Lakers...on the brink?

I know, I know, it's been way too long and my stated goal is laughable, but now I am back and ready to take on all the haters and the pundits that think they know basketball, especially the Lakers. I listen and read most days to the drone of complaints after each Laker loss as to what their biggest problem is; Kobe shoots too much, Artest is not as good on either ends of the court, Pau is soft, the defense isn't tough enough, the team doesn't care until the playoffs start, blah, blah, blah. Most of that stuff is wrong and let me tell you what the Lakers problems are. First off, Jerry West's recent comments that the Lakers are too long in the tooth are facts that can't be changed, but can be offset. I will try and address that later, but let's start with the number one complaint; Kobe is a ball hog and shoots too much. The fact is Kobe is a pure scorer. When he steps on the court his job is to drive a dagger through the hearts of his opponents. Magic Johnson, my personal favorite player of all time, was a play maker. His job was to distribute the basketball and to score when it was available to him. The same is still true for all modern point guards. One of the problems that the Lakers run in to is that Kobe often brings the ball up the court and unless he passes the ball, the offense (the triangle) doesn't get initiated. As a consequence the offense becomes stagnant and one dimensional. Whose fault is that? Phil Jackson's job is to manage the game and all the facets that come with it. That includes simple things like who brings the ball up the court. Personally, I think Kobe is more effective when he receives the ball after the pass because the defense has less time to react to him. Kobe's job is not to "make his teammates" look good or make them better the way a point guard is supposed to. The same way that Michael Jordan's job was not to make everyone look good. MJ's job was to score. The biggest difference between the two players that Phil Jackson has pointed out many times is that MJ got easier shots for himself, something Kobe has been working on as evidenced by his posting up just outside the key in recent years. And by the way, Kobe's career average for assists is only one less than MJ and Kobe has never been surrounded by the outside shooting talent that Michael had his whole career; John Paxson, Steve Kerr, and B.J. Armstrong. So what does Kobe do that hurts his team. I don't think it's an issue of trust with his teammates, but rather a stubbornness that is borne out of a desire to win that gets in the way. And that stubbornness prevents him from sticking to the triangle offense. And it's a problem for the whole team and it shows itself all the time. Anytime the Lakers shoot the ball in the first ten seconds of the shot clock, you can bet your ass that the ball didn't find its way into the post. As a consequence, not only are the Lakers turned into a jump shooting team, which they are not good at, but it leads to transition baskets for the opponent. When the Lakers run their offense through their big men they are virtually unbeatable. The biggest problem is that they don't run the triangle consistently, only for stretches at a time, and that doesn't work. I would be curious to see how many points the Lakers give up after a made basket compared to the rest of the NBA. My guess is their defense ranks in the top 3 when defending after a made basket. Another problem is that the Lakers stand around too much, even when Kobe is out, the players stand still. The triangle is all about player movement and ball movement. But if the players don't move, then the ball tends not to or is easy to track by the opponent. I was at the Spurs game last week and a shot went up and nobody moved to the basket. While I don't agree that Pau is soft, I do think he could be more aggressive in his positioning for the ball, the same is true for Bynum. They are so tall and either wide in Pau's case or bulky in Bynum's case, that most teams do not have the ability to keep them out of the paint for 48 minutes. I would like to see them be more aggressive, but at the same time, they need the ball dropped into them more consistently to make the other teams pay. And let's get off Ron Artest already. Ron's is playing exceptional defense once again this season, save for the last time Paul Pierce and company came to town. Ron's man is never the guy that breaks a defense down, he doesn't guard Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, etc. He guards the Kobe of the other team, the star, the scorer. So to blame him is ridiculous. If you want to point a finger at any person defensively it is Derek Fisher and his back ups. The Lakers have been killed all year by dribble penetration and the rest of the team has not done a good job of creating secondary defenders to help when the guards get beat. I have felt for weeks that what the Lakers need by way of change is to adjust the starting lineup. Most coaches in the NBA would've tried a new lineup a long time ago, but that is not Jackson's m.o. What would I do? I would start Shannon Brown at the point. And not because I think Fisher is the reason they are not living up to Laker expectations. I think for one, it would make the Lakers more athletic. Shannon's ability to get to the basket is better than Fish's and his outside shot is much improved, in fact, he is shooting roughly eight percent better from the field than Derek. He averages more points a game in ten less minutes than Derek a night. The downside would be a less experienced player on the floor which would lead to an extra turnover a night, but that is a trade off I would be willing to live with. Furthermore, it would make the second unit smarter and you might end up with better production from them with Fish filling that role. Lastly, Derek Fisher is the only one on the team with an ego healthy enough to make that kind of sacrifice so quickly and that is a big plus. So how do the Lakers make up for their age? Simple. Execute the triangle offense. Everyone keeps talking about their problems on defense, but the Lakers are a finesse team, they are not the Boston Celtics. When they run their offense the right way they are unstoppable. Quick shots, long jump shots lead to easy transitions baskets for the opponents, no matter who they are. Play inside out and and make the game easy and yes, that goes for Kobe too. Second, they need to keep moving on offense, that means nobody standing around watching guys with the ball. Move. Cut. Flash to the basket. Third, talk on defense and help the guards with the dribble penetration. When someone gets inside for an easy basket they should be sent to the floor on their wallet. The Lakers may not be tough guys but they sure can foul someone with malice of forethought. I think that if the Lakers to all the above they will be in much better shape and all the finger pointing that goes on will probably go away because they will go back to putting teams away.

draft

6:25:00 PM

by Joshua Stern

Delete

1 – 1 of 1