Lakers Bleeding Purple and Gold

The Utah Jazz have tied the series at 2-2 with a an overtime victory today.  Here are some abstract thoughts:

• If the refs hand out the same home team calls in L.A. as they did in today’s game, I will be satisfied.
• There were several calls that either were displayed differently on my TV or that the announcers felt obliged to agree with the refs:
• The block on Luke Walton from behind was a great hustle play. . . however. . . since when is legal to go through someone’s body to get the ball — head and all?
• The foul called on Sasha when he blocked Deron Williams shot from behind was ludicrous.  Even more ludicrous was the play by play of Hubie Brown….’got him on the forearm’?  He said this during the replay showing nothing of the sort.
• Why exactly is Matt Harpring getting all star treatment in terms of foul calls?
• Two games in Utah, two losses.  The upside?  Each game was lost as opposed to us being beaten.  Game three: turnovers.  Game Four: foul shots and foul calls — could have made the foul shots.  And though the refs had a horrendous outing, we need to stop swiping without intent because the refs are making prejudicial calls.
• Kobe’s back spasms could be telling.  Needed him to facilitate the last two minutes of the game instead of forcing shots.  I would have preferred the focus shifting to Odom and Fish with Gasol and Bryant looking to play decoy and man the boards.

Game 5 Wednesday at Staples Center. 

Quite frankly, I’m not altogether sure how we pulled yesterday’s game out.  Out-rebounded embarrassingly, particularly on the offensive boards is usually a recipe for disaster. 

Also, the adjustments the Jazz made to slow down our offense bothered me a little although to be quite honest I couldn’t pick out what those adjustments were.  The only real difference seemed to be that the Lake Show wasn’t getting out on the break for most of the second half and the offense kind of stalled. 

Sasha, I mean the Machine came through like the emerging star he is.  That’s right I said it!  Emerging star.  Look at the young kid.  The ingredients are there.  Young kid, big stage, hair that flows in the wind, and a deadly bomb from deep….emerging star!

In all seriousness, if we get at the boards and maintain our defensive intensity Wednesday night, we should be able to head back to Utah with home-court in tow.

Up 2-0 in our first round series against the Denver Nuggets and I think my main concern is will the stellar play hold up in Colorado.  Playing in front of fans full of contempt (a special contempt given Kobe’s relationship with the state of Colorado) is a different monster than doing it for your faithfuls. 

I think the key will be sustaining the initial energy Denver is inevitably going to bring to the floor the first quarter.  The idea is to not panic.  The idea is to stick to our game, play defense, and limit our mistakes.   I know pretty simple advice but it’s tried and true.  JR Smith, the guy off of the Denver bench, looks like he was trying to egg Kobe in last night’s game — maybe as a head game headed back to the mile high city.  Although, I have some words of advice to JR:  When you’re coming off the bench (despite being pretty damn effective), do not trash talk the guy that has dropped 40+ on your squad with time still a tick tick ticking.  This person is apparently a bit hot so last thing you need to do is to give him extra incentive, extra motivation to score.  But Kobe handled it well.  He got the ball drove at JR Smith, got the foul, made the bucket, hit the free throw, and left the game for good. 

Word is JR Smith is still talking……And who the hell is this Linas Kleiza?!??!

Is it me or does the media LOVE Boston sports?  It seems like the slightest winning for any team in the area results in a tidal wave of stories specific to New England.  As a disclaimer, if you read Xpinionated, then you know I am slightly considerably biased against the entire New England area.  But let’s say a couple of things about the amazing season the 07-08 Celtics had this year.

Most Improved.  The Celtics accomplished the biggest turnaround ever for an NBA team by increasing their win total by 42 wins.  Great achievement. . . except last year’s roster doesn’t feature at least nine players on this year’s roster.   Only 40% of your previous roster is there.  In my mind, this isn’t the true meaning of Most Improved.  In my mind, Most Improved means taking what you had, working on it through practice/experience/playcalling and drastically improving your results.  It does not mean gutting your roster and pulling off some spectacular GM moves.  Personally, I think the recognition for Most Improved should go to teams carrying at least 60% of the previous season’s roster.  However, I’m not sure this is an official recognition so there are no rules… 

Best Regular Season Record.  With 66 wins, the Celts also had the most wins in the league.  Impressive indeed.  60+ wins in this league is always an accomplishment.  Taking a look at who the Celtics get to play night in and night out, it seems to me that playing in the Eastern Conference had much to do with their success.  In fact, based on Hollinger’s Statistics on ESPN.com, Boston has the lowest strength of schedule in their league.  San Antonio has the highest.  Does anyone think any of the top four seeds could not have accomplished the same feat against the Eastern Conference?  And yes, Boston had a great record against the West, but I doubt they would have the same kind of success if it was a day in day out kind of thing instead of just a road trip to get hyped for.

With all that said, it sure is nice to have Boston around to hate….even if it’s only for a couple of years….

1st in the Western Conference.  It feels right.  This is what the Lakers organization is about.  This is where we are supposed to be.  Now to finish the deal. 

It looks like we’ll be facing Dallas or Denver in the first round.  We went 6-1 against those teams combined going 3-0 over Denver and 3-1 over Dallas (though all games seem to be a battle at the end). 

I have never really been the kind of fan to prefer to meet one team over another.  By so saying, it indicates a fear of the less preferred team.  I do not like fear.  I like to think, nay, I know we can beat any team in the league in a seven game series.  Perhaps I’m blinded by the Purple and Gold, but if so let me remain in that manner. 

