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Preview and Chat: The Houston Rockets

Emile Avanessian —  December 4, 2012

Records: Lakers 8-9 (9th in the West), Rockets 8-8 (7th in the West)
Offensive ratings: Lakers 105.1 (5th in the NBA), Rockets 104.1 (t-7th in the NBA)
Defensive ratings: Lakers 99.4 (8th in the NBA), Rockets 103.4 (21st in the NBA)
Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Chris Duhon, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Antawn Jamison, Dwight Howard
Rockets: Jeremy Lin, James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Patrick Patterson, Omer Asik
Injuries: Lakers: Pau Gasol (out), Steve Nash (out), Steve Blake (out); Rockets: Cole Aldrich (questionable)

In fairness to these Lakers, the 2012-13 season has presented a stream of tumult maddening not only in its persistence but also its diversity.

Spend the summer building a quad-HoF juggernaut around an (exhaustingly discussed) offense that risks marginalizing your new all-universe playmaker, watch it do so for precisely one full game before losing said playmaker to a broken leg (and his primary backup to an abdominal injury), while the squad actually thrives offensively but can’t keep the opponent off the scoreboard (or the win column) to the extent that your defensive guru coach is shown the door. Dogmatically pursue the coach with whom you dominated the previous decade before employing one of the great play-fakes in modern HR history and opting for the himself hobbled professional soul mate of your banged up point guard, and win four of five to return to break-even while awaiting his arrival.

The summer’s top get, the generational big man expected to author a new chapter in the franchise’s already glorious tome, months after undergoing major (I don’t believe there’s any other kind) back surgery, has, in mere weeks, allayed any lingering concerns about his ability to regain his characteristic dominance. The bench has (as it is wont to do) frustrated, though recent flashes of competence (no longer, mind you, from last spring’s surprise find, the backup center who’s now been buried on an NBA bench twice by the same coach) are certainly fodder for optimism.

The team’s since found firm-enough footing to rank in the league’s top third in efficiency at both ends of the floor, with Kobe Bean not only continuing to dominate on a nightly basis, but doing so in as efficient and mature a manner as we’ve ever seen.

And yet, the Lakers continue to drop more games than they win.

Now? Big boy pants.

Seriously, it’s never nothing with this crew.

To paraphrase ex-NFL coach/exec Bill Parcells, at some point, you simply are what your record says you are. Set aside payroll, prestige, raw talent and past achievement. 8-9 is 8-9. Yes, there have been injuries and upheaval, and yes, continuity cannot be achieved overnight, but – if I may once again channel my inner Tuna – don’t tell about the labor pains, show me the baby. The Lakers have certainly encountered some bumps in the road, and there can be little doubt that this team’s best is yet to come. It’s worth noting, however, that no team featuring peak-Kobe and well-on-his-way Dwight Howard – two players whose mere presence all but ensures 50 wins and the playoffs – never mind one that’s played 12 of the its first 17 games at home (not counting a “road” game against the Clippers), ought to be struggling (and, at present, failing) to keep its head above water more than 20% of the way through a season.

This is certainly not meant to suggest that the Lakers will be spectators come playoff time, but to continue to shoehorn this team – this turnover-plagued atrocity at the free throw line, yet again (for now) lacking at the point – into the ranks of the NBA’s contender is to invite more disappointment into a season that’s been defined by just that.

Tonight, in the absence of Pau Gasol (knee tendinitis), the Lakers travel to Houston, to square off against the team to which they last December actually traded their embattled scapegoat extraordinaire.

I have never shared the unflattering view of Gasol that – almost from the moment he was acquired, and in spite of his vital role in three conference titles and two banners – permeates Laker Nation. The unshakable “soft” label that has adhered itself to him (even after 19 and 18 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the team that had tormented him two years earlier) is nothing short of absurd. That he, one of the most gifted big men in NBA history, has maintained his grace and professionalism despite constantly demeaned as such by his own fans (never mind violently threatened on a regular basis by a disgusting but high-decibel minority), incessantly involved in trade speculation and actually traded a year ago is as impressive as anything he’s managed on the floor.

