Crucifido’s Corner: Nets vs. Lakers (Game 13)

That One Stung A Bit

Ya know at the end of the year when everybody says things like, “If only we had one more win” or “All we needed was one more game to get (this or that) seed.”? Well, this was the kind of game you want back as soon as the final buzzer sounds.

Just like in Milwaukee, this was basketball hari-kari. The 3rd quarter where the Lakers have started out playing so sharply and well has come back to bite them in the butt again. The bench play that was so vital in binding this Laker team together has fallen flat recently . The worse part about it is that they’ve fallen flat from lazy play. It’s not like the games they were playing before can’t be done again, it just looks like the Lakers have become lackadaisical and for no good reason whatsoever.

Everything in the first half that was done right, or was going right via solid play not only took a back seat, it ran away – fast. The Nets, being the veteran team they are saw the opportunity and swooped in to take control of the 3rd quarter, stretching it into the 4th and eventually pulling out the game due to the Lakers mysteriously going away from what was working so well in the first half.

Its games like this that give you doubt. The losses happen, its part of the game, nobody ever goes undefeated. But it’s the way you lose games that matters most. After the embarrassing drubbing they took in Boston, you would think the Lakers would come into this game with some serious fire, or a mind for redemption. And, in the first half it looked that way.

The Lakers came into the first couple of plays with a hop in their step, some energy behind their game that was missing. The spacing on offense was superb. Andrew was pulling his man out to create open lanes well, passing angles were created on the money, shots were open and some were knocking them down. The pressure defense was back to where it was in the first 10 games. The Nets were in the penalty with 7.10 left in the first period and the Lakers took advantage. 2 post plays, 3 drives and 2 inside pushes all during that time to get the Nets back on their heels and use the bonus as a – well – a bonus.

Remember in San Antonio when Kobe pleaded with the team to play with energy? Well evidently, that plea needs to be repeated to this team on a nightly basis.

Because in the second half, the third quarter in particular, all came to a screeching, violent halt. It wasn’t because the Nets turned up their defense. Sure, I give some credit to them, but seriously, it’s not hard to tighten defense when the Lakers decided to utterly abandon any kind of inside game in the 3rd. All the work they did getting Andrew or Kobe the ball in the post (notice there’s no Odom mention there, but I digress), was completely absent.

I counted 2 inside plays in the entire quarter. Alongside that there were countless chucks from 3 point range and virtually every shot the Lakers one passed their selves into was from distance. Here you have a Nets team that was having trouble containing Bynum (and Mihm to some degree), yet the Lakers chose to jack up shots from anywhere outside of the paint. Not only that, but most everyone on the court was shooting difficult shots as well. They weren’t set up shots through plays; they were desperation or terrible situation shots. So when those long shots go up, the Lakers then stay flat-footed looking for short rebounds. Somehow I guess the fundamentals of “long shot, long rebound” went by the wayside.

As the Lakers stay flat on the ground, the Nets get out on the break and either get easy shots underneath with blocking fouls falling from the sky because the transition defense was non-existent. It’s no wonder the Nets scoring went up. Out of the 12 point make up they did in the 3rd 2/3 of that deficit was made up on breaks or on imbalanced possessions. Meaning the Nets often had 2 on 1, or 3 on 2. There was rarely a 5 on 5 defensive set for the Lakers.

Long shot, long rebound, out on the break, easy score spells more than disaster – it spells defeat.

So when the Lakers were rarely set on defense, the Nets get into offensive rhythm and the Lakers fall out of any defensive rhythm they had going before.

Individually there were the obvious 2 standouts, Kobe and Derek. Kobe dominated the ball correctly tonight. He was balanced but aggressive in the first half and when the game looked to be slipping away, and then he took over. That kind of Kobe play is tolerable to me. This was a game where Kobe’s frustration with his teammates comes to fore. While he was going on his unbelievable run, the rest of the Lakers fell into spectator mode. Roll the game footage back and notice that on every possession in the 4th during Kobe’s amazing run, the rest of the Lakers stood still. They in react mode rather than create mode. That off the ball movement that opened up chances for everyone, especially when a guy like Kobe is going off, disappeared like the rest of the Laker game in the second half.

