Crucifido’s Corner - Lakers vs. Knicks

Cruci's Corner

Doin’ What Needed To Be Done

First things first – I know there will be a ton of people that will tack this onto every statement made about this win versus the Knicks, “..but it was only the Knicks”. True, the Knicks are beyond an atrocious team, however, the Lakers did what they should have done.

Despite the level of talent the Lakers play they tend to play down that level and for once in quite a while the Lakers rose above the level of their competition to play their game, not another teams’. They pushed their pace and held true to the style of play that would win the game. There were three things they did right tonight. It was three things that if they do right most of the time the win total will creep up most assuredly. It’s things I’ve (and many others) have been calling for since day one –

Aggression, determination and persistence.

The Goods:

* Plays were run without fail. Virtually very person on the team was focused on the play at hand and ran their game accordingly. Spots were hit early on and for better or worse were hit again and again until the play came off successful. Fact of the matter is that the triangle offense for all of its freedom limitations and high structure works. If players are paying attention to the play called or the spacing of their teammates along with hitting where they’re supposed to be, the offense runs smoothly. Of course that’s the case with every offense, but given that the triangle’s intricacies are a bit more in depth than most, it was great to see everyone buying into it tonight.

* Every single shot thrown up by the Knicks was met by at least two guys underneath the basket. It’s exactly what I was screaming about during most of the Laker losses. Sometimes the guys have a tendency to release too fast without securing the ball in order to run full court sets. The problem is, without the ball releasing weakens the defense and oddly enough, is kind of hard to run. Go figure, no ball, no offense – huh. For one of the very few times this season though each shot was meant with either an easy box out or someone diving in the lane to help rebound. Though Chris, Kwame and Odom have the height to pull down a lot of boards, it’s not possible to get every one alone. It was great teamwork on the defensive boards along with the offensive boards. Mostly though when everyone is helping board the way they did tonight good things are bound to happen.

* Speaking of good things bound to happen. You had to be happy with the aggressiveness at getting into the lane tonight. Versus every tem, but particularly teams with limited to no inside defensive presence, it’s vital to get the ball into the teeth of the defense. It may not be successful every single time, but driving the ball into the heart of the defense for an easy bucket or for a drive and kick will always break teams down. Teams have no choice but to collapse on players diving in the lane or taking the ball into the paint. That collapsing defense opens up a world of possibilities for everyone on the team. The more players that make the decision to drive to the hoop with the intention of scoring rather than passing, the better. It was really good to see guys like Sasha make a conscious effort to get themselves in the lane. Again, not every play calls for it, but when playing teams with such a small front line as New York, there’s no reason not to take your chances from 3 feet rather than 15.

* Sans a couple slips by the defense the weak side help defense inside was much better. You can still see a bit of slack on the sides of the paint from Kwame or Odom not sliding over in time, but all in all things were improved on the weak side help. Like I’ve said before, the let-the-other-guy-help style of defense doesn’t work. There were a couple times when that happened tonight, but it was good to see everyone realize it and actually correct the problem the next play. Yes, it was the Knicks, but communication on the inside defense is vastly important for a weak perimeter defense team like the Lakers.

* Another great thing was seeing that despite being stopped here and there, the Lakers persisted with what they knew had to be done to win the game. Certain plays were met with pretty aggressive defense and reactions, but the Lakers fought through it and kept playing in their style. They didn’t let the Knicks goat them into playing the rag tag game they needed to happen. In other words, the Lakers stuck to heir game plan. For young teams it’s especially easy to get caught up in a back and forth hyper game. The Lakers have done this far too many times. Sure, it’s going to happen but the problem is once it does; the pace has been switched out of the structure the triangle requires to be effective. Once the game was taken under control by mid-first quarter the Lakers didn’t allow the Knicks back into their style. It’s easier done with the lesser teams, but nonetheless this skill of maintaining pace is vital to a winning formula.