That said, at this moment, Pau is frankly not a good NBA player. That he’s struggling to define a niche for himself in a new system is well documented, as is the discomfort in his knees that will keep out of action tonight. What’s bothersome, however (as we discussed on the Silver Screen and Roll podcast, recorded prior to Sunday night’s game), is the extremity of his passiveness and failure to execute certain basic, system-neutral basketball plays (like wide open 18-foot jump shots and basic pick-and-roll defense) that have twice led to his watching the final moments of a Laker defeat from the bench.

That said, however, in this, the first of seven road contests in their next eight outings, Gasol’s absence will be absolutely glaring. Much of the attention focused on these Rockets tends to be directed at the high-profile backcourt of Jeremy Lin (11.6 points on 51% FG, 4.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2 steals per game in his last five) and noted Laker antagonist James Harden (24, 6.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 46.4% from 3-point range during the same span), but the front court is where the Rockets have done the bulk of their damage en route victories in four of their last five. The onus tonight will fall squarely on the shoulders of Metta World Peace and Antawn Jamison, as their counterparts, Chandler Parsons (21.5 points, 7 rebounds and 57.9% from 3 in Houston’s last four wins) and Patrick Patterson (20 and 6 over his last five, 20+ points four times and 54% from the field) will command their full attention, as offseason steal Omer Asik (15.5 and 14 in his last five, and 25-of-38 from the field) will likely keep Howard occupied and unable to offer as much help as the Lakers might prefer.

Tuesday night’s outing in Houston offers up comprehensive challenge for the Lakers: win a road game (they’ve lost four of five this season), even more short-handed (say what you will about Pau…), despite starting one of the NBA’s most defensively challenged forwards against a hot-handed frontcourt. Because these Lakers are these Lakers, it wouldn’t be at all shocking to see them return to .500 tonight. To do so, however, it will take a massive effort from the front line (both defensively and on the boards), Kobe doin’ more work and, in all likelihood, a trip out of Mike D’Antoni’s doghouse for Jordan Hill.

Rockets Blogs: Check out The Dream Shake and Red94 for some excellent coverage of these Rockets.

Where you can watch: 5:00pm start on TWC Sportsnet. Also listen at ESPN Radio 710AM.

In Dwight Howard, Game Preview, Kobe, pau gasol, Uncategorized
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Around The World (Wide Web): Kobe’s Frustration, Dwight, Dan D’Antoni

Ryan Cole —  December 3, 2012

From Dave McMenamin, ESPN Los Angeles:  For the second time in five games, Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol watched the final minutes of the fourth quarter from the sidelines. Kobe Bryant says Gasol has to take it into his own hands to change that.”Put your big-boy pants on,” Bryant said after the Lakers’ 113-103 loss to the Orlando Magicon Sunday that dropped the team’s record to 8-9. “Just adjust. Just adjust. You can’t whine about it. You can’t complain about it.” For the second time in five games, Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol watched the final minutes of the fourth quarter from the sidelines. Kobe Bryant says Gasol has to take it into his own hands to change that.”Put your big-boy pants on,” Bryant said after the Lakers’ 113-103 loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday that dropped the team’s record to 8-9. “Just adjust. Just adjust. You can’t whine about it. You can’t complain about it.”

From Kurt Helin, Pro Basketball Talk: Kobe Bryant is a little frustrated. Okay, a lot frustrated. He’s pissed off. And he should be after the Lakers Swiss-cheese defense was picked apart by the struggling Magic as they beat the Lakers Sunday night. The Lakers problems are not simple — it’s not just Pau Gasol not being comfortable, it’s not just Dwight Howard’s free throws, it’s not just Steve Nash being injured, it’s not just the bench, it’s not just the defense. It’s all of it together. Kobe’s answer to any challenge is to work harder. That has been the modus operandi of his career and it has worked pretty well. And that is at the core of his rant after the Lakers ugly loss Sunday night, via Joe McDonald at Fox Sports West.

