So what are we supposed to do now? Believe in him, pull for him to have a fine performance and play like the Superman he once was in Disney World before migrating to Disneyland? If the issue was whether he was burnt out from the Epcot Experiment and just wanted to experience a California Adventure, it's because the Los Angeles Lakers are usually in contention to win a championship.
It's hard to make a case that either he desperately joined the Lakers to flee the chaos in Orlando, but whatever the reasoning was behind Howard's trade, he's a factor for the Lakers and must have a monster performance in Game 2 Wednesday night in San Antonio. So this is a chance for Howard to really lead the Lakers to a playoff series win, without the services of Kobe Bryant because of a torn Achilles tendon that he suffered during a regular-season win against Golden State. And now Howard is the most important player for the Lakers in these playoffs.
If they can somehow pound the ball inside they can easily tie this series, despite the Spurs' swarming defenders that forced Howard to turn the ball over. Yet Howard's ability to execute underneath the basket remains a question and, after a loss in Game 1 of the playoff opener, it raises concern about whether he can hold on to the ball, let alone adjust the way he attacks in the post or sets rock-solid screens to create space for himself to dominate the paint and frustrate a pesky Spurs defense.
If the Buss family is smart, no matter how the season ends, they won't let Howard walk at the end of the season. If everything goes right, the Lakers will sign him to an enormous deal and he will keep on a purple and gold uniform. Assuming that he's come to L.A. to be the star of the post-Kobe era, he's indeed the one the Lakers will count on when the going gets tough, like now. He pretty much has been aggressive in a fierce battle against the veteran Tim Duncan.
It's about one big man trying to outdo the other. It's about the strongest and smartest, and with that in mind, Howard would have to stand up to the ageless and more assertive Duncan. If so, the Lakers could likely travel back to L.A. with a victory in the books, but Howard will have to play dominant and like a beast, one we've never seen, one that's not commonplace, one that convinces us he can carry the weight on his shoulders without his pal Kobe.
There's much about Howard that is significant, striking and perceptible, so it would only be wise to assume that he's more than just a 6-foot-11 big man with size and superhero physique. He is truly one of the funniest guys in the game. Known for his antics and whimsical nature, he'd probably be a damn good standup comedian and could sell out the Laugh Factory. He's that funny and humorous, but on Wednesday in a game that will likely dictate the nature of this series, he will need to wipe away his captivating smile and do the impression of a ferocious animal.
Howard needs to put aside the playfulness and be for real. More than that, he's now a willing leader who is not backing down from the challenge and has embraced his role in Bryant's absence. It might come down to Howard knocking down two free throws to clinch in the final minutes of a pivotal game. It might come down to him blocking and corralling what could have been a game-winning shot. It might come down to him putting back a missed shot or grabbing that crucial rebound, which could change the perspective of the game.
There is zero chance that the Lakers, a team that relies heavily on a big man in the pursuit of their NBA titles, would survive without a big game from Howard. He believes the Lakers can surprise the world -- very dangerous -- in these playoffs. It's one thing to dream, but another thing to turn it into reality. Without Kobe, the Lakers have no choice but to attack the rim with Howard's size and power. And lately, he's been living up to his nickname, rightfully so. He's been playing like Superman, not Superless Howard. He's been playing like an untamed giant, despite his silly passes and poor handling of the ball and the number of turnovers he's committed in the previous game. That can make this Lakers team dangerous.
The Lakers need his presence, his mental toughness and another dominant performance, without any mistakes. That means he can't account for 10 of the Lakers' 18 turnovers. But amazingly, after waiting and waiting, he has been everything the Lakers expected from him. Howard, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, loves it in Los Angeles, but who knows if he'll stay? That doesn't matter at the moment, when there's much on the line in these playoffs and plenty to focus on. What we do know is that he's a different player since Bryant went down.
What we do know is that Howard is not only a defensive force but also a beast in the interior. The Lakers are a better team when he's healthy and when he plays like the Lakers are his team. Furthermore, he's the league's best rebounder, but he needs to continue to play like that all the time and cannot take nights off. The dominance he's shown is what the Lakers had in mind. He's playing with more energy and pizzazz. He's playing with a different mentality, the Dwight Howard that no one has seen much.
