kobe, doing Kobe things, but Dwight Howard and Steve Nash have not been the saviors they were heralded to be, not the knights riding to carry the Lakers back to the heights we so desire them to achieve.

Where the Lakers Are Headed

To some quantum state that we cannot even begin to predict until it has already happened.  Could this team be blown up and split apart for youth and draft picks?  Absolutely.  If management fears Dwight will leave in free agency, they would be remiss not to try and get something for him.  If Dwight does re-sign, his massive contract along with Pau Gasol’s $19M will be on the books for next year, totaling a whopping $185M in salary commitments for next year.  Remove Gasol and his contract, and that payment goes down to $116M.  Nash also isn’t getting any younger, and if his abilities to control the offense continue to not offset his defensive woes, it would be wise to trade the remaining years of his contract elsewhere.

Could this team turn it around and be the most feared 8th seed in the history of the NBA?  Absolutely.  Maybe Dwight miraculously heals and gets back to being the dominant athletic freak we all thought he would be.  Maybe Nash turns on the offensive savant switch, slicing and dicing defenses in a way that we do not see now.  Maybe Kobe starts to actually give a shit about off-ball defense, and begins to seek the ball in better positions instead of just asking for it in better positions.  Maybe Gasol accepts his role off the bench, and somehow regains enough lateral movement to make our 4 All-Star lineup work.  Maybe our supporting players come together, using the talents of Jodie Meeks, Earl Clark, Metta World Peace, and Antawn Jamison to their fullest extent.  Maybe the Lakers begin to trust, depend, and work for one another on defense, being the swarming inside-outside defense we know they can be.

Maybe everything that has gone wrong so far this season will go right.

REY MORALDE

Where The Lakers Have Been

Good? Excellent? Championship Material? That seems long gone now, doesn’t it? 2009 and 2010 were good times. Heck, even 2008 was looked at as good times as people fondly remember that team because that’s when the Lakers came back to life. So revisionist history makes fans pine for the days of Jordan Farmar. Sasha Vujacic. Trevor Ariza. Lamar Odom. The good Pau Gasol. The Lakers and its fans are spoiled; we expect nothing but success for this squad.

Where The Lakers Are Now

Which is why this losing has been so hard to take. Maybe Farmar could help. Maybe Vujacic could, too. But the problem is that the Lakers did put together a team that we mostly wanted, it’s just that the pieces did not fit together as we envisioned. I was a staunch defender of the Mike D’Antoni hire, too, and I thought that would’ve fit but I didn’t think he’d be one stubborn son of a female animal. They did have one good game against Utah but the Lakers are in a quagmire. All they can really do is work through this (and we’ve seen flashes of BRILLIANCE with this team) because I don’t believe a trade can fix this team unless they get a transcendent player in Kevin Durant or LeBron James. While it’s not out of the possible realm to get these guys in the future, they’re certainly not going to get them this season.

Where The Lakers Are Headed

I am not the best prognosticator. After all, I thought they would go to the NBA Finals with this squad. Of course, many thought so, too. Nevertheless, who really knows where they’re headed? Are they going to stick with this team? Are they going to trade somebody? Are they going to go deeper into the abyss? Are they going to make a run for the postseason and suddenly catch fire there? Will Kobe Bryant piledrive Dwight Howard next week? Will Pau Gasol cry in the middle of the court? Will Earl Clark suddenly find more mythical powers and become a 30-10-10 guy? This is what makes the Lakers who they are: full of intrigue and full of drama. Whether we like it or not, we’re going to tune in to the next episode.

DAVE MURPHY

Where We Were

We were at or near an elite level for a long time. There has been much talk around the league about the Lakers’ coaching woes and it’s important to understand that the Phil Jackson years were unique. I am sometimes puzzled by those who preach advanced metrics on the one hand and so easily dismiss 11 NBA championships in 22 seasons. If Jackson had been hired instead of D’Antoni there would have been no guarantee whatsoever that he would have won his 12th coaching ring. There is certainly a guarantee however, that if he had, it would have been easily explained away – he had the talent and was simply along for the ride. That particular journey never happened but the talent’s still here, spiraling into an abyss that nobody but a fringe conspiracy theorist would have considered.

Where Are We Now

After a sublimely disastrous road trip the Lakers returned to Staples center last night and demolished the Utah Jazz, a very solid team. It’s not surprising at all – this year’s model has made a habit of tossing us tantalizing glimpses of greatness when we least expect it. The Oklahoma City Thunder will be in town tomorrow and Sunday matinees have never been the Lakers’ strength. The immediate path ahead will be challenging to say the least – the Pelicans visit on the heels of the Thunder and the Lakers then head back out on the road for the seven-game Grammy trip. Forget all the previous ‘season starts now’ mantras – this is the moment you know, you know, you know.