From Andy Kamenetzky, ESPN Los Angeles: Tuesday’s 79-77 loss to the Indiana Pacers may have been the most aesthetically unappealing loss of this season for the Los Angeles Lakers, but Sunday’s loss to the Orlando Magic topped it. At least Indiana plays good defense, which can in part explain the Lakers’ inability to unite ball and cord. And in the meantime, the Lakers played extremely active defense to compensate for the anemic offense. Sunday, they laid an egg on both ends of the court while largely phoning in the performance. And with their record now below .500 again, it goes without saying they can’t afford to play games through the use of cellular towers. If these guys don’t feel completely ashamed of themselves, something smells rotten in Denmark. Here are three takeaways from the loss.

 From Kevin Ding, OC Register:  Perhaps it was the last time there was true clarity in the Lakers’ front office this season. I asked Lakers executive vice president of player personnel Jim Buss a month and a half ago – before Dwight Howard started playing but Steve Nash stopped, before Mike Brown’s defense was replaced by Mike D’Antoni’s offense – about what then and even still now boils down to the central issue for the Lakers’ franchise moving forward: Doesn’t Dwight still have a lot to learn as far as being a winner, about becoming the kind of mentally strong leader that is the mark of a truly great Laker? Buss’ response: “I don’t feel that, but if you ask the question, I’d say Kobe would probably be the best teacher of that.” Yes, yes, yes. The thorny part of that completely sensible answer is that maybe the question is inherently flawed. Maybe being that kind of winner is something you can never really learn. Howard’s mental toughness came into question again after the Lakers’ loss Sunday night to Orlando’s crew of NBA novices. It was enough for Kobe Bryant to question directly what Howard and Pau Gasol are doing.

From Mark Medina, LA Daily News: The Lakers have remained anxious for Steve Nash’s return. But they will have to wait some more. In a brief interview with this newspaper after the Lakers’ 113-103 loss Sunday to the Orlando Magic, Nash said the non-displaced fracture in his left leg hasn’t healed enough for him to play in at least the Lakers’ three-game trip this week. They have stops in Houston (Tuesday), New Orleans (Wednesday) and Oklahoma City (Friday). The Lakers then have a home game Sunday against Utah. Nash said he plans to fly with the team to receive further treatment, but he hardly sounded optimistic about his return.

From Mike Bresnahan, LA Times:  Phil Jackson wasn’t the only one who got a late-night call last month. It was early compared with the one Dan D’Antoni received. Mike D’Antoni’s brother was sleeping peacefully in Charlotte, N.C., when the phone rang at 3:30 a.m. It was his son, Nick. He had some bewildering news. ”Dad, you’re going to L.A.,” he said. Dan D’Antoni didn’t believe it. ”Mike had told me his name was being bantered about, but he said, ‘We’re not going to get it. Phil [Jackson] is going to get it,’” Dan D’Antoni said. ”I told my son he was out of his mind. He said, ‘No, it’s all over the news.’ I got up, went in there to the TV and there it was. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I called my son the next day and said, ‘You could have waited until 7. I’m dead tired now.’” Joining the Lakers’ staff was the latest turn in an unorthodox career for Dan D’Antoni. He left behind 28 years of coaching at Socastee High in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to be on his brother’s staff with the Phoenix Suns in 2004. He was barely part of it. He was the fourth of four assistants. He sat behind the bench for games. But he watched, learned and studied the intricacies of his brother’s offense. Now he’s Mike D’Antoni’s most important sounding board on the court.

 

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Some Art For Your Walls…

Darius Soriano —  November 27, 2012

Johnson1 Main

Before we get to our game preview, I thought I’d pass along an offer if you’re looking for a great gift this holiday season.

A while back the NBA and Rare Ink announced a collaborative effort to produce some fantastic art pieces on teams and players from the past and present. They really are great — I have this Kobe piece on my wall right now.

Anyways, the fine folks at Rare Ink are offering a 25% discount on all Lakers related art at their site through midnight on Wednesday, November 28th. All you have to do is enter the code FORUMBLUEANDGOLD25 during the checkout process.

