Crucifido’s Corner - “Lakers” vs. Celtics

Business As Usual

Let’s get this out of the way – I hate being negative about things. I always try to find the good points to a game (individually or team-wise), but the way these guys calling themselves Lakers have been playing as of late has me struggling for positives.

I may sound like a broken record after each and every game, but there’s a reason for that. This team seemingly refuses to improve upon the same mistakes they were making in the pre-season. Her we sit over 50 games into the season and virtually nothing has been upgraded in the “Lakers” game.

This team just seems absolutely careless about their play. Not so much in a handling the ball kind of careless, but they literally seem to not care whatsoever how they play. They come out with shoulders slumped and minds numbed night after night. It goes beyond the youth thing with this team (which at some points is a decent excuse, but an excuse nonetheless), it looks as if this team is one of the weakest mental teams in the NBA. There is little to no sharpness in almost every aspect of their game and worst of all little to no willingness to do anything it takes to win.

Until this team does something to show that they give a damn about the game of basketball, let alone being successful at it, I really have no way to keep dredging positives out of every disappointing loss. (Of which there are far too many).

The only positives:
Kobe – The guy is doing everything he can to try and get guys involved and balance the offensive game, but none are listening or stepping up. When the game falls flat he’s trying to step up energy levels (despite being triple-teamed) but there is no response from anyone on the court. That is deeply disturbing. People were screaming and whining when he was throwing up over 30 shots a game, yet when he does what he can to get others shots, they lose. I still think it’s a hard time for Kobe (what with learning how to be a sole leader, sole generator of hustle and a sole player with heart on the team) but it’s gotten to the point that I think the guy needs to be the ball hog the media loves to paint him as. Without that kind of “get mine first” attitude this team is sinking. I never propose that one guy take over a team at any point. This has got to be the first time I’ve ever even entertained the idea. However, there seems to be shortened solutions to getting this team kicked in the butt. You would hope it would never come to this point (and frankly you have to admire Kobe for never railing on his teammates in the media, chastising them as much as he could be doing or simply taking every available shot). He is doing anything he can right now to get his teammates rolling, but none of them even look to want to step up.

You can’t blame Kobe for missing threes or easy shots. The guy is expending every bit of energy he has trying to play 5 on 1 for most of the game.

Ronny – How is it that a rookie off of heart surgery can play with more energy and desire than every other player on the court? No, he may not be the most fluid or highlight inducing player, but at the very least he looks like he wants to play. That’s saying a lot for anyone wearing a Laker uniform this year.

Everything else
* Want to know why teams bust their losing streaks and small-time players to rookies go for career nights against the Lakers? Because the Lakers are doing nothing to adjust their game in general, let alone from team to team. A team can come in with a scouting report from the first game of this season and still play effective ball versus the Lakers.
Another reason – the Lakers are taking so many outside shots, it’s laughable. It’s not like this team is completely without any kind of inside game. No they’re no powerhouse on the inside, but they are also not devoid of players that kind play in the post or take it to the rack. So they shoot nothing but outside / low percentage shots, while ignoring any thing inside (often not even running dives or cuts inside at all). So while these low percentage shots continue to clank off the rim, they get back on defense with the same lethargy they show in the 3rd quarter, creating easy looks, creating a rhythm for their opponents, giving confidence to the other team, making the defense stronger, more confident and energetic and then they continue to shoot unnecessary difficult shots trying to catch up.

So now that the other team is in rhythm and the Lakers have decided to recoil to the three point line, runs get bigger and bigger. This is all not to even mention the utter lack of motion off the ball and any kind of communication on defense.

* This playing the whistle on both ends of the court is beyond annoying to watch. It’s the game of a team that is outdone talent wise and has reconciled themselves to relying on the refs to bail out their lazy play. It’s the first of 100 steps towards this team playing like professionals.

* If the team can manage to work up the will to a whopping 4 point lead, they have to learn that this won’t win the game. You have to continue to push until that final buzzer sounds.

* The perimeter defense has now completely collapsed into a crowding the key style of “defense”. Everyone surrounds the paint, fading off their man in some desperate attempt to play a stopping interior defense. In one vein, if shots are thrown up guys Are late getting a hand in the face or changing the shot due to the lane crowding or they all collapse on top of each other to the ball, leaving everyone else open for easy buckets. The easy bucket goes up and more often than not, the foul is called along with the score.

* They’re blind to dives and cuts. It’s a total focus on the ball action and none on the guys moving around the ball. Just because the Lakers refuse to move outside of the ball, doesn’t mean other teams do the same. They seem to think that this is the way all teams play. Getting burned time and time again from the same cuts has no impact on these guys. Another thing of the Lakers’ disintegrating game that is just totally unsettling.

Again, I could go on forever, but I’m growing tired of typing the same thing after every tight loss these guys love to compile.

For the time being, I’m taking a break from writing these analyses. I feel like I’m doing nothing but screaming and yelling at a team that just refuses to progress. I’m going to step back for a couple games and hopefully calm myself down. I don’t like letting the negative get the best of me, but this is more than just some little game to me.

This is the Lakers – and it means more than I can say.

I just wish the team felt the same way.

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

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