Where We’re Headed

The current roster for better or worse is an anomaly – a star-studded roll of the dice that is here for the short term. The rebuild years lie ahead because you simply can’t continue to cheat time. Plus there’s the small matter of the new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Forget for the moment the positional questions – the need for athletic defenders, outside shooters and a younger point god. Of course the player needs are important for without them we have nothing. But the union is made of many parts and operates at its best through common belief systems and adaptability and the willingness to buy into a common purpose. It takes forward thinking and leadership and what that looks like for the Lakers is anybody’s guess. Uncertainty is the great equalizer in sports.

 

In 3-on-3, Laker Analysis, Uncategorized
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Around The World (Wide Web): A Team Meeting, Mike D, Two All-Stars, Continued Losing

Ryan Cole —  January 24, 2013

From Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo Sports: Beyond the personal animus and the uncertainty over Phil Jackson’s willingness to endure the job’s grind, the biggest issue Lakers vice president Jim Buss had with choosing Jackson over Mike D’Antoni as head coach centered on the consequences for Steve Nash. With no use for this point guard in the triangle offense, Buss’s fear was that Jackson would’ve pushed to move Nash out, sources said. Buss passed on the Lakers’ glorious championship legacy to attach his franchise to the desert mirage of D’Antoni and Nash, a reunion tour born of a one-dimensional, gimmick offense and a point guard pushing 39 years old. ”The way this turns out,” one league source connected to the hiring process said, “you’ve chosen not only Steve Nash over [Pau] Gasol, but maybe over Gasol and Dwight [Howard].”

From Eric Pincus, LA Times: The team concept has 13 to 15 players coming together to make each other better. With a good team, individual flaws can be overcome.  The Lakers are simply not a good team, not this year. Whether they’ll find themselves before it’s too late remains to be seen.  Where has there been any true improvement? Steve Nash has always struggled defensively through his career.  Kobe Bryant will do too much on offense and get lost on defense playing “center field.” Nash won back-to-back MVP awards as the same, limited defender.  Bryant’s headstrong style of play has helped lead the Lakers to five NBA championships. Dwight Howard doesn’t have a refined post game and can’t shoot free throws – and yet he and theOrlando Magic made it to the Finals. Pau Gasol can be bothered by physical play but he’s a two-time champion. Mike D’Antoni has little reputation for coaching defensively but his run in Phoenix with the Suns helped revolutionize the game. As a group the Lakers are older, slower and deflated.  They’ve had injuries, coaching changes and too many failures to comprehend. The Lakers are exposed for all their flaws, making each and every individual look worse than they are.  There’s nowhere to hide – no one covering for their teammates.

From C.A. Clark, Silver Screen & Roll: On Sunday, February 17th, the NBA will hold its 2013 All Star Game in Houston, Texas. When the game tips off, the Los Angeles Lakers will represent 20% of the players taking the court, 40% of those donning the Western Conference jerseys. Not too shabby for a team that will probably miss the playoffs. Such is the weird state of the Los Angeles Lakers, in which a team full of top flight talent is vastly under-performing. Here’s the thing, though: Kobe and Dwight … kinda deserve to be there. At least as far as the numbers go. Kobe is scoring off the charts, and until the last three games, he was doing so at an efficiency that was historic in his already historic career.And Dwight, though nowhere near the form that people associate with him, is still just about good enough to be considered a legitimate All Star. He’s leading the league in rebounding by a sizable margin (though Anderson Varejao was killing him prior to the season ending blood clot injury he sustained).

From Kevin Ding, OC Register:  Communication is good. Health would be better.Defense would be best.The Lakers lost again Wednesday night, falling to the Memphis Grizzlies, 106-93. ”Just another chapter in a difficult season,” Steve Nash said. The Lakers took another injury hit with Dwight Howard aggravating the labrum injury to his right shoulder a couple minutes before halftime. Unlike last time he hurt it and the pain faded, Howard said after the game: “It still hurts.” Howard has been doing exercises to strengthen the shoulder and protect against aggravation, but it happened anyway and he will be evaluated by a specialist Thursday. Howard’s absence contributed to the Lakers’ seventh consecutive road loss, and they haven’t won a road game in more than a month. The unity that they hoped would come from a team meeting earlier in the day was blown away by another wave of defensive breakdowns after sundown. They now have lost 10 of their past 12 overall to drop to 17-25.

From Dave McMenamin, ESPN LA:  In order to move forward and turn around their disappointing season, the Los Angeles Lakers attempted to let go of their past frustrations with a team meeting Wednesday. Prior to a shootaround in preparation for Wednesday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, coach Mike D’Antoni invited members of the Lakers to air their grievances, according to a team source. Several players spoke up, including Steve Nash andKobe Bryant, the 17-year veterans who make up the Lakers’ backcourt.Bryant asked Dwight Howard if he was bothered by playing alongside him, according to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the meeting. Bryant acknowledged he could be “hard to play with,” according to the newspaper, and challenged Howard to speak up if he had a problem with it. Howard was “despondent” and did not offer much of a reply, according to a team source.