*Just to be clear, I’m not receiving any sort of commission or payment for this. I think the art is great and they’re offering a discount to you guys. So, I figured I’d pass it along. Buy, don’t buy, it’s up to you. But give their stuff a look and the odds are you’ll find something you like.

 

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Lakers/Grizzlies: Bizarro Game

Zephid —  November 23, 2012

This game was just bizarre.  In the midst of 4 games in 5 nights, it would be tough to expect the Lakers to beat one of the league’s hottest teams, while lacking one of their 4 best players, and having a new coach.  The Lakers managed to make it respectable in the end, a 106-98 loss to the Grizzlies in Memphis, but there were times when this game was ugly.

In the 1st quarter, the Lakers came out with some energy, garnering 3 early stops on a Dwight block, a Dwight strip, and a Darius Morris steal, twice leading to transition buckets for Morris.  But when the game bogged down, the Lakers began running a very stagnant offense, while the Grizzlies offense kicked into high gear.  Led by Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies jumped out to a 34-18 lead, with Gay going 3-4 from three point range.  With the Lakers giving up 6 turnovers and 4 offensive rebounds, the Grizzlies were able to pounce on them in transition.  Meanwhile, the Laker offense stalled, particularly with Gasol missing a number of jumpers and close shots, starting the game 1-6.

I’m one of Gasol’s staunchest supporters, but this was one of the worst games I’ve seen from him since he put on the Lakers uniform.  He got worked by Zach Randolph on the boards, to the tune of 12 boards, 5 offensive, while getting out-hustled for loose balls, beaten off the dribble, and killed by back door cuts.  His 27 minutes were well below his average this year, and he managed to be -23 in plus/minus in that short amount of time.

Pau’s minutes were low not only because of his poor play, but also because of the excellent play of Antawn Jamison.  Jamison has been a non-factor (to put it kindly) for the Lakers so far this year, and this was by far his best game of this young season.  Jamison came out and attacked the basket (as I’ve been calling for him to do on Twitter @ZephidFB_G pretty much all year).  After two quick buckets and a 3 early in the 2nd quarter, Jamison finished with 16 points on 7-11 shooting with 7 boards.  He also played more than serviceable defense on Zach Randolph down the stretch, far above expectations considering Randolph’s immense skill set down low.

With Pau having his worse game of the season, Jamison having his best, and the Lakers starters getting killed by their counterparts, this game really headed into Bizarro World when the Laker bench came in in the 2nd quarter.  Facing a 16 point deficit, a lineup of Chris Duhon, Jodie Meeks, Metta World Peace, Jamison, and Howard managed to cut the deficit to 3 in under 4 minutes, with Jamison and MWP aggressively attacking the basket.  Then the starters came back in, and the lead again ballooned to 14.  Down 12 going into the 4th, it took another great effort from the bench to cut the lead to 6 in 4 minutes, only to see the starters come in again and lose most of the momentum.

The reserves ran simple sets, posting up Howard, waiting for the double, and making open threes.  While Howard’s stat line is unimpressive (2-7, 7 points, 4 boards, 4 blocks, 3 assists), the doubles he drew on offense in the 4th led to 4 consecutive 3′s, 2 by Meeks, and one each for Jamison and Duhon.  While it’s still no excuse for the Lakers ignoring Dwight for the first 3 quarters, the reserves finally found an identity, one which should continue in the future.  However, the Lakers still refused to involve Dwight in any pick and rolls, an egregious offense considering he was the league’s best PNR big man last year.

In the end, the Grizzlies starters were just too good.  Marc Gasol continually punished the Lakers for overhelping with his passing, while Mike Conley made several crucial shots down the stretch to seal the game.  Tony Allen also did his part by bothering Bryant into 7-23 shooting, even though Kobe missed a number of shots he normally makes.

