Crucifido’s Corner: Lakers vs. Spurs & Rockets (Games 6/7)

Splitting The Texas Two-Step

That wasn’t too bad actually. Dropping the first game to the Spurs wasn’t as painful as it felt during the game. The more impressive part of the road trip was that the guys pulled out the second of a back to back. That’s something that wasn’t only a rarity the past couple of years, but a downright impossibility at some points.

There were some definite lessons to be learned during the brief little trip. The biggest two that stand out are in game defensive adjustments and a shockingly easy ability of the Lakers to shoot their selves in the foot via the turnover.

Putting the whole Spurs game together it was lost in one quarter, the second and really thrown away in one half. There is no way you can beat any NBA teams, let alone the champs, when you’re turning the ball over as easily as the Lakers were in the first half of that Spurs game. 15?! Seriously, 15 turnovers in one half?! Yikes! The worst part of that stat was that 11 of the turnovers were unforced errors.

Its one thing to give the ball away to a stellar defensive team, but when you’re out and out handing it to a better team because of absent-minded play, it makes things all that worse to deal with.

You’d be hard pressed keeping ahead of the Wolves and Sonics of the league when you’re handing scoring chances over with that kind of frequency. However, when that first half came to a close, there was something that happened that had to be encouraging. The Lakers saw their flaw and corrected it rather quickly. Going from 15 to 4 turnovers is something to be noticed. That’s a little element of the Laker profile that hasn’t been there recently – the skill to recognize a weak spot and change it.

But let’s not get too excited about it. There was s till a serious lack of in-game adjustment in both the Spurs and Rockets game. In San Antonio it was the ever-annoying doubling off a shooter that does nothing but shoot thing. Matt Bonner, a guy who can’t do anything on the court but spot up was constantly left alone to do the only thing he can do – shoot. That has got to stop. Once you notice someone getting hot or getting open, the Lakers have got to start sealing that off.

The same thing happened in Houston with Bonzi Wells. When it was readily apparent that Luke had trouble containing him, there should have been either a switch or better yet, quicker help once the corner was turned by Bonzi. Too many times did Bonzi get around Luke’s right (his weakest side step in his defense) only to see no contest until he was right under the basket. This season the Lakers have shown that they’re at their best when they recognize help situations as they happen, not as they’re getting a lay-up.

Sure there are some players that will get their shot even with help (or at they very least find the open man the double came off of), but for the most part the Lakers are getting killed by single skilled ancillary players that can, should and must be stopped if the Lakers are to have more energy to defend the real killers in the NBA.

One giant positive thing in this Texas swing (and the young season so far), is “The Bench Mob”. After the Houston game it’s now been every single game this year where the bench has come in a done a better job than the starters. Granted, it is against the opposition’s bench as well, but look at it this way. In years past the Laker bench has looked either lost or without any drive on the court, not so this season. The bench has come into every game with confidence and what has looked like a far deeper understanding of what needs to be done.

It’s no bulletin, anyone can see that the bench has played better than they did before, but the big difference this year is that the bench is playing together well. Above that, they’re communicating better. A lot of this has to do with the rash and stunning improvement of Jordan Farmar.

It’s been a long time since a Laker has made as serious a jump in his second year as this. The hustle, quickness, sharpness and pointed hitting of his spots in the offensive set have been remarkable. Though the rest of the bench has played good too, it’s been Farmar’s leadership and drive in the second unit that has driven them. Skill wise the leap he’s made in recognition has been big too. Jordan’s knowledge of when to push the ball and when to hold it back has been fun to watch too. There’s no panicked uncertainty in his offense right now.

Take that and the remarkable improvement in Bynum’s confidence and the bench is starting round out to be one of the better ones in the NBA. Now, I know some will argue that until they’re gasping for breath, but the Laker bench is anything but weak.

What I’ve really enjoyed watching with Andrew is his realization of his length. In the Spurs game there were at least 3 times when he reached over Duncan with no foul for a board. Using that length on the offensive boards is a key to Andrew getting more confidence to get into the mix (where he should be) on every shot.

On to a couple of other players…

Lamar looks to be going through his pre-season right now. That first game out of the box was good to see, but this last couple of non-productive games (by Odom’s set standards) has got to change if the Lakers are to be successful in the long term. The game smarts are there, but Lamar seems to be sluggish, particularly on the defensive boards. Odom needs more plays run for or through him in the post, but unless Lamar makes a concerted effort to get to where he has to be to take advantage of his skills, there’s no way the Lakers can use him to his fullest.