He's proving that he fits in well, and he's merely the key piece to make a deep playoff run. If he does become the most dominant center in the NBA, to follow Shaquille O'Neil, a Laker legend, maybe folks are going to perceive him as a likable superstar and not a polarizing diva who has been known for his wishy-washy, flaky mannerism.
This game will determinate what he's made of.
Showing posts with label 2013 NBA playoffs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2013 NBA playoffs. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Tweet This, Kobe! Lakers’ Big Men Have to Get It Done
So how would you feel if you were Kobe Bryant, suffered a season-ending injury and watched your team from afar struggle against a stronger Spurs team? How would you feel if you were a 15-time All-Star who averaged 27 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists and couldn’t help your team in the first series of a mind-numbing postseason, missing the playoffs for the second time in your polished career? How would you feel if you were the Black Mamba, the central figure of the Los Angeles Lakers, lashed out on social networking and tweeted from home throughout the game since you currently can’t travel with the team?
If you were like Kobe, a competitor and enthusiast, you would be very upset, frustrated and “bored.” On Sunday afternoon, from his Newport Beach home, he sat on the couch with his surgically repaired left leg elevated. Bryant sat in front of his television, as he was tweeting and nervously watching the Lakers run into trouble and come unstuck for the first time since he ruptured his Achilles tendon, expected to be sidelined six to nine months while recovering from surgery. The beloved star guard for one of the most celebrated franchises in pro sports was madly posting quotes via Twitter during the Lakers’ 91-79 loss in Game 1 of the playoff opener, which was still on, when he was using 140 characters to coach and encourage his teammates.
“Matador Defense on Parker. His penetration is hurting us.”
No growling. No snarling. No scowling. Maybe from his home, but not on the court. Bryant won’t be around to facilitate or hit a game-winning shot with much at stake in a postseason when folks already have doubts about the Lakers, following a porous season of disappointments, frustrations and woes that eventually culminated with a miracle to the playoffs. The idea that the Lakers are a social fabric, a main event, and more importantly, the most famous organization in a diverse community that comforts Californians in the Southland is why it is often hard any time the team is eliminated from contention in late April or early May and fails to lift the trophy come June. If Kobe were somehow healthy to indeed play, it would only give the Lakers a greater chance over the Spurs, if not a greater shot of winning a championship.
“Nothing worse then watching your bothers struggle and u can’t do crap about it #realtalk.”
In this particular series, nothing is worse than Mike D’Antoni’s boneheaded coaching philosophy, and sometimes he has the mind of a doofus by using his run and gun style of offense. This was not a workable or useful system for the Lakers all season. This was realistically a flawed coaching system as it showed all season. Given that he arrived and installed a fast-paced offense this season, which the Lakers needed time to adjust and learn D’Antoni’s peculiar style, an aging and slothful team isn’t capable of running the floor with players from opposing teams who are faster and younger. Deemed an offensive genius, as a generalization is not a misguided theory, he’s never preached defense. If he’d like be a Lakers coach for a very long time, then he must have the ability to alter his offensive and defensive strategy.
#Realtalk!
He knows there’s a tremendous amount of pressure on him, in other words, or blame could lie with D’Antoni for his inability to coach a championship-caliber team. Only he can rectify the frailty and blemishes by making smart choices. The most erratic basketball team in the world is coached by someone who is baffled and has no clue what way to utilize his players. Now wasn’t the time for Steve Nash to start for the Lakers. The decision, it could be debatable, has allowed Nash to return to the starting lineup for a team that can really use his presence and he better suits D’Antoni’s offensive mantra that his point guard ran effectively under him in Phoenix.
These Lakers aren’t the Suns, though. These Lakers are older, much older than that fast-running Phoenix team D’Antoni coached in the desert. This year, Nash is battling with injuries, which is only by far slowing down the 39-year-old veteran. He is not even fully healthy and should have come off the bench, especially with how well Steve Blake has been producing highest-scoring performances of his career to help the Lakers secure a playoff spot without the Twitter Coach.
