Crucifido’s Corner: Lakers vs. Wizards (Game 46 2/3/08)

Movement, Passing, Hustle & Teamwork

Apparently the buzz of the huge trade for Pau Gasol extends far beyond just the rabid Laker fan base. From the looks of it, ever since the deal went down, the Lakers have copped some serious energy from it as well.

Everyone on the court had a pop to their step that was quicker, livelier and crisper than any movement on and off ball they’ve shown this season. During the Lakers 7 game-winning streak there was plenty of great ball movement and footwork on the money, but it’s made a screaming comeback these last two games. Maybe it’s due to the trade or better yet maybe it’s due to this team finding that rhythm they had before the injuries. Being as short-handed as they are and running over teams like the Raptors and Wizards the way they did is not an easy task. They’re a talented team to be sure, but I don’t think many people can say they expected the Lakers to be as sharp as they are after the Detroit heartbreak.

At the forefront of this 2 game energy-laden streak has been the imitable Kobe. The guy has been on a tear for the whole season pretty much, but as of late he has had a zip to his game that hasn’t been there for a while. It’s the same jump that he had during the Shaq / Kobe era.

Today against the Wizards he continued setting up the offense through the post. There was a fair share of the same face up kind of offense he excels at, but what has really opened up the mid range jumpers and 3 pointers lately is Kobe working the passes from the high post. Its not like he hasn’t done it before, but right now it looks to be becoming a majority of his half court set when he brings the ball up.

I loved seeing Butler on Kobe for a big part of the game too. For all of the good things Butler does on offense, his defense has always been suspect at best and today proved it to still be true. As Kobe moves through this season playing heavy minutes as of late he seems to be gaining power off of his first step. Granted, the defense of Toronto and Washington are far worse than Detroit’s, but man has Kobe really found some serious hop on drives. He wasn’t forced to play too much defense today, but he did a good job of playing the rover. He patrolled the outside and dove down into the paint to help with boards with good timing.

If this keeps up and Gasol breaks into the fold next game, this Laker team will absorb the Bynum injury easier than expected.

Along with Kobe’s great run of games, once again Ronny has been above the call of duty filling in for Bynum in the middle. His game has now gone beyond the simple run in with a ton of energy guy. The 12 to 14 footer he’s been developing was in full effect this game again. What I liked today was Ronny’s hard work on weak side recovery. He’s been coming off screens on the weak side to help inside shots like a madman and his block numbers are showing it. Not only is his hustle from side to side of the ball resulting in numbers, its resulting in changed shots. Changing shots through hustle rather than stature is something unexpected from Ronny. His energy and passion for the game have never been an unusual sight, but what has been a welcome unusual aspect to his game is the passing.

Its not that he’s been a bad passer, but with Ronny in the middle, his vision of the outside spot shooters has grown. The extra pass out of the paint to an open jumper has often run through or come directly from Ronny. By pulling the Wizards defense in with his activity around the rim, he ‘s opened up the perimeter shots. When those shots came open today, he was looking for the kick out pass and hitting it immediately. The points he’s been kicking in were a big bonus today. Though the Lakers seemed to be in good hands with Radmanovic, Kobe and Odom playing well, the double digits coming from an expectedly weak middle were huge. It made the Wizards slack off of the arc far more than most would think they’d have to with Ronny as center.

With the approach of Gasol, Lamar’s role will obviously change. The good thing is that today Lamar flexed his new role before Gasol was even in uniform. Odom did a fantastic job of filling up the middle with a strong defensive presence. Whether the got the board or not, Lamar was always in the mix down low. There few to no put backs from the weak side rebounders today because of Odom’s work in the paint.

The only thing Lamar was sloppy doing today was splitting space between the inside man on the low post and the outside passer. He was favoring the passer a bit too much. Right now with the shortage of big men, Lamar has to be extra careful to bolster the inside defense more than the mid-range.

Equal to the great job on the boards, for the first time in a long time Lamar stepped up his offense when Kobe was out for a bit. The outside shot was falling because he was taking the open looks the Wizards threw him. That kind of aggression, even if the shots aren’t always falling, go a long way to pulling defense out of the mid-range or paint. With Andrew out, the more pressure you can take off the middle, the better. That showed today when as Lamar started taking the shots given to him, and Haywood and Blatche ran out on him, leaving the quick pass to the paint open. Then you take that pass from the paint up to the rim via Ronny, Radmanovic or someone else or you now have a scrambled defense that opens up the threes. That happened in this game.

So – for the billionth time (until Gasol comes raging onto the court), as Lamar went so did the Lakers. Today, Lamar went forward and the Lakers followed.

One great aspect of the game was Mason. All this season, and in seasons past, the Lakers have had a bad habit of letting a peripheral player kill them. Today, Mason looked to be that same story developing. But the Lakers did a good job of smothering Mason after only 8 points were thrown in. Mason got only 2 more after the Lakers concentrated defensive attention on him before he got into a deadly rhythm.

The predominant Laker keeping Mason from blowing up was Jordan. Farmar played a less offensive role today, but that defensive job he did on Mason today was great to see. As usual, offensively he was good. There wasn’t a flurry of points, but what there was a very well run point by Jordan. With Kobe playing so fluidly and Lamar stepping up into the second option today, Farmar wasn’t required to drain as many jumpers as he has this season. However, the game isn’t 100% offense and watching Jordan focus on Mason was a good thing to see. A little UCLA flashback from Farmar today, but it was something that I hope continues with the whole team.

The welcome surprise today was Radmanovic. He looked alive and awake today. What was really opening up his game was getting to his spots without getting stuck in screen sets. Often Vlad takes a rough road through the paint to get to where he needs to go. Today, there was a noticeable difference in his footwork. He was looking for the easier seam to get into the pass option spots. Once there, the shot he was hired for was alive and well.

Oddly enough, one of the most consistent guys in this Bynum-les stretch has been Sasha. This game looked to be no different as Sasha was moving great pop. I’d still like to see him get inside for more than one lay-up a game, but for the most part Sasha has worked himself into a highly valuable contributor off the bench. His defense was the typical harassing style, though a bit ragged letting too many drives slip by him without working around a screen. All that aside, Sasha played a great game and gave the Wizards another outside headache to deal with.

Overall, the spacing on offense and defense today was great. The ball movement was spectacular. The best part of the game today was that the Lakers didn’t sink into the watch Kobe go mode. There was fantastic motion off the ball. As Kobe keeps ramping up his game, the Lakers have realized that this should increase your freedom off the ball. Its given the Lakers far more room to go anywhere they need to on the court. The team’s hands were ready and the eyes were open.

Now, we wait the longest day or so in a while for Gasol to don the #16 jersey. Hopefully the Lakers don’t lose the rhythm they’ve gotten on this road trip. There’s a long way to go and certainly with Gasol the road gets more fun, but they still have to go out there and win.