Lakers Basketball Talk

The question is, do the Los Angeles Lakers have it in them to win the NBA title again? That question is on the minds of a lot of people, including their fans. The reason it has come up as of late is because their play recently has got some fans worried.

Fans want to know if they will repeat this year, even after the Cavaliers and Mavericks have gotten better via trades. The fact is that the Lakers are still the team to beat, and until someone takes them out in the playoffs then they are the favorites. This doesn't mean that they don't have any weaknesses, though.

One of their weaknesses is inconsistent point guard play; since the season started, Derek Fisher's play has been all over the place on the offensive and defensive end of the court with smaller guards often beating him off the dribble. This has forced the Lakers to move Kobe Bryant over to cover the faster guards and put Fisher on the other guard.

This ultimately puts the Lakers in a bad position when Fisher is on the floor because this leads to Kobe being in foul trouble. This is obviously a negative, because it could lead to Kobe being on the bench for a longer period of time.

Since this is a problem, the Lakers have been trying to bring in Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar to assist the defense in the backcourt. This has helped some, but hasn't completely solved the problem.

This isn't the only glaring weakness; the other guys have also had trouble adjusting to Kobe being back from injury, because they don't know when to contribute. Kobe is starting to play well, but the rest of the team hasn't gotten to that same level yet. The reason is, when Kobe was injured, the team was playing well together. Now, they have to get back to how they were playing before the injury.

If they get back to how they were playing before Kobe's injury, then they will be hard to beat. The recent struggles have convinced me that they will have troubles in the Western Conference Finals or NBA Finals, and will ultimately lose.

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Lately, the Lakers have not been playing that well.  We all know this.  They’re 5-5 in their last 10 games and, against a middling team from the East, needed a game winning jumpshot from Kobe to avoid a four game losing streak.  Typically, I don’t blame individual players for poor play or losses and I won’t do so now.  Basketball is a team game where all players and coaches contribute to what happens on the court.  However, when the team is playing poorly and losing games there are two points of view – the macro and micro.  We’ve focussed a lot (and will continue to do so in the future) on a lot of macro issues – the team’s performance on offense is the most recent example.  However, the individual performances of the players make up the team dynamic, so it’s also appropriate to discuss what is going on with the guys that make up the team. 

I say all this because Ron Artest is struggling right now.  His offensive game is off and it’s affecting his status as a viable player on that side of the ball.  In recent games, Ron did have a solid FG% against both Indy and Miami shooting 9-17 in those games and totalling 21 points.  But when you dig a bit deeper in those games and look at the total 5 game stretch in the first part of March, there is a bigger problem – his overall shooting and, more specifically, his three point shooting has been well below his season standard.  This month, Ron has shot 4-18 (22%) from three point range.  And when you look at his total field goal shooting numbers from just the last three games he’s 4-24 (17%).  Granted this is an extremely small sample size and any statistician would tell you that these numbers should and will normalize soon.  But, it is worrisome.

We should note, though, that there are some reasons behind this.  First, Ron does have a hurt left thumb that is heavily wrapped during each game.  You may question how much a left thumb injury should affect Ron’s shooting, but Ron is a player that loves to finish in the lane with his left hand and his jumpshot is also one with a lot of guide hand influence (to my eyes).  Plus, anyone that’s played basketball with a hurt hand (whether it’s their strong hand or not) understands that your ball handling is compromised and that reduces your comfort level on offense overall.  I mean, you lose the ball more when dribbling, you don’t get a good grip on the ball when elevating to shoot your shot from the perimeter or in the paint, and it all conspires to make you less confident when on offense (Kobe’s struggles on offense are another example of everything just stated about dealing with a hand injury – save the confidence part).