Everyone loves to believe, though Nash missed eight games with a hamstring injury, that he can change everything for the Lakers in this series as a scoring threat that the Lakers badly needed. It felt like the start of something, a breath of hope and optimism in a game that Pau Gasol spaced the floor and ran pick-and-roll sets for Nash. More to the point, he scored 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting with three assists and a lone turnover in his first appearance in nine games. And while this was happening, as it did, Bryant was sharing his feelings and thoughts with the world, tweeting during the game, for which his rants and endless tweets might have been more entertaining than the game itself for more than 2 million followers.
He tweeted, “Post. Post. Post.”
I’m with Kobe on this one. Great minds think alike.
He is now offering support and his best advice on what the Lakers need to do as a team if they want to keep winning and be successful in a playoff that they are a least favorite to make it out of the first round against the San Antonio Spurs. Yet even after the loss, Bryant still believes the Lakers can win with the group they have. It’s now time to realize that without Kobe, though he’s tweeting about the game, the Lakers can’t make too many mistakes. Worse than all, the Lakers turned the ball over 18 times like it was a hot potato, as though they could slow down Spurs guard Tony Parker by carelessly having more turnovers. With Kobe out, he has embraced his role as, well, not a team cheerleader but let’s just say a social media freak.
Feeling this way, since he’s not healthy to help his teammates make a deep run in the playoffs, he’s providing insight and a vote of confidence. He was perhaps aware that Howard and Gasol combined for a total of 10 turnovers and that it has stifled the Lakers since the early part of the season to dictate their status as they jockeyed for a playoff position. With this in view, Howard and Gasol, the two Lakers’ big men, are more vulnerable and benign. This series, and Bryant knows this as well, will be long if Howard and Gasol can’t limit the number of turnovers.
While it’s true that Howard and Gasol are the team’s best options, with Bryant missing the postseason, the Lakers’ offense must be a heavy post attack. If they are going to be a real threat, and make life miserable for Gregg Popovich’s Spurs, well, then Howard has to defend the rim, establish a post game and dominate underneath. The fact he was getting the ball stripped away every time he was down low, plagued by two Spurs defenders, hurt the Lakers as the big man turned it over with awful passes and ball-handling. By then, Kobe was furious and ready to scream. He wasn’t laughing out loud — LOL. By then, Kobe probably was shaking his head.
I know I was shaking my head — SMH.
Gasol is playing well and raised his game in Bryant’s absence, a gifted Spaniard who is confident in his ability to score. He had 16 points, adding 16 rebounds and six assists, to register another double-double. Howard scored 20 points, but it was lost after having so many turnovers.
As it happened, Bryant was still tweeting and tweeting and tweeting.
Quite frankly, he’s publicly communicating with his team via social networking, speaking his mind, illustrating his passion as always, while he misses playing with the guys. He is vocal and outspoken, never has been afraid to rip anyone or speak the truth about a specific topic regarding the Lakers and never backed down from anyone or anything. Therefore, he’s tweeting messages he says to the Lakers when he’s on the sideline during timeouts or when he’s on the floor, where he has a penchant for scolding and chiding his guys.
If the Lakers expect to win this series and tie it in Game 2, then Howard must take care of the ball and have a big game, so does Gasol.
Aside from that, for those who are Twitter fanatics, subscribe to Kobe.
If you were like Kobe, a competitor and enthusiast, you would be very upset, frustrated and “bored.” On Sunday afternoon, from his Newport Beach home, he sat on the couch with his surgically repaired left leg elevated. Bryant sat in front of his television, as he was tweeting and nervously watching the Lakers run into trouble and come unstuck for the first time since he ruptured his Achilles tendon, expected to be sidelined six to nine months while recovering from surgery. The beloved star guard for one of the most celebrated franchises in pro sports was madly posting quotes via Twitter during the Lakers’ 91-79 loss in Game 1 of the playoff opener, which was still on, when he was using 140 characters to coach and encourage his teammates.
“Matador Defense on Parker. His penetration is hurting us.”
No growling. No snarling. No scowling. Maybe from his home, but not on the court. Bryant won’t be around to facilitate or hit a game-winning shot with much at stake in a postseason when folks already have doubts about the Lakers, following a porous season of disappointments, frustrations and woes that eventually culminated with a miracle to the playoffs. The idea that the Lakers are a social fabric, a main event, and more importantly, the most famous organization in a diverse community that comforts Californians in the Southland is why it is often hard any time the team is eliminated from contention in late April or early May and fails to lift the trophy come June. If Kobe were somehow healthy to indeed play, it would only give the Lakers a greater chance over the Spurs, if not a greater shot of winning a championship.
