Crucifido’s Corner: Lakers vs. Kings (Game 73)

Tease, Preview, or Anomaly

The big question for me is - is this the Laker team we’re going to see now that health is returning a bit or is this just another sporadic tease this team loves to spring on us? I’m sure the coaching staff would like to know as well.

Granted, injuries have played a major part in the mucking up of this team this year, but game in and game out it is beyond difficult to tell what kind of Laker team is going to take the floor. This late in the season it’s still tough, if not impossible to get a real grasp on what this team is capable of doing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about one of the most lop-sided wins of the season, but it would great to have a general idea of what this team is willing to do to move their selves closer to the ultimate goal.

All that being said it was nothing short of incredible to watch this team play as just that – a team, for the first time in months. Sure there were a couple players in chronic foul trouble (mainly Lamar who just couldn’t seem to get on Jack Nies’s good side), but there was always someone right behind them to take up the slack and push the game forward.

Sure some people will tell you that it was ONLY Sacramento, they’re a terrible team and it’s not really a good gauge as to where this team is heading for the playoffs, all of which are true to a point. We all know there’s been plenty of “Oh it’s only the Hornets” or “It’s just the Grizzlies, this’ll be easy.” And they’ve never come to pass. If nothing else the one consistent thing this team has shown this year is an unwavering ability to play to the level of their competition. Every team does it to an extent, but this year’s edition of the Lakers have brought it to a new and unsettling level sometimes.

…except for this one against the Kings.

As the game started you have to look at the Kings roster and know straight away that there is an absolute lack of any presence or size inside, let alone the combination of both. Kwame seemed to see that right off the bat. From the get go, Kwame got himself down low quick and abused the Kings’ ever-present weakness in the paint. There were moments when Kwame looked a bit timid to back Miller down or use his foot speed to lean on Miller for a turn into the middle of the lane, but that was made up for by his more than strong play alongside the key.

As the first period wore on Kwame did one thing absolutely perfectly – he made Brad Miller play center. It may sound odd, but that’s what you have to do to him. The guy is not a center whatsoever, he’s a shooting guard trapped in a big man’s body and Kwame looked to exploit it. He was using his strength to push Miller where ever he wanted to and not only that, he took advantage of his hard work by finishing most of his shots. He floundered a bit looking tired actually, but made up for some of his lethargic second half, by playing really strongly grounded defense in the middle of the paint. If he wasn’t altering shots he was pushing guys out of the paint making room for him or others to grab a board.

It’d still be great to see Kwame throw down more close attempts rather than softly put it home, but the end result is what matters this time and Kwame delivered in the early going.

Conversely Andrew came in the game early on playing all too timid and doing little to get himself in a position to use the lack of size in the paint against the Kings. When Sacramento was hell bent on fronting him Andrew was both, not using his size to get himself in front of his man or demanding the ball enough to use his length to run away from his man toward the hoop. Like I said, he was just playing too timid.

That is until the second half.

It obviously looked like the coaching staff might have felt the same way about Andrew’s soft play and then it clicked. Suddenly Bynum was getting into the post before the play was swinging to his side; he was turning to his strong side and filling up the paint with a positive step toward the basket. When Andrew got pushed out a bit, he concentrating on the rim (you could see it on his face throughout the second half), using his full extension and knocking down shots like an old pro.

So there you had it, something aside from some more obvious points that was really encouraging to see – a center core – and a center core playing collectively well for the entire game no less. That right there is a massive weapon, should both players decide to make this a habit. That’s the frustrating thing, they’ve shown they can do it more than once a season, so what is holding them back from playing strong like they did this game every night? The only thing is their will to do so.

Throughout the whole second quarter Luke was playing a center type role alongside of Kwame or Andrew (and Ronny as well). He was getting quick post position, establishing it with some seriously determined strength and just railing the Kings’ interior defense. The best part was that the team didn’t go away from it. Both Luke and the rest of the team were looking to him until Sacramento started shoring up Luke’s side more into the second half.

That was another good thing to see, the team exploiting a weakness until the other team is forced to change to stop it. It sounds simple, but it’s something that’s escaped this team this year.

Before the game, behind the basket on the Lakers’ bench side were some Sacramento fans with a big sign that read – “There’s No Kobe In Team” - - - Oops…

While Kobe was again pushing his outside shot too much for my taste, he was finding other ways to be effective. For Kobe’s stats, I’d like to see him start games by looking to start his shot or offensive motion from the post or simply use posts and screens from Luke going across the key to drive into the teeth of a defense. Outside of that, Kobe’s ability to use the Kings’ double teams multiple defenders thrown at him to make his teammates better. Of course the other half of the equation was in effect tonight too, his teammates making their shots. Nonetheless, Kobe was doing a fantastic job while his shot wasn’t on the money and while he was being smothered by Artest of looking for the other options that should always be there in the triangle.

