Crucifido’s Corner: Lakers vs. Celtics (Game 46)

No More Gimmies

One thing is for sure; in the NBA there are no easy games.

Every team is staffed with the best basketball players in the world. Whether the team you play is injured, having a bad season or just plain playing bad at that time, you can never walk into an arena (particularly someone else’s) thinking that a game will be a walk.

Come in with that attitude and you’re set up for a fall. It happens to the best of them, it happens to the mediocre and most of all it seems to happen to the Lakers.

The last couple of losses have been frustrating for sure, but they’ve been especially annoying because the Lakers have done it to themselves. It’s not to take away from the team the Lakers have played, but the losses have all been an offshoot of the Lakers either coming into a game lethargic or letting a minimal lead lull them into sleep.

This may sound odd, but some teams need these kinds of losses (and sometimes a full season or two of this kind of play) to make them realize exactly what they need to do to become a winning team. Young teams have a lot of lessons to learn to be sure, but the lesson of giving 100% at all times may be the most important of all.

You may look at this game (and hear or read from other media outlets) that this win was surely needed, but it was ONLY against the woeful Celtics. But in this season of development or contention every win, road wins even more so, count the same in the W column. So you take this win and you build on it, knowing that with every coming game you have to step onto the court with more and more determination to succeed.

These guys have shown they have that kind of mindset before; the trick is to keep it growing and stable no matter whom you play.

Philosophy aside, there is one sure thing (one almost “gimme”) with this current Laker franchise – if Kobe gets suspended you can all but bank on the comeback game for Kobe being a win. Tonight was no different, and different at once.

In past days when Kobe came back from a suspension he would look to dominate the ball and take just about every shot that opened up to him or was created advertently or inadvertently around him. This time (and this entire year actually) Kobe has taken the frustration of being sat down for a game and channeled it into a heck of a team game. To me that was the most admirable element of his game tonight. He didn’t let anger rule his play. He took a team oriented approach from the very start of the game (even more than normal this year) and in its wake wound up with a big personal performance as well. What struck me most amongst his controlled aggression tonight was his amazing efficiency. He’s shown it a couple times this year, shooting minimal shots with maximum output, and this game was no different. Defensively there was a marked intensity in his play. His recovery off of perimeter doubles then into the post to help with rebounds was noticeable. A lot of times this year, Kobe would fall victim to releasing too early and not getting underneath with or without his man to secure the board first. This game, he was out up top, then diving in the middle to take up space and clog the middle for any Celtic looking to rebound.

While the defensive rebounding still left a bit to be desired, it was picking up steadily as the game wore on.

One big reason why the rebounding was picking up was one Ronny Turiaf. The guy came into the game looking to get underneath and bang far more than he had in the last 4 or 5 games. There was a concerted effort on Ronny’s part to get in amongst anyone in the paint and make his presence known. When he got himself involved in the middle, even if he didn’t secure boards, he was not only making room for his teammates to come in and help, he was wearing down the Celtics front court. While 10 rebound may not be some incredible number for rebounds, it was a feat for the Lakers right now. With rebounding being such an Achilles heel for the Lakers right now, that kind of immediate effort (off the bench no less, where production has been scant as of late) goes a long way in making life a whole lot easier. I’d love to see Ronny be even more assertive for every rebound. While he does give constant activity in the paint, he has to give not only the first attempt for boards, but the second and third as well. Sure he does keep after a rebound mostly, but he does get stuck flat-footed on rebounds (as do a lot of Lakers). If he can cut out eve being caught flat-footed under the boards, he’ll begin to be a consistent force. By the way, his work on his outside jumper can be nothing but good for the Laker bigs once healthy.

Radmanovic has got to be one of the most frustrating Lakers to watch in a while. Though recently he ahs been putting up the offensive numbers the Lakers have been looking for, his spotty defensive play has nullified some of his offense. Tonight, I was pretty happy to see Radmanovic play some pretty exceptional post defense on Perkins. The thing is he needs to stop playing flash defense on the perimeter. He finds his man, gets on a rotation all right, but usually throws one hand in a face, or lunges at an obvious fake, then saunters to the outside lines of the paint looking lost. I’m not trying to lay into the guy, but with Luke out right now, he really needs to play solid, grounded defense. Even above that, Radmanovic is the least communicative player on defense. Rotation has a pretty strong root in communication and his needs some work. But offensively, he is seeing his spots far better than he was earlier this year. You can really watch him move fairly fluidly off the ball (I always suggest watching the off-ball movement more than anything, that alone can dictate the pace of a Laker / or any team’s game).

I thought that despite the fouls trouble, Bynum played a decent game. Along with Bynum remembering to stay grounded on defense and use his length, he can also benefit by playing defense early in sets. In New York he was letting Curry get far too deep of position only to try and recover that position once his first step had been established. The same happened tonight with the Celtics. It wasn’t as abusive due to the Celtics not having that strong of a post presence, but it still led to some fouls and some buckets for the Celtics that didn’t have to be there. I did like seeing Bynum have his hands ready at all times. With Kobe passing as much as he has, all players have to be ready at all times and Andrew seems to be always alert as to where the ball and his feet were tonight.

Some team points to keep an eye on…

The Lakers are developing an odd offensive habit. They’re getting into the paint, but too often they’re denying themselves strong chances in favor of making an extra, and often unnecessary, pass. It’s not the worst problem to have. It seems that at times the Lakers play teams with no strong inside presence as if they had a brutal shot blocker waiting in the paint. They have to get into the paint (not force their way in, but take lanes when plays or passing opens them up) and not be afraid to absorb contact.

One maddening thing for me, and it happened tonight with Scalabrine, is the Lakers’ tendency to play one-trick-ponies to their strength. Simple scouting always tells anyone to play their assignment to their weakness. If they shoot, you make them put the ball on the floor, if they slash well, you make them shoot, if they do both well, you trap quickly and force bad shots or the ball out of their hands. That’s it. It’s nothing incredibly tough to comprehend; yet the Lakers make it look like the SAT sometimes.

Take advantage of mismatches in the post. With Evans in New York and now with Lamar in this game, the Lakers played away from easy mismatches too often. Yes, set plays are an integral part of the triangle, but if mid-post mismatches present themselves (and sometimes without any forced switching at all) use them. Use mismatches until they run dry.

Only trap when appropriate, not every player in the post needs to be doubled, likewise every discontinued dribble doesn’t have to be trapped. They both lead to open players on the perimeter mostly, the Lakers‘ weakest defensive standpoint, making the inside defense step too far out of the post, leaving boards and lay-ups open everywhere. Budget your trapping defense.

Great ball movement tonight though. Man passing the ball as crisply as they did not only cut the turnovers down, it put the Celtics defense on its heels all night. It took energy away from their offensive sets and had them scrambling to keep up with most Laker offensive sets.

I can’t wait to see this team healthy someday.

Overall, it was good to see the Lakers pull themselves up off the floor. Losing, like winning can quickly become a habit, and its best to nip that habit before it takes root.

Now go into Indiana with effort and determination.

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

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