My main concerns going into these playoffs:

1. Consistency:  Save for last night’s undressing of the Kings (which five years ago would have been a victory to be relished), the Lakers have shown a tendency in the second half of the season of building big leads and losing big leads by crunch time in the fourth quarter.  That cannot continue. 
2. Health:  Both Kobe and Fish are playing through injuries with Luke Walton and Pau coming off recent injuries.  Though we are a deep team, we must be weary of the injury situation.  Add to that no timeline for the return of Baby Boy Bynum or Trevor Ariza, and our health concerns are not minor.
3. Lastly, assuming Baby Boy Bynum comes back, jelling and working him into the offense during the playoffs could be a tricky scenario.  Combining that with not knowing how the young man will react or play (aggressiveness still there?) after his first major injury poses some logistical questions for the Lake Show

In any case, getting out of the first round is a must, plain and simple.  The 48 - 17 finish means nothing if we get goosed in the first round.  The Pau Gasol acquisition means nothing.  And the number one seed means nothing.  Perhaps a regular season conference crown is big for the Hornets, or Rockets.  But to teams like the Lakers or Spurs (yes a measure of respect is being granted here), conference championships are but a sidenote to the title.

“If it stopped the way it is, I think Chris Paul has been outstanding and his team has been the top of the charts,” said two-time MVP Steve Nash.
“It’s the team, your impact on your team and what you do overall. Let’s face it, he has been unbelievable. His scoring, his assisting, he’s a leader in steals. He shoots a good percentage. He put his team on his back in the fourth quarter. That’s what it’s about. He doesn’t have the players around him that Kobe has.”

Funny that Steve Nash should say this considering he won the award twice with superb talent around him.  A bit of the pot calling the kettle black ain’t it…or should I say eh?

It’s coming down to the wire in one of the greatest playoff races in recent NBA history.  The Lake Show has locked up it’s 55th (out of 60 years) playoff appearance and now focuses on getting a better seed.  Right now, the teams I don’t want to play in the playoffs are Golden State, New Orleans, and to a lesser degree Houston.  I’m not talking matchups here.  I’m talking bad feelings.  I just don’t feel good running into those teams until we are on all cylinders. 

With Gasol back in the lineup, it looks like we are starting to play to our capabilities rather than to the level of competition.

I fear Kobe may once again be shunned in the MVP race if the Hornets lock up the one seed.  It truly is a shame that the best player in the league has never one the award.

I must give Lamar Odom his proper props for Friday night’s game.  I’ve ridden him quite hard for a few years so when he has a night like he did against the Mavs, it’s only right I at least mention it.  Keep it up Lamar, love the way you play when you’re relaxed in the third option role.

Who would have thought we were in for a 50+ win season when this roller-coaster began?

The Lakers are again at the top of the West tied with Houston at 46 - 21.  Pau Gasol is out indefinitely and Bynum is expected back by the first round of the playoffs.  If Ariza can come back as well, the Lakers would be at full strength but would still need a couple of games to gel and play together.  There has been concern that Kobe, Pau, and ‘Drew haven’t played together yet.  I’ll put it like this:  Pau gelled with the team almost immediately playing out of position.  There’s no reason that bringing young ‘Drew back to a team he’s played for at the positions he plays should be a huge cause for concern.  A bigger concern may be finding a way to make sure that the bench players that have stepped up during our bouts with injury don’t lose focus like V. Rad. 

Check the following from Charley Rosen (whose book about the 71-72 Lakers is a great read) when asked which two players he would take from today’s NBA to build a team around:

That’s easy.

Kobe Bryant, because he’s a better shooter and defender than LeBron James, and can easily play both wing positions. Not to mention Kobe being one of the game’s greatest clutch performers.

Tim Duncan, for his versatility and his championship-attitude. TD is a jack-of-all-trades and master of every one.

Kobe and TD would provide an inside presence as well as an outside one — and would enable a team to play inside-out basketball. Having them both on the floor would also discourage defenses from double-teaming either one.

There’s no other possible combo that comes close.

Big win at Dallas last night though we almost blew a 21 point halftime lead.  These are the kind of games where you don’t know which team walks away with the most (besides the win of course).  Do the short-handed Lakers realize the accomplishment of coming out with a victory over a playoff bound team or do they realize they lost all but 2 points of a 21 point lead?  Does Dallas hang their heads for losing to a team missing it’s two big men or do they realize that each of their past two losses could have gone either way?  I don’t know.  But in the competitive West right now, the win is all that matters.  I’ll let the Zen Master put together the mental gymnastics!

Congrats Houston on your run!  And bigger congrats to those happily living in Lakers land knowing our streak is still THE STREAK!

It had to come to an end.  The Lakers ten game win streak came to an end last night with a 119-111 loss to the Portland Trailblazers.  It was one of those games I kind of felt was coming.  The way the Blazers played us earlier in the week showed a lot of heart.  And they did that on the road so this definitely had the feel of a caught-off-guard game.  Add the return of the Blazers court general Brandon Roy and 4 straight losses in the Rose Garden, there shouldn’t be too much surprise with the outcome of this game.

With that said, the only alarm that goes off in this loss is the amount of points given up.  119 is a big number even in today’s higher scoring NBA (when compared to the less talented 90’s).  The defense should be fine come playoff time as the talent is there to play defense, it’s just going to be a matter of wanting to give it 100% on both sides of the floor.

7 up 2 down.  That’s a helluva road trip.  Two losses by a combined four points.  Easily winnable games too.  The Lake Show is looking good and this is without young Drew doing his thing in the middle.  Kobe is playing with a newfound youthfulness, happy to be on the court.  Pau Gasol fits in like a lego in seven year old’s hand.  Everybody is learning and accepting their roles…..

Things are looking good!