“Nothing worse then watching your bothers struggle and u can’t do crap about it #realtalk.”
In this particular series, nothing is worse than Mike D’Antoni’s boneheaded coaching philosophy, and sometimes he has the mind of a doofus by using his run and gun style of offense. This was not a workable or useful system for the Lakers all season. This was realistically a flawed coaching system as it showed all season. Given that he arrived and installed a fast-paced offense this season, which the Lakers needed time to adjust and learn D’Antoni’s peculiar style, an aging and slothful team isn’t capable of running the floor with players from opposing teams who are faster and younger. Deemed an offensive genius, as a generalization is not a misguided theory, he’s never preached defense. If he’d like be a Lakers coach for a very long time, then he must have the ability to alter his offensive and defensive strategy.
#Realtalk!
He knows there’s a tremendous amount of pressure on him, in other words, or blame could lie with D’Antoni for his inability to coach a championship-caliber team. Only he can rectify the frailty and blemishes by making smart choices. The most erratic basketball team in the world is coached by someone who is baffled and has no clue what way to utilize his players. Now wasn’t the time for Steve Nash to start for the Lakers. The decision, it could be debatable, has allowed Nash to return to the starting lineup for a team that can really use his presence and he better suits D’Antoni’s offensive mantra that his point guard ran effectively under him in Phoenix.
These Lakers aren’t the Suns, though. These Lakers are older, much older than that fast-running Phoenix team D’Antoni coached in the desert. This year, Nash is battling with injuries, which is only by far slowing down the 39-year-old veteran. He is not even fully healthy and should have come off the bench, especially with how well Steve Blake has been producing highest-scoring performances of his career to help the Lakers secure a playoff spot without the Twitter Coach.
Everyone loves to believe, though Nash missed eight games with a hamstring injury, that he can change everything for the Lakers in this series as a scoring threat that the Lakers badly needed. It felt like the start of something, a breath of hope and optimism in a game that Pau Gasol spaced the floor and ran pick-and-roll sets for Nash. More to the point, he scored 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting with three assists and a lone turnover in his first appearance in nine games. And while this was happening, as it did, Bryant was sharing his feelings and thoughts with the world, tweeting during the game, for which his rants and endless tweets might have been more entertaining than the game itself for more than 2 million followers.
He tweeted, “Post. Post. Post.”
I’m with Kobe on this one. Great minds think alike.
He is now offering support and his best advice on what the Lakers need to do as a team if they want to keep winning and be successful in a playoff that they are a least favorite to make it out of the first round against the San Antonio Spurs. Yet even after the loss, Bryant still believes the Lakers can win with the group they have. It’s now time to realize that without Kobe, though he’s tweeting about the game, the Lakers can’t make too many mistakes. Worse than all, the Lakers turned the ball over 18 times like it was a hot potato, as though they could slow down Spurs guard Tony Parker by carelessly having more turnovers. With Kobe out, he has embraced his role as, well, not a team cheerleader but let’s just say a social media freak.
Feeling this way, since he’s not healthy to help his teammates make a deep run in the playoffs, he’s providing insight and a vote of confidence. He was perhaps aware that Howard and Gasol combined for a total of 10 turnovers and that it has stifled the Lakers since the early part of the season to dictate their status as they jockeyed for a playoff position. With this in view, Howard and Gasol, the two Lakers’ big men, are more vulnerable and benign. This series, and Bryant knows this as well, will be long if Howard and Gasol can’t limit the number of turnovers.
While it’s true that Howard and Gasol are the team’s best options, with Bryant missing the postseason, the Lakers’ offense must be a heavy post attack. If they are going to be a real threat, and make life miserable for Gregg Popovich’s Spurs, well, then Howard has to defend the rim, establish a post game and dominate underneath. The fact he was getting the ball stripped away every time he was down low, plagued by two Spurs defenders, hurt the Lakers as the big man turned it over with awful passes and ball-handling. By then, Kobe was furious and ready to scream. He wasn’t laughing out loud — LOL. By then, Kobe probably was shaking his head.