And to me, this is the biggest key – confidence and comfort level on offense.  When the Lakers first acquired Artest, I was a person that questioned if he would fit in.  I wondered if “ball stopper” Ron would surface and if he’d buy in to the offensive principles.  I’m happy to say that I was completely wrong about that as Ron has proven more than accepting of his role and position within the team structure.  But, with his recent shooting woes, what I am seeing is indecisiveness.  Ron looks unsure as to whether he should shoot or pass.  He’s second guessing himself in instances where he should show no hesitation.  A percect example occured in the Orlando game where Ron received a pass in the corner and was pretty much wide open for a three.  His feet were set and any confident player would have just fired away (not to go off tangent here, but any of our guards would have surely shot in that instance).  But instead, Ron brought the ball up in a shooting motion and stopped, then ball faked and allowed the defender to recover.  Then, with the defender now close enough to contest the shot, Ron took a side dribble and shot the ball – almost as if he knew that he was open and that he should shoot.  It was in that moment (removing the shooting numbers for a second) that I really thought something was not quite right with Ron’s offensive game.

I also think that Ron’s got some weary legs.  With the injuries to Sasha (and especially) Luke, Artest has logged long minutes on many nights and spent those minutes defending the other team’s best offensive wing.  Some may say that this is his specialty, and I would agree with that.  But only to a point.  Because when looking at how he’s been used recently, I question the wisdom of throwing Ron out there to play 45 minutes against Dwyane Wade or 38 minutes on Vince Carter when those players are guys that play Kobe’s position and guys that #24 would typically mark.  Even though Ron did well in both of those matchups, I think he could have spent more of those minutes on Barnes or Richardson.  I mean, even last year Ron split time with Battier on the league’s toughest wing scorers and surely didn’t log as many minutes chasing around the best of the best on the perimiter for almost every minute he was on the court.  So, while I understand wanting to take advantage of Ron’s defensive mindset while also giving Kobe a breather on D, I do think that Ron needs a bit of a rest at times too and should not be using up all of his energy on defense – and especially not against players that do have quickness advantages over him like some shooting guards will.

Again, I’m not trying to disparage Artest.  I think his defense has been a key component in our high defensive ranking this season.  His intensity and determination on that side of the ball have truly been invaluable.  And in a year where most of our shooters are performing below (and some well below) their career averages in three point accuracy, Ron’s ability to hit 38-40% from downtown has been crucial to the (some would say limited) success on offense that we have experienced this season.  And when you combine that with his ability to make plays for others, I don’t think anyone can question his value to this team.  But, that’s why his recent funk is concerning.  Ron may be the 4th option and all his offensive numbers may be down this season, but he’s an integral part of our schemes and team structure.  So, here’s hoping that Ron’s struggles end soon.  Because right now, in a time that our offense could use a bit of a pick me up, an effective Artest would really help.

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Times are not nearly as troubling as a three-game losing streak would have some suggest, but the Los Angeles...

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It appears that the San Antonio Spurs’ superstar point guard Tony Parker will be forced to ride the pine for at least six weeks  after breaking a bone in his right hand on Saturday night.

San Antonio guard Tony Parker left Saturday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies with a broken bone in his right hand and could miss six weeks.

Parker broke the fourth metacarpal — the bone between the bottom knuckle and the wrist — near the end of the first half and did not return to the game.

Laker Goggles:

If Mr. Longoria is out for the full 42 days, it would mean he would miss the remainder of the regular season, which could ultimately mean their whole year.  Although the Spurs have won four straight, they now have 22 games left in the regular season, with 13 coming on the road.

Pop loves backup George Hill, but he’s no TP and he ain’t gonna kill us off high screen and rolls like Parker would/has.

They currently have a one game lead over Portland for the 7th seed, so it would certainly be better for us to have the Spurs slide down, but more importantly have the Blazers move up and as far away from the 8th spot as possible.

I believe Laker brass and fans alike would prefer to avoid appearing in the Rose Garden this post season.