 

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Preview and Chat: The Los Angeles Clippers

Zephid —  January 4, 2013

Records: Lakers 15-16 (11th in the West), Clippers 25-8 (2nd in the West)
Offensive Ratings: Lakers 106.4 (6th in the NBA), Clippers 106.9 (5th in the NBA)
Defensive Ratings: Lakers 102.7 (18th in the NBA), Clippers 97.8 (3rd in the NBA)
Projected Starting Lineups:
Lakers: Steve Nash, Darius Morris, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard
Clippers: Chris Paul, Willie Green, Caron Butler, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan
Injuries:
Lakers: Steve Blake (out), Chris Duhon (game-time decision)
Clippers: Grant Hill (out), Chauncey Billups (out)

The Lakers Coming in: The Lakers are now 3-2 since the return of Steve Nash, with three quality wins against Golden State (comeback), New York (top 10 team), and Portland (blowout), an understandable loss on the 2nd night of a back-to-back on the road in Denver (classically one of the hardest back-to-backs to make), and a head-scratching loss to a 76ers team still without the former Laker, Andrew Bynum, as their anchor.  There’s a lot of talk about the Lakers being old, lacking energy, and needing to play through it, but when your team shoots 3-22 from the three point line and misses 11 free throws in a four point game, it’s tough to blame anything except a lack of shot-making.  Still, despite some minor setbacks, the Lakers have looked like a much improved team with Steve Nash and Pau Gasol back in the fold.  Howard is clearly still not 100%, but then again, he wasn’t supposed to play until now when we first traded for him in the summer.

Against the Clippers, the Lakers will need everyone to have a good game.  Pau and Dwight cannot shoot a combined 3-19 if the Lakers want even a chance to win this game, and the defense cannot give up the type of easy scores that plagued them against the 76ers and numerous other opponents.  The Clippers are a young, athletic team, and like most teams these days, will try to beat the Lakers in transition, even after a made basket.  It will be paramount that the Lakers maintain defensive balance, and that the bigs hustle back to defend the paint.

The Clippers Coming in: The Clippers, recent owners of a 17 game win-streak, have now lost their last two games by a combined 35 points.  However, over that stretch they only faced one team that was more than 2 games over .500, and that was the Chicago Bulls.  All the while, it’s still impressive that they managed 17 straight wins over NBA-level competition, and the Lakers would be more than happy to go on a streak half that length right now.

Despite the fact that the Clippers are generally known for their flashy, highlight-reel offense run by Chris Paul, it is really their defense that is propelling them to success.  They are currently 3rd in defensive efficiency, no doubt bolstered by the heavy on-ball pressure of Chris Paul and Eric Bledsoe.  Both are in the top 20 in the league in steals per game, with Paul leading the league with a crazy 2.67 steals per game. While Griffin and Jordan are not the best defensive bigs in the league (understatement), their speed and athleticism allows them to hedge hard and recover quickly, pairing well with a ball-hawking perimeter defense.

The true strength of the Clippers, in my mind, is truly their depth.  According to 82games.com, the 2nd most played Clipper 5-man unit is a lineup of Bledsoe-Crawford-Barnes-Odom-Turiaf, a 5-man bench unit which is a killer defensive squad.  From this excellent article by Kevin Arnovitz talking Clippers defense, the second unit is one of the big reasons why the Clippers have improved so much on defense.  On offense, leading that unit with 16.5 ppg is Jamal Crawford, arguably the leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year.  Shutting down Crawford is the key to stopping the Clippers bench attack.  If Crawford is allowed to break his man down 1 on 1, it will lead to open shots for Barnes (which he is hitting this year), as well as interior passing lanes for Bledsoe, Odom, and Turiaf.

Keys to the game: The Clippers are a fairly average rebounding team, so the Lakers may be able to take advantage of that on the offensive and defensive boards.  However, offensive rebounding opportunities need to be done so with floor balance, because the Clippers will be looking to get out and beat the Lakers down court for an easy score.  Like I said, a lot of things needs to break their way for the Lakers to win this game.  Kobe claims that the Clippers are championship contenders, and they very much look the part.  However, if the Lakers hit their shots and play defense at their maximum capacity, they can hang with anyone.

Where you can watch: 7:30pm PST start on TWC Sportsnet and nationally on ESPN.

Update: As is being reported by multiple sources, MWP will start at SF tonight.  This should shift the Lakers back to their ideal starting 5 of Nash, Bryant, MWP, Gasol, and Howard.

-Zephid

Follow me on Twitter @ZephidFB_G

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