I know I was shaking my head — SMH.
Gasol is playing well and raised his game in Bryant’s absence, a gifted Spaniard who is confident in his ability to score. He had 16 points, adding 16 rebounds and six assists, to register another double-double. Howard scored 20 points, but it was lost after having so many turnovers.
As it happened, Bryant was still tweeting and tweeting and tweeting.
Quite frankly, he’s publicly communicating with his team via social networking, speaking his mind, illustrating his passion as always, while he misses playing with the guys. He is vocal and outspoken, never has been afraid to rip anyone or speak the truth about a specific topic regarding the Lakers and never backed down from anyone or anything. Therefore, he’s tweeting messages he says to the Lakers when he’s on the sideline during timeouts or when he’s on the floor, where he has a penchant for scolding and chiding his guys.
If the Lakers expect to win this series and tie it in Game 2, then Howard must take care of the ball and have a big game, so does Gasol.
Aside from that, for those who are Twitter fanatics, subscribe to Kobe.
Labels:
2013 NBA playoffs,
Dwight Howard,
Kobe Bryant,
Mike D'Antoni,
NBA,
Pau Gasol
Thursday, April 18, 2013
After All the Scares, Lakers Survive to See Playoffs
It has been an exasperating, up-and-down, trying season and one that caused panic and anxiety throughout L.A., where basketball is the pride and joy of the community, symbolizing all what’s charming about the entertainment capital of the world. You could almost sense the sign of relief when the Los Angeles Lakers survived a 99-95 overtime win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night in their building, on their home floor and in front of their tense crowd.
As nervous as these fans have been, as queasy as they were watching these Lakers painfully drop against lackluster teams throughout the season, they hung in and witnessed a different group of guys who turned it on late in the season to notch a fifth consecutive victory. By winning the final game of the regular season, to end one of the most dismal and disappointing seasons, the Lakers earned a first-round playoff series against San Antonio and avoided Oklahoma City, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference and a horrifying matchup for an older and short-handed Lakers unit.
It would have been one of the biggest disappointments in the history of the NBA if the Lakers were to miss the playoffs. It could have been quite embarrassing for the Lakers, considering all the talent and star power they acquired during the offseason. It took another kind of dominant, laborious effort from a group that was determined, relentless and persistent in order to clinch a playoff berth. In the playoffs, and a long, long way to go, the Lakers match up well with the Spurs.
It was a great fear, a great possibility that the Lakers wouldn’t make the NBA playoffs, but through all the scares, suffering and nightmares, they managed to reach their ultimate goal with help from Memphis on the night when the Lakers earned the seventh seed by beating the Rockets. The Lakers were in a fight with Utah for the West’s final spot, but the Grizzlies defeated the Jazz as the Lakers secured the final playoff berth. There is no equating late momentum to postseason success, but the Lakers can continue to piece together victories.
Entering these playoffs, with an abundance of confidence and staying power, the Lakers have much to feel good about. So it’s a series when the Lakers are underdogs, even when they are loaded with otherworldly talent. That’s what happens when a top-notched team underachieves and barely survives the regular season, with star players suffering injuries that hinder a contender from posing a challenge for its oppositions in the West.
When the season started, the Lakers were one of the most hyped teams and were the clear favorite to advance on to the NBA Finals. When the season began miserably, the Lakers were a riddle and fans went into panic mode, after the team’s 0-3 start that alarmed Kobe Bryant and the rest of the gang. When the season ended on a high note, after all the horror nights at Staples Center, the Lakers came together, acted with a sense of urgency and found the formula to winning.
The moment the season began for those wearing purple and gold, they were doomed to a dreary stretch of failures, under a fired Mike Brown. Then came Mike D’Antoni to replace Brown a few days after the team’s bungling of Phil Jackson’s return in mid-November. The blame laid with the Buss family for their failure to hire Jackson. And so they picked D’Antoni over an 11-time NBA champion, over someone who brought five championships to the Lakers and over someone whose familiarity and relationship with the organization ideally suited the team’s personality. But we all know too well that Phil and Jim didn’t get along.