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Records: Lakers 46-17 (1st in West, 2nd in NBA), Magic 43-20 (2nd in East, 3rd in NBA)
Offensive ratings: Lakers 108.7 (10th in NBA), Magic 109.5 (9th in NBA)
Defensive ratings: Lakers 102.1 (2nd in NBA), Magic 102.8 (3rd in NBA)
Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum
Magic: Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Matt Barnes, Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard

The Lakers Coming in:  As we’ve covered over the past few days, the Lakers are not playing good basketball.  They’ve lost two straight games and in the last game against the Bobcats they brought little offense and even less defense.  That said, the Lakers have not lost three straight games with an active Pau Gasol in the lineup (that’s two and a half seasons) so today’s match up represents the proverbial fork in the road as they have the opportunity to keep that streak alive and do so against a strong opponent on their home court – a challenge that this team takes seriously and should be excited for.  At practice yesterday Kobe Bryant spoke to his mates and we hope that the message of determination delivered by the team leader inspires a focus and a follow through on the defensive principles that were gone over by the players in their “somber” Saturday walkthrough.  We’ll see if any of it sticks in this rematch of last year’s Finals.

The Magic Coming in:  After yesterday’s insights, we know that this a strong Magic team that has found it’s groove after some early season unevenness.  They’ve won eleven of their last fifteen games (including wins against Cleveland, Boston, Houston, New Orleans, and Miami) and have done so with a diverse attack that mirrors the one that got this team to the Finals last season.  Vince Carter is coming off his best month as a member of the Magic.  Jameer Nelson is now, finally, healthy after his early season knee injury and putting up the numbers that Magic fans have craved all season.  Rashard Lewis is shooting the ball well and is looking more and more like the all-star player he was last season.  And on and on it goes.  When you look at this roster, it’s deep and it’s dangerous with contributors from numbers 1-10 on the depth chart.  They are a challenge to any team that faces them.  Essentially, this team is winning games, doing it with a healthy point differential, and accomplishing it as a team.  They will be tough to defeat in this or any other game they play.

Magic Blogs:  You’ve already seen the excellent information that is available daily at Orlando Pinstriped Post.  You can also find very good takes over at Orlando Magic Daily.

Keys to game:  The game plan needed to beat the Magic should be a familiar one.  Though it’s been many months we faced this team in the Finals and there have been some changes in personnel, the Stan Van Gundy is running the same sets and pulling the strings in the same way that he was last June.

On offense, the Lakers need to try and exploit their match up advantages at power forward and shooting guard.  Gasol will be checked by Rashard Lewis and will need to be aggressive in the post by establishing deep position and going to his jump hook with both his right and his left hand.  We all know that Pau has not had his strongest games recently, but this is a player that he is familiar with and should have confidence facing.  Kobe, meanwhile will either be guarded by Matt Barnes or by Vince Carter.  Whichever player draws the assignment should see the same plan, though.  Kobe needs to work a lot off the ball and set up in the mid range at the pinch post in order to get to the places on the floor that he can score most effectively.  In the first match up between these teams, Kobe was not effective on offense (4-19, 11 points) but did most of his work from the right side of the court.  However, in recent games, we’ve seen Kobe operate mostly from the right side of the floor and play 15 feet and in.  I expect this trend to continue with Kobe working his mid-post game against both Carter and Barnes and making those players work on defense as he either backs them down to go into his turn around jumper (or that beautiful inside pivot to the middle that he’s been flashing more lately) or he turns and faces so he can attack off the dribble.

However, to be successful against the Magic’s defense some other Lakers will need to get involved in the action.  In recent games, we’ve seen guards/wings helping down on the Lakers bigs more and more.  Against the Magic I expect this trend to continue as our shooters have not been making teams pay when they go to this strategy.  So today, in order to be successful, the Lakers outside shooters are going to need to make shots and do so in a consistent manner.  This will open up the court for our post players and also widen the driving lanes for Kobe, Farmar, and Odom when they’re handling on the perimeter.  This means Ron (and his new hairdo!), Shannon, and Fisher will need to make shots.  This may prove even more difficult than usual as both Artest (left) and Shannon (right) struggle with wrist/hand injuries, but they’ll just need to battle through that and sink some shots.  If they don’t the Lakers bigs are going to have perimeter defenders in their laps when they go into their moves and that will disrupt their ability to finish.