Having Ronny’s energy in the starting lineup has paid big dividends in some aspects of the game. What’s hurt the Lakers is Ronny’s developing sense of game balance. Again, the enthusiasm and tenacity he comes into every game with is vital to infuse this team with the drive they need to get into games quickly. However, Ronny has still got to learn how to balance his enthusiasm with control. It’s a mantra I’ve said over and over again, but it has yet to kick in. Some of (not all of) the turnovers have a bit to do with Ronn’ys manic play. With Luke in the starting lineup the ball movement is a bit crisper and the game’s calmness is in place. With Ronny, you get great energy and hustle, but it sometimes leads to sloppy play on the offensive end. Overall though, Ronny has been another young Laker taking big strides in his game. The biggest of which is his high to mid post defensive play. His lower body strength is serving him well. It’s keeping players from turning off of him into low block positions for rebounds. Ronny has quickly learned how to shut off that roll to position.

Luke has struggled a bit as of late –defensively. That being the weakest part of his game, the first couple of games this year looked to be different for him. But, in this Texas trip you saw Luke begin to slow down on D. It’s his speed in keeping up with off the ball movement by his man that’s causing Luke to work too hard on defense. That extra work is taking a bit of a toll on his offensive game as well. Though he ran multiple two man games in Texas with almost everyone at one point or the other, you can see the fatigue settling in. Rushed decisions and short-armed shots are the first signs of it. Luke would be well served to keep up the tenacity on defense but allow himself a bit more space for speed recovery. Bodying up is fine and well in the post, but on the perimeter Luke is playing to tight up into guys. What I have liked about Luke’s offense this trip was his persistency. Though his shot hasn’t been falling as it has in the past, he stuck with it and its now beginning to get a bit more strength.

Kobe’s defense has been outstanding. Again, the weak side shot blocking Kobe was throwing out in the San Antonio game in particular was incredible. His help off of the weak side of the ball has altered or flat-out stopped some gimmes from falling. What Kobe has struggled with (as much as 30 a game can struggle) offensively is tunnel vision. If he gets shut out, as he did by Bowen in San Antonio, or if he gets smothered, as in Houston, Kobe has a tendency to try and fight through it himself. What he might want to look to do (especially now that the rest of the team has decided to help out offensively) is not force the action so much. If he gets collapsed on in the middle, don’t fight through it with dribbling, pass it out, re-post or circle back out to the pass option spots on the perimeter. Wanting to fight through an offensive glut is fine, but not if it comes at the expense of the ball movement that’s served the Lakers so well already.

The slight fall off of Fisher in Texas was due mostly to his lack of speed. In Parker and Alston, you’re dealing with speedy point guards. Though Derek did decently in making Parker a jump shooter rather than a slasher, it wasn’t consistent. That consistency wasn’t because of a lack of trying, but rather a lack of spacing ala Luke. If you give up the shot to Parker or Alston so be it, but you can’t expect to play tight on them and keep up with their quick corner turns. For Derek that won’t happen. Instead play the percentages. Its not an ideal way to play defense, but if you’re outmatched with speed, allowing the guard to get inside and break down interior defense is far more detrimental than giving up the occasion jumper.

Kwame’s offense is getting worse for sure, but what keeps Kwame an intriguing piece is his defense, in particular his defense in Houston. Kwame did a good job of keeping Yao off his roll to the middle for the fade away he loves to take. He bodied him p well in the post, often making Yao either work harder for a shot or making him turn to the baseline, where his shot often falls short. That offense, though, damn, it’s just not good at all.

Good to see Maurice have a tiny bit of a breakout game in Houston too. Another energy guy off the bench, but you can tell that Evans’s injuries have hampered him somewhat. There’s too much outside play for Maurice to thrive. When Evans is causing havoc in the middle, he helps out a ton. His defense on Wells was better than Luke’s and he did make a welcome addition on the court in the 3rd and 4th quarter of the Rockets game, but there is clearly a long way to go for Maurice to get back to the impact he began to have last year.

The team took good advantage of penalty situations this trip. When they had the Spurs or Rockets on their heels defensively they were going inside with it instead of settling for jump shots.

Anyway, enough blathering. Ya know what I thought was real key and also real telling this trip? Kobe’s plea in from the bench in the 2nd quarter of the San Antonio game to his team of, “More energy, more energy” I thought was real telling. This team for all its ability it loves to flash then hide does really well when they play with bounce. The big jump from last year, is that this team looks like they want to play every game. They’re not coming into games with lethargy and then hoping Kobe can bail them out later. They’re making it a concerted team effort on both ends.

Whether they’re successful all the time or not isn’t as important to me as just wanting this team to give a 100% at all times. Right now, with tiny lapses here and there, they’re doing just that.

It’s a heavily front-loaded schedule right now, one of the toughest in the NBA in fact. However, at 4-3 the Lakers have only been beaten once (San Antonio) and that was in one quarter. They’re showing they can match up with some pretty strong teams. If the match-ups and energy is there, the winning will follow.

Its up to the Lakers to take advantage of both.

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