Buss is simply not one of the best owners, and sometimes we wonder about his business acumen. He’s made faulty trades since taking over the personnel decisions in 2005. He’s made bad choices with coaches twice by hiring Brown over Brian Shaw and then hiring D’Antoni over Phil. He failed to satisfy a disillusioned fan base and foolishly made the worst draft picks. He couldn’t put his ego aside and believed D’Antoni would run an offense better fitted for Steve Nash.
All season, the Lakers, who were revamped last summer, were still forlorn and struggling to win games. They were an utter disaster and were very painful to bear or watch, incapable of meeting expectations, albeit they were loaded with talent and had maybe too many players with swollen egos. It’s just a start on what could be a watchable and fun playoff as the Lakers, in all considering, are playing stupendous defense, which allowed the team to play its best basketball without Bryant’s services.
There’d be enough talk about the Lakers not being the juggernaut they were believed to be. There’s talent everywhere on this team, maybe not as much since Bryant went down with a season-ending injury. But what matters, what really matters, is whether the Lakers can thrive without him. The Lakers will be without Bryant, their main character and clutch performer. His season ended in anguish when he ruptured his Achilles tendon, having to miss the rest of the season, consult with his teammates and watch painfully. Bryant is 34 years old, the Lakers star, and because he was the catalyst and the fiercest scorer on earth, he’s a loss for the team but they’ve played effectively without him late in the season.
The world-famous franchise, one that has a history of championships and a list of all-time stars and legends, will have the weight of that postseason run that everyone anticipated — although the Lakers have struggled through injuries and even playoff positioning. It was in the summer that the Buss family added All-Star Dwight Howard and Nash to the team, joining a roster that already had Bryant and Pau Gasol. The problem here is not a plethora of injuries but the team’s inability to match the speed of younger and fresher legs, along with D’Antoni’s coaching methods. He doesn’t realize that this Lakers team cannot run. He doesn’t emphasize the significance of defense, but he was Buss’ guy.
All things considered, the Lakers like what they saw of Nash, who was injured for a long time. So, they’d watch and stand around as Bryant put on his Kobe Lakeshow spectacles. He might have worn down, mentally and physically, and late in the season he endured pain and played so many minutes to carry this lifeless team. By many accounts, Steve Blake rescued the Lakers on Wednesday, scoring a career-high 24 points. He was the streakiest, hottest scorer in the building, knocking down his 3-point shots and free throws.
More than anyone, even Blake, Gasol is capable of scoring and bouncing or delivering a pass to his teammates. You can cheer for Gasol. He is, mainly, producing without Kobe on the floor and had his second triple-double this month, finishing with 17 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists. Then, his counterpart, Dwight Howard, became the youngest player in NBA history to collect 9,000 rebounds.
If the Lakers are to beat the Spurs as everybody is ruling them out, they can indubitably survive in these playoffs. There’s no telling how long, but as of right now, the Lakers are alive.
As nervous as these fans have been, as queasy as they were watching these Lakers painfully drop against lackluster teams throughout the season, they hung in and witnessed a different group of guys who turned it on late in the season to notch a fifth consecutive victory. By winning the final game of the regular season, to end one of the most dismal and disappointing seasons, the Lakers earned a first-round playoff series against San Antonio and avoided Oklahoma City, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference and a horrifying matchup for an older and short-handed Lakers unit.
It would have been one of the biggest disappointments in the history of the NBA if the Lakers were to miss the playoffs. It could have been quite embarrassing for the Lakers, considering all the talent and star power they acquired during the offseason. It took another kind of dominant, laborious effort from a group that was determined, relentless and persistent in order to clinch a playoff berth. In the playoffs, and a long, long way to go, the Lakers match up well with the Spurs.
It was a great fear, a great possibility that the Lakers wouldn’t make the NBA playoffs, but through all the scares, suffering and nightmares, they managed to reach their ultimate goal with help from Memphis on the night when the Lakers earned the seventh seed by beating the Rockets. The Lakers were in a fight with Utah for the West’s final spot, but the Grizzlies defeated the Jazz as the Lakers secured the final playoff berth. There is no equating late momentum to postseason success, but the Lakers can continue to piece together victories.