On defense, the Lakers are going to have to show real discipline when facing a team that tries to exploit some of our bigger defensive weaknesses – P&R D and a post player that can bully you on the block.  On the P&R, understand that Orlando has three options on every P&R.  First, the ball handler (either Carter or Nelson, with some Jason Williams sprinkled in) will want to hit the roll man (Howard) for an easy finish on his dive to the hoop.  Second, is the ball handler getting a shot for himself by either shooting a jumper (if his man goes under the screen) or penetrating to the rim  (if his man chases over the top).  Third is the action of the PF on the ball side that slides towards the top of the key as the ball handler tries to turn the corner.  In order to effectively defend all of these sequences, the Lakers will need to show strong help and recovery skills while also communicating with each other so there are not any breakdowns.

As for guarding Howard, this will not be an easy task.  For all the flack that Dwight takes for not being a polished offensive player, he is very effective with his still expanding arsenal of post moves.  Dwight loves to set up shop on the right block.  From this position he has two primary moves.  First is his power back down move where he loves to bull you with his left shoulder and either shoot his jump hook to the middle or drop step to the baseline to explode with a power finish.  Second is to turn and face and drive hard to his right hand to shoot his running hook.  All of these moves are effective for Dwight and he is dangerous executing any one of them.  In the past, the Lakers have doubled Dwight and I expect to see more of that today.  I do think the Lakers will vary their tactics with the double team – sometimes coming right away and other times waiting until Dwight uses his dribble – but I do think the double will come.  When the Lakers do double team, the rest of the defenders will need to rotate to find shooters.  However, on plays where the Lakers don’t double team, they need to contest shots and foul if they need to.  Dwight continues to be a below average foul shooter and putting him at the line is still a solid strategy.  The other key to containing Howard is to keep him off the offensive glass.  He is a tenacious rebounder on the offensive boards and will generate offense for himself off his teammates misses.  Find him before shots go up and keep constant contact with him in order to box him out.

Today should be a great game with both teams having a lot to prove and play for as they prepare for long post-season runs.  There’s no better way to get a head of steam going into the final quarter of the season than beating one of the best teams in the league.  Enjoy this one, I know I will.

Where you can watch:  11:30 am start in the West on ABC.  Also on ESPN Radio 710am.

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Vince Carter had 25 points, Dwight Howard finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds and the Orlando Magic beat the Lakers 96-94 on Sunday to hand Los Angeles its first three-game losing streak of the Pau Gasol-Kobe Bryant Era. Carter made his first 13 free throws and kept the Magic in control, showing signs of why Orlando made the move for the eight-time All-Star after losing to the Lakers in last...

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View photos from the Lakers-Bobcats Game on Friday Evening.

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Sometimes superior teams just can't win against certain inferior opponents. 

Historically, that's how it is for for the Lakers facing the Bobcats. No matter the personnel for the Bobcats, the Lakers just can't seem to beat them twice in a season.

The Lakers got handed their worst defeat of the season last night in Charlotte. 

This rough stretch raises questions: What if the Bobcats were title contenders? What if the Bobcats were in the finals vs the Lakers?

Now these are completely hypothetical questions because, unlike football, basketball playoff series are played in more than one game. 

It's not as if the Bobcats will be able to beat the Hawks, Magic, or Cavaliers in a playoff series. 

But going back to the question. The Lakers would be in trouble if they faced the Bobcats.

They create various matchup problems for the Lakers. For one, Tyson Chandler is a great shot blocker. He can match up against either Bynum or Gasol.

Theo Ratliff is much older, and isn't as versatile, but he can still play a bit.