When someone of Kobe’s stature is playing the way he was, the whole court should open up, but instead the remaining Lakers froze. Kobe has a right to be angry with his team on this night.

Alongside of Kobe, Derek was playing nothing but strong. It was readily apparent that Derek took the Boston loss seriously. He was stepping into his jumper perfectly. No forcing shots, nor pushing the ball into tough situations, it was a rhythm offense within plays that got Fisher off and running. Defensively, he did an above average job denying Kidd the ball when it was brought up by someone else. Jason still got some numbers, but he had to work harder than normal for them due to Derek playing body up defense on him. He used his strong core well against one of the league’s best.

Andrew was a standout as well, though not as much as Kobe and Derek, largely due to an odd rotation by Phil. It’s easy to see that Ronny is having a little trouble getting confidence in his ankle, so Andrew’s minutes have been staggered, but tonight was hard to fathom. When Phil was trying to keep pace with the Nets in the 3rd Andrew was yanked in favor of Ronny. However, in spite of Ronny’s ever present desire, he was getting killed by anyone in the post (including the enigmatic refs).

At that juncture I fully expected Bynum to get re-inserted to establish the inside game again. Andrew’s really getting a nose for rebounds which is great to see. Someone of his length can easily dominate a game without scoring a point if he keeps at it. His control and strong finishes on offense coupled with his improving footwork is fun to watch and above all becoming vital to the Lakers getting off on the right foot in games. It’s gratifying to see Andrew continue to block shots as he did in the 4th while controlling his lower body. The kicking of legs and the sideways jumping of the last season is gone. There was a return to grounded defense that served him well before too. Staying on his feet and staying straight up and down on defense will help him get more balanced minutes. Andrew still has moments of looking lost in the paint switches. Luckily for him the baffling refereeing oversaw a lot of his camping out in the lane on defense, but he can’t count on that myopic reffing every game.

Outside of those three there was yet again the confusing Odom bringing up the rear. Though he did break back into the scoring column, it wasn’t enough and worse yet it wasn’t gotten the way he needs to get it. In the first quarter he had 2 posts in the first 4 minutes, then the disappearing act. Its so important that Odom uses his skills out of the post rather than trying to dribble drive to the left every time. His confidence was coming back a bit in his mid-range jumper which was good to see. He wasn’t passing up open shots, but still, it wasn’t enough. It may sound harsh, but without a viable second option being brought to the table by Odom, things will continue to get tougher.
Luke had a flat-out bad game. Lazy passes and absent-minded defense ruled the day for Walton. It was a rare sight to see a player that is usually fundamentally sound fall apart the way Luke did. Mostly he was picking up his dribble at terribly awkward times and making things tough on himself.

Farmar had his moments in the first half and was looking to have another stellar game, but the physicality of Kidd showed that Jordan doesn’t match up well against every top flight point guard. As Kidd was in the game Derek should’ve been. It was good to have faith in Jordan to defend Jason, but I do think that Derek should’ve been re-inserted into the game far earlier than he was.

Sasha played exceptionally well. It was good to see a return to the annoying harassing defense he has shown in the past. The composure he showed on the 3 to take the lead in the 4th should go a long way to his offensive confidence.

Ariza’s debut was decent. He does look to have some defensive chops, but its tough to get a hold of his eventual impact after limited minutes in only one game.

Once again the team has got to know that when Kobe starts becoming super-human in games, it opens up the entire game for everyone. It’s not a time to be a fan. More than any other point in the game, that is the time the Lakers should be even more active than before.

So in the end, it’s a painful loss that won’t only hurt now, but it could hurt in the end of year when everyone’s jockeying for playoff seeds. It vastly important that the Lakers regroup, quickly, and minimize these kinds of self-inflicted losses before they become a habit. Kobe can’t bail the team out every game. It’s still a team game and I’m pretty sure it’ll always be a game with two halves. You can’t play the first half of the game and expect the rest to just fall in line.

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