Entering these playoffs, with an abundance of confidence and staying power, the Lakers have much to feel good about. So it’s a series when the Lakers are underdogs, even when they are loaded with otherworldly talent. That’s what happens when a top-notched team underachieves and barely survives the regular season, with star players suffering injuries that hinder a contender from posing a challenge for its oppositions in the West.
When the season started, the Lakers were one of the most hyped teams and were the clear favorite to advance on to the NBA Finals. When the season began miserably, the Lakers were a riddle and fans went into panic mode, after the team’s 0-3 start that alarmed Kobe Bryant and the rest of the gang. When the season ended on a high note, after all the horror nights at Staples Center, the Lakers came together, acted with a sense of urgency and found the formula to winning.
The moment the season began for those wearing purple and gold, they were doomed to a dreary stretch of failures, under a fired Mike Brown. Then came Mike D’Antoni to replace Brown a few days after the team’s bungling of Phil Jackson’s return in mid-November. The blame laid with the Buss family for their failure to hire Jackson. And so they picked D’Antoni over an 11-time NBA champion, over someone who brought five championships to the Lakers and over someone whose familiarity and relationship with the organization ideally suited the team’s personality. But we all know too well that Phil and Jim didn’t get along.
Buss is simply not one of the best owners, and sometimes we wonder about his business acumen. He’s made faulty trades since taking over the personnel decisions in 2005. He’s made bad choices with coaches twice by hiring Brown over Brian Shaw and then hiring D’Antoni over Phil. He failed to satisfy a disillusioned fan base and foolishly made the worst draft picks. He couldn’t put his ego aside and believed D’Antoni would run an offense better fitted for Steve Nash.
All season, the Lakers, who were revamped last summer, were still forlorn and struggling to win games. They were an utter disaster and were very painful to bear or watch, incapable of meeting expectations, albeit they were loaded with talent and had maybe too many players with swollen egos. It’s just a start on what could be a watchable and fun playoff as the Lakers, in all considering, are playing stupendous defense, which allowed the team to play its best basketball without Bryant’s services.
There’d be enough talk about the Lakers not being the juggernaut they were believed to be. There’s talent everywhere on this team, maybe not as much since Bryant went down with a season-ending injury. But what matters, what really matters, is whether the Lakers can thrive without him. The Lakers will be without Bryant, their main character and clutch performer. His season ended in anguish when he ruptured his Achilles tendon, having to miss the rest of the season, consult with his teammates and watch painfully. Bryant is 34 years old, the Lakers star, and because he was the catalyst and the fiercest scorer on earth, he’s a loss for the team but they’ve played effectively without him late in the season.
The world-famous franchise, one that has a history of championships and a list of all-time stars and legends, will have the weight of that postseason run that everyone anticipated — although the Lakers have struggled through injuries and even playoff positioning. It was in the summer that the Buss family added All-Star Dwight Howard and Nash to the team, joining a roster that already had Bryant and Pau Gasol. The problem here is not a plethora of injuries but the team’s inability to match the speed of younger and fresher legs, along with D’Antoni’s coaching methods. He doesn’t realize that this Lakers team cannot run. He doesn’t emphasize the significance of defense, but he was Buss’ guy.
All things considered, the Lakers like what they saw of Nash, who was injured for a long time. So, they’d watch and stand around as Bryant put on his Kobe Lakeshow spectacles. He might have worn down, mentally and physically, and late in the season he endured pain and played so many minutes to carry this lifeless team. By many accounts, Steve Blake rescued the Lakers on Wednesday, scoring a career-high 24 points. He was the streakiest, hottest scorer in the building, knocking down his 3-point shots and free throws.
More than anyone, even Blake, Gasol is capable of scoring and bouncing or delivering a pass to his teammates. You can cheer for Gasol. He is, mainly, producing without Kobe on the floor and had his second triple-double this month, finishing with 17 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists. Then, his counterpart, Dwight Howard, became the youngest player in NBA history to collect 9,000 rebounds.
If the Lakers are to beat the Spurs as everybody is ruling them out, they can indubitably survive in these playoffs. There’s no telling how long, but as of right now, the Lakers are alive.
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