Stephen Jackson played some solid defense against Bryant. He held Bryant to 26 points in 42 minutes. 

By now you realize the Bobcats just have the Lakers' number. They not only have their number, but their social security number, e-mail address, etc. You get the point.

But unless the Bobcats turn into serious title contenders, the Lakers won't have to worry about them in the Finals.

But they will have to worry about them two nights a year.

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In preparation for Sunday’s match up with the Orlando Magic, I exchanged emails and questions with Eddy Rivera from the Magic Blog, Orlando Pinstriped Post. I’d like to thank him for taking the time to answer some of my questions regarding the team that we faced in last year’s Finals and giving us a more informed look at the team we’ll see tomorrow.

The acquisition of Vince Carter was a move that was considered a gamble by many critics.  No one doubts Vince’s ability, but many wondered if he would fit in as well as Hedo.  At this point in the season, how would you judge this trade off?  If you could go back and undo the deal that sent away Courtney Lee and held on to Turkoglu, would you?

I like the trade when it happened and I like the trade now. Assimilating Vince Carter into the collective wasn’t a smooth process for the Orlando Magic. Up until the month of February, Magic fans were treated to two extremes of Carter. On offense, Carter was being either too aggressive or too passive. The over-agressiveness became an issue because shots were being taken away from Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson. Exacerbating the problem was the fact that Carter was inefficient on the offensive side of the ball. At the time, I stated that Orlando needed to move away from a Carter-centric offense and get Howard involved more so that the team could have a more balanced attack. Howard has always been the #1 option for the Magic since head coach Stan Van Gundy arrived to the team a few years ago, but Carter’s arrival temporarily disrupted the natural flow of things.

After Howard had an embarrassing performance against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 15th, the issues that plagued Orlando on the offensive side of the ball were solved. Sort of. The Magic offense refocused on Howard, he had an excellent game against the Los Angeles Lakers a few days later, and he hasn’t looked back since, but a new problem emerged. Carter, at the time, was mired in a career-worst slump and he wasn’t snapping out of it. Because of that fact, Carter was barely shooting the basketball sometimes in games. Carter deserves a lot of credit because he tried to do his part in making up for the lack of offensive production by focusing more of his efforts on the defensive end of the floor. But Carter was brought in to be a playmaker and he wasn’t fulfilling his responsibilities.

Eventually, Carter regressed to the mean and he finally found a happy medium on offense. Since the beginning of February, Carter is performing efficiently and playing the way everyone expected him to play.

To answer the second part of the question, no, I wouldn’t undo the trade. Holding onto Hedo Turkoglu and acquiescing to his financial demands would have been catastrophic for the Magic moving forward. Courtney Lee was a nice player but as we’ve seen this year, Orlando isn’t lacking for wing players so it made sense to swap him for Ryan Anderson. A subtle but coy move by general manager Otis Smith to acquire another stretch four and a younger player, despite Anderson’s recent struggles.

Besides Carter, the team made many other changes from last year.  This team also added Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, and Jason Williams.  That’s a lot of new players for a team coming off a trip to the Finals.  How have the additions worked out so far?  Are you happy with the way that Van Gundy handles the rotations? Does this team have too much talent?

The additions have worked out fine, for the most part. Barnes has been an excellent compliment as a starter to the four All-Stars, Williams has been a pleasant surprise as a reserve at his age, Anderson started out the season on fire but has cooled off since then, and Bass is chipping in here and there.

Van Gundy has handled the rotations well. Because of the abundance of talent on the roster, Van Gundy has opted for a 10-man rotation. For the majority of the year, the odd man out was Bass because Anderson was the better fit and the better player backing up Rashard Lewis at power forward. But as mentioned before, Anderson has struggled on offense lately, which has opened the door for Bass to see some consistent playing time the past week or so. That and Van Gundy wants Bass prepared for the stretch run. Whether or not this trend continues remains to be seen, but it’s an interesting storyline that has developed recently and has sparked debate.

