Crucifido’s Corner - Lakers vs. Spurs

Cruci's Corner

Best Game Of The Year

And it wasn’t the best game of the year simply because they won (although it was a great and most needed win). It was the bets game of the year because of the demeanor and attitude the team came out with tonight.

From the outset you could see in the Lakers’ eyes that they had a rare focus and determination. Pair that focus with the fact that they pulled out a road game versus one of the league’s best and you have a heck of a game from the Lakers.

What was the worst part of the game? Yet again, it’s good to see them pull this game out but they’ve shown us a couple times that they can run with the best the NBA has to offer. So the tiny losses against the NBA’s softer teams become more maddening. All of that aside though, this was just fantastic to watch.

Not only did they seem to come into the arena with a rare air about them, it wasn’t just one guy as we’ve become used to. The entire team had the look of a team on a mission tonight. In this second half of the season / playoff push it’s going to take that kind of will to get into the playoffs.

Another good part of the game (and yes, I’m excited and gushing) was the fact that there was absolutely no crumbling at any point. Whether they had small cold spells or the Spurs went on runs, the Lakers showed no slack to them. They didn’t get down on themselves or turn to the refs to bail them out. They stayed within their game and found out that playing the offense / defense the way it was designed makes life so much easier. When they hit the spots they’re supposed to, double off of guys that don’t nail outside shots in streaks, crash boards as a team, communicate on both ends crisply they look not only tough but vastly smarter than they have in a long while.

For a young team looking to get themselves into the West’s best for the playoffs, this was just enormous.

Kobe – Possibly one of his best games of the year. His shooting percentage was not the greatest (sometimes due to having a great defender – Bowen – on him) but it was insignificant compared to the balance he found on both ends. A lot of it is due to the rest of the team coming into the game with the same will Kobe always comes with, but it’s always good to see your team’s star be more than willing to get everyone into the box score and above all not have to cover every defensive mistake or carry the load alone in the second half. I liked his patience when he was stunted on drives. Some of the shots he hits are just incredible, but tonight they weren’t forced, they were shots that were there.

Lamar – Another good performance from everyone’s favorite schizophrenic player. However, this is two in a row, something you have to like to see. There’s a couple things I’m beyond happy to see Lamar do too. He’s seeing rolls and dives so much better these last couple of games. He’s not heads down to the left side of the key only. He’s probing defenses with great dribble jabs in the middle, softening defenses and keeping his teammates active because of it. He’s also seeing the offensive opportunities that are often there for him with greater ease. Maybe he plugged into the offense a little bit more because the difference in his confidence within the system is evident. Defensively he was spacing himself in the key much better. He, like many other Lakers have a tendency to crowd the lane leaving a lot of options open all around the outside and high post. But the last couple games, he has pulled himself and his man only two steps further out. But those two steps are gigantic in the rebounding differential. I’d love to see him keep it up. It’s both needed for his game and for the greater good of the Lakers.

Chris – The one thing I loved hearing was the halftime tidbit about him denying his friends and family tickets to this game because it was too important. You have got to love that kind of focus. He has come into virtually every game this year with a lot of determination. He consistently gives 100% even when not on top of his game. He played good strong low post defense tonight. Going after every ball is a bad habit Chris has, and he did it a couple times tonight as well. But for the most part he has improved his game – a lot of it through his strong will. That’s something you love to see in your team.

Kwame – He’s been doing a fine imitation of Ben Wallace. He’s the same kind of player as Wallace, with a bit more height. Nonetheless, he is doing the dirty and post work that he can thrive with. One huge thing tonight was that Kwame used two hands when handling the ball. Even in easy possessions, it was two hands and the difference in the handles was big. This kind of quietly strong game can go a long way to helping the Lakers not doubling every big post player. Like he said in the post game, the big thing tonight was that the team could count on a one on one set with Kwame in the post versus Duncan. Confidence in Kwame from his teammates can only grow the more he signs off on being the stopper / rebounder he naturally is.

Smush – You get the feeling Smush has kind of come around to enjoying playing defense much more than he did earlier this year. He has a bounce in his step on defense that’s leading to much better screen / pick run-throughs and faster help on the perimeter. He’s getting up in people’s faces every shot, no matter if it changes it or not. Little things like that keep other teams having to move and not settle into shooting roves like the Lakers so often give up. So conversely, his offense is cashing in huge dividends from his active defense.

Luke – He got back to the movement off the ball game that makes Luke such an interesting player. Luke is (obviously) at his best when he is the constant motion man off the ball. That motion not only opens up the middle much more for guys like Kobe to penetrate or the bigs to get easier post position, it gets him open looks as well. His hustle on the boards was again the result of the same activity. This is what he was doing early in the year when he was rolling. I’m not sure what stopped him from playing within his style, but the good thing is that he got back to it in time for a very big game. He was hugely responsible for the points in the paint difference. Even his defense was improved from keeping up with his man through screens and baseline picks. It was one of his best games of the year and the guy gets player of the game.

Brian – He’s looking tired, but you know what – that’s a good thing. Too many times Brian kicks it into cruise control on both ends of the court. It was good to see him get winded. He was forced to work, mostly because everyone else was in serious game mode. It pushed everyone into playing their hardest. Brian has a penchant for such kind of play, but pushing himself physically could be what he needs to get himself involved defensively. He also was doing much less dribbling then shooting and just getting to spots to shoot set jumpers.

I also loved that they helped when their teammates were trapped in corners or along sidelines with the ball, they played perfectly spaced half court offense and one of my favorite things were that the guards were playing active defense along the perimeter to force them into the middle and more difficult shots.

It was also a bonus to see the guards hold the ball in transition when the defense got back instead of hoisting up an ill-advised jumper from 15 feet.

Well, again, it was the best team game of the year. Made even more special by it being a road game against one of the NBA’s best.

It’s only one game too now, so like Phil says don’t get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. There’s plenty more ball to be played. If it gets played like this, then a playoff appearance will be no sweat.

However, it’s up to the team to decide if they’re satisfied with simply making an appearance in the playoffs or making some noise.

The order of the day for the Lakers: keep the focus, keep the determination, keep the confidence, keep the team ball and lose the inconsistency.

Now go get fat on the soft teams as well.

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