While the Lakers aren’t quite at the level we would like them to be at, there are signs of progress (things that didn’t happen under Mike Brown).  Darius Morris had a strong game, going 4-6 from the field while playing decent defense.  MWP again had a very good game, with 16 points on 5-9 shooting.  Jamison, Duhon, and Meeks all played well in reserve roles, and the bench finally may have some semblance of coherence on offense with Dwight as their focal point.  If Dwight and Pau play average, the Lakers probably win this game.  But when your two star bigs score 13 points combined on 5-15 shooting, while your star 2-guard shoots 7-23, it’ll be difficult to win any game, and you get outrebounded 39-28, it would be difficult to win any game.

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Feeling Thankful At FB&G

Darius Soriano —  November 22, 2012

First and foremost, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Today is the day, hopefully, that we all get to sit back and enjoy time with our loved ones, watch some football, and eat so much multiple naps will be in order. Good times, indeed.

Every year, it seems, the life of a Laker fan changes yet stays remarkably consistent. Once again the team is chalk full of superstar talent and, if they improve at even a standard rate, will once again be in the hunt to compete for a championship. And while there are players and things every game that draw our ire, we must admit we have it pretty good in rooting for the forum blue and gold.

So, for that, I give thanks. Here are a few more things I’m thankful for today…

*For Kobe Bryant. 17 years into his career and he’s still going strong. Leading the league in scoring, shooting the ball better than he ever has before, and thriving in whatever offensive scheme his team is running. Such a special talent.

*For Mitch Kupchak who, regardless of circumstances, finds a way to improve the team and get his hands on players that the rest of the league would love to have. This man traded for Dwight Howard and Steve Nash in the same off-season. What more could we ask for?

*For the Buss family and their insatiable thirst to win and willingness to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Jerry remains the best owner in pro sports and even though we had our questions about Jim, he too is proving that he’s capable of carrying the torch.

*For Ron-Ron and his summer of rededicating himself to his training and improving his game. He looks as good or better than at any other point in his Laker career.

*For Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. The former is showing his value every night and is playing at a high level even though he’s not yet 100% physically. As for Nash, he’s not yet gotten to play that much, but just the thought of him coming back and running D’Antoni’s offense has me giddy.

*Speaking of D’Antoni, I’m thankful for his presence and the change in outlook he’s provided this team. I wish no ill will on Mike Brown, but it’s obvious that D’Antoni’s presence has helped this team take a positive step forward.

*For all the contributors that makes this site what it is by putting up great content everyday. Phillip, Dave, J.M., Emile, Rey, Zephid, and Ryan. Without their insight, this site simply wouldn’t be what it is.

*Speaking of Zephid, he sent over some additional things he’s thankful for:

*Pau Gasol - No other big man can do quite what Gasol does.  If Tuesday’s game against Brooklyn showed us anything, it was that Gasol is probably the only big in the league with the combination of physical and mental gifts that this team needs.  Gasol’s outside shot has started to fall, forcing teams to respect it.  This will open the paint for Howard and give driving lanes for Nash and Kobe, as well as more wide open three’s for MWP.  Gasol is also a true pass-first big, and his size when standing at the middle of the floor makes is what makes it impossible to stop the 2-4-5 PNR destruction that has been raining down on opponents.  Gasol has the tools and pride to take on the opponent’s best post player on defense, allowing Howard to roam and be a help defender.  Gasol’s selflessness in all these regards makes him the perfect fit for this teams needs next to Kobe, Howard, and soon (hopefully), Nash.

*Andrew Bynum is no longer our problem – With Bynum not returning till at least December, and some reports saying he may miss the entire year, it feels wonderful to not have our season ride the unsteady shoulders of an injury-riddled young man.  Although I wish he would have let his hair go the way he has in Philly, seeing Howard throwing down dunks on people’s heads, actually having our star big man on the court, leaves me thankful that Bynum’s injury woes are no longer the concern of Laker fans.

*Sacre celebrations – self-explanatory.

*Lastly, I want to thank everyone that supports this site by reading our thoughts and contributing in the comments. This really is a community of smart and passionate fans. We may not always agree but we all love the team.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

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