Does Orlando have too much talent? No. The Magic were stricken with a slew of injuries and sicknesses (a suspension, too) in the early portion of the season and if it was almost any other team in the NBA, there would have been issues concerning how to replace a player or two. But for Orlando, it was no big deal. Rashard Lewis’ 10-game suspension? Plug in Ryan Anderson. Jameer Nelson’s injury? Plug in Jason Williams. Vince Carter’s injuries? Plug in J.J. Redick. The Magic didn’t miss a beat in those instances and that’s because the team has the fortune of being one of the deepest in the league. When the playoffs come, Van Gundy will probably shorten the rotation a little bit but he’ll have the luxury of having options on the bench when matchup situations arise.

Many “experts” are already penciling Cleveland into the Finals.  However, last year the Magic beat the Cavs in the playoffs.  How do you think the Magic match up with the Cavs this season?  Do you even think the Cavs are the Magic’s biggest threat in the playoffs?

Well, aside from Zydrunas Ilgauskas being absent from the proceedings, the Cleveland Cavaliers were practically at full strength when the Magic beat ‘em at home a few weeks ago. I think that game was important for Orlando’s psyche, especially because it won despite excellent games from LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, and Shaquille O’Neal. It’s no secret that the Cavaliers have made some changes to its roster to better match up with the Magic. But despite all the additions, Orlando was able to beat Cleveland with both rosters – more or less – having their full arsenal of players. Granted, the Cavaliers have beaten the Magic twice this year, albeit under favorable circumstances. In the first game, Lewis (suspension) and Anderson (injury) were absent, which left Orlando without a stretch four to cause problems for Cleveland. In both losses, the Magic were on the second night of a back-to-back, which didn’t allow Van Gundy ample time to prepare for the Cavaliers. Sounds like excuses, I know, but they’re facts and they should be noted. On the flip-side, I know that Delonte West and Mo Williams each missed a game in the season series (both were Cleveland wins) so it goes both ways.

And yes, the Cavaliers are the Magic’s biggest threat in the playoffs (if you asked me before the year, I would have said the Boston Celtics due to matchups). I would say vice-versa, too. Cleveland is the favorite to make it to the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference and no offense to Boston, but Orlando is the only team in the East that is capable of not making that a reality.

Last season, Jameer Nelson was an all-star and was a terror to the Lakers.  However, this season he has not played up to that same standard.  What’s been the difference this year?  Is it really just injuries?  Or are there certain aspects of his game that you’ve really noticed a drop off?

Well, I’ll start off by stating that Jameer Nelson is playing like an All-Star again. And the simple reason why is because Nelson is finally healthy. There’s other reasons, too, but that’s the main one.

From the start of the season up until a few weeks ago, Nelson was barely healthy. Nelson got hurt on November 16th against the Charlotte Bobcats, sat out a month to recover from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, and then came back on December 21st against the Utah Jazz. But when Nelson returned to the starting lineup, he didn’t look right. Nelson explains why:

“With a knee injury, a weight-bearing injury, I was just playing games,” Nelson said. “I couldn’t practice. I couldn’t practice at all. If I did practice it would be only half court. The first part of practice, first 25, 30 minutes of practice were just sitting down. So one thing was being in shape, but another thing was having a rhythm. I didn’t have a rhythm at all.”

That’s it in a nutshell.

Everyone expected Nelson to regress to the mean this year after his torrid shooting pace last year but his dip in production was too extreme and that’s because he wasn’t healthy. But now that Nelson is healthy, all is well and he’s playing at the standard he set last year. Looking back at the situation, it seems like the All-Star break did Nelson some good. Right?

Thank you again to Eddy from Orlando Pinstriped Post.  We’ll have more on tomorrow’s match up a bit later, but this is a good place to start when looking at one of the better teams in the league and a definite contender come June.

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