* Everyone got involved tonight. Down to the last man, everyone was looking for each other when they should have. There were plenty of one pass sets, but this time they weren’t forced into them. The one pass sets, which usually result in disaster, were done so because of holes created in the defense. How were these holes created? Everyone that came onto the court tonight was moving without the ball. I can’t say it enough – nobody on the court is a spectator, let the fans do that. In this game though the Lakers were not only hitting their spots but when they were forced to improvise or move away from the exact position they were still moving nonetheless. I think I even saw 3 cutting dives in the lane, something that is far too a rarity.

* Tired but true, I just want Lamar to play with that type of thought every game. I don’t expect, nor do I think he’s capable right now of being a 20 / 15 guy, but if he just comes out on the court with the determination he showed tonight, things change drastically for the entire team. I’m sure a lot of it was him playing in front of his home crowd, but it was still good to see Lamar force the issue once in a while and make a decided effort to get himself involved.

* I know he has plenty of detractors, but aside from Kobe, Chris Mihm is bringing it every night. The guy is coming into every game with focus. He knows what he has to do and lately has been doing it with more strength. And if you notice, his fouls have been curtailing a bit because of it. It was earlier in the season when I was saying that softer players get reputations with referees as just that - soft. So when those soft players play strong, refs tend to think they’re fouling. Chris developed that reputation early in his NBA career and is still working to kick it. If he comes into games like he has the last 20 or so, that reputation (and his mysterious foul parade) will be nothing but memory. For now, Chris is doing a great job of being a tangible intangible kind of player.

* There’s just something about the kid, but Bynum is so damn intriguing. His strength, length, bulk, skill level, willing ness to learn, everything just screams of him being a force in a couple years. It was beyond great to finally get to see Andrew get extended minutes (garbage time or not). Every minute he spends on the floor the quicker his education speeds along. I know Phil is slow to play rookies and I honestly understand as to why, but it is nice to see Andrew get some run. For a kid who played limited high school games and has barely gotten his feet wet in the NBA, you have to admit he’s looking interesting at the least.

* Kwame played well tonight. I’ll say it one last time, this is the first year of Kwame’s NBA career as far as I’m concerned. He has never played in a structured offense where he hasn’t been asked to do things he can’t. All Phil wants from him is defensive improvement this year and he has shown that. No, he is far from an all-star caliber player and who knows if he’ll ever get to that level, but for now I’m happy the Lakers have a strong low post defensive presence that doesn’t mind doing the dirty work and being out of the spotlight.

A couple Not-So- Goods:

* I would really love to see everyone keep from giving the ball to the bigs in impossible situations. The shot clock is ticking down, a guard has the ball, yet it’s being given to Cook, Mihm or Kwame far out of position. It’s mainly on the guards to keep this from happening by stopping that pass entirely or getting themselves into position to receive the pass instead.

* It’s been a season long problem, but post entry passes seem to be getting sloppier. It’s not just the speed in which they’re being passed, it’s the angels being cut off by the passers that is making this way harder than it should be. Recognize the post play or possibility and make a strong crisp pass high into the post.

* Every Laker has to come into each game, despite the opponent, ready to play. The slow starts do nothing but make the work of winning more difficult. Sure, it’s only early in the game, but allowing teams to get into their rhythm early is a dangerous practice. As soon as that ball is thrown to start the game, all attention needs to be on the court.

I’m really not in the mod to dwell on negatives right now. I’m happy they came into New York and took care of a game they should have taken care of. It’s easier said than done for the Lakers doing such a thing.

After the Pistons loss (a loss I was kind of expecting, aside from my usual optimism) it was great to see an emotional rebound like tonight. There was no dwelling on what happened only on what was going on. It’s something I know Phil preaches all the time. Keep the focus on the now.

That being said, this game is now in the W column. It’s time to go to Indiana and take care of a team that should be taken care of yet again.

(Note to Phil: with O’Neal out, playing Bynum about 10 minutes wouldn’t hurt, right?)

Veteran ClubLakers member crucifido writes nightly player analysis for each game of the Laker season.