I guess there is a Kobe in team after all, sorry guys.

The whole game Lamar just couldn’t get going offensively. Some of it was him playing a lot of flailing defense, leading with hands, rather than letting his feet do most of the work, but a lot of it was Lamar getting caught out of position. Every time he found himself a step late or a strep slow behind his man he was trying to make up for it by reaching. His help defense for others was fine, but it was his slight missteps on defense that led to his fouls just burying any flexibility in his game. He did do a good job in second half with 4 fouls denying Artest any kind of post position (high, mid or low). It kept Artest from moving along the baseline to switch weak to strong or from getting his step back jumper from 12 to 15 feet. It was just the fouls from being a bit slow on the draw that kept Lamar from being free enough to play aggressively.

Smush played a strong, quiet game. Defensively he had a problem with playing good defense for the first seconds of a possession then suddenly sliding away, opening up a strong side drive for anyone he was guarding. Why he was slipping off his man is anyone’s guess. He was under control this game though, playing more of a point guard role than he has in the past. He was still throwing up a good amount of threes but that was it, it was a good amount. There was patience in his game that comes and goes. If he can holster that patience and play straight face up defense the entire time his man has the ball, he’ll have made a big stride. Smush played a good, calm game tonight that really pulled a lot of Kings out of the key, making room for Kobe, Andrew and Ronny to get inside more in the second half.

I liked what Sasha did in this one too. As far as I’m concerned every time Bibby comes to town Sasha should be on the floor getting in his face until he sits on the bench. The constant moving defense of Sasha flusters Bibby like few other people in the NBA can. It’s not that Sasha was the sole reason why Bibby played poorly (as I think Bibby just had an off night as everyone does), but Sasha did a good job making sure that Bibby never got into any kind of rhythm on either end. During that 4th quarter it was good to see Sasha not be afraid to take the ball inside against a packed in Kings defense. A little more jabs or drives from Sasha and a tad less camping on the 3 point line would benefit everyone.

Briefly, I liked that Brian played the game with some anger and attitude. It’s good to be even-tempered, but seeing a little fire in Cook’s game was a positive sign.

Ronny, of course, played great. I have trouble finding flaws in guys who give everything they have every game. Again, you have to be excited knowing that this is only Ronny’s 2nd year. The 12 foot jumper he’s quickly developing is a huge weapon for the Lakers. It’s that Horace Grant (as mentioned in the forums) kind of game that can pull other big men or power forwards out of a lane enough to give a seam to a drive or cut. Chalk it up to another inspired performance by the Lakers not-so-secret weapon.

Last, but certainly not least – Maurice. Like Ronny, and Luke there’s something to be said for guys who come into every game without leaving anything untapped. Mo’s merciless energy is usually a catalyst for others, but this game, that energy gave Mo a big game in the box score. Players that come into games looking to play their best and never slacking off, even when taken out of plays, given inconsistent playing time or just having an off night will always benefit in the long run. Maurice deserved that dividend in this one. Though the team itself could be named player of the game, it was Mo’s spark of the bench (along with the other bench players too) that really took this game and opened it up.

One subtle thing that I love about Mo’s game tonight was his perfectly timed releases from the defensive end. He doesn’t run out until the ball is secure and when he does run out, it’s with full speed and perfect spacing. He must have gotten 4 or 5 wide open shots from moving off the ball, hitting his spots and never crowding a ball handler or the heart of a play.

Just a couple things to shore up…

The bigs have to keep activity in mind in the post. They can’t find a spot, get rooted and force a bad pass into the post. Likewise, the post passer can’t push that pass if there’s no clear way to get it. It’s simply a matter of swinging the ball around to the weak side and back again to reset the post. Ort if a post play isn’t getting in gear before the shot clock becomes a factor; the posting player has got to move away from that spot. Waiting until a pass can be barely fed in, is rushing the post play and creating all sorts of bad percentage busting shots outside.

Push a team to what they do worst. The Kings are predominantly a shooting team. In the first half the Lakers were letting the Kings get easy open shots by dipping too far down into the paint when the Kings never even made a hint towards an inside move. Get out on the shooting teams and make then move the ball into flat angled passes or into a weak post game.

What a good team win. It’s heartening to see some health slowly coming back. Hopefully as help arrives off the injured list things will straighten out. It’s got to happen quickly as the playoff are coming up real fast-like.

Games like this one go a long way to righting the Laker ship and putting it in a positive direction. It’s time to use this game as a template, no matter what the team.

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

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