What’s wrong with the Lakers?
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010According to Kelly Dwyer …
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Kobe Bryant also scored 44 points on 28 shots, a potent night for anyone, much less someone working with nine fingers and all sorts of other ailments.
But he’s shooting too much. You can’t point to that particular night’s shooting percentage and call this a smart deal, not when the Lakers are only managing 101 points per 100 possessions against a rather putrid Memphis defense. Not when the Lakers are currently ninth in offensive efficiency, when they should be first (even with Derek Fisher(notes) around, even with Pau Gasol(notes) missing games) by a long shot.
The ball has to move, others need to be made dangerous, and other options have to be explored. 44 points on 28 shots is great, but you can’t have Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum(notes) combine to take just 10 shots in 56 minutes. Or, 18 fewer than Bryant in 16 more minutes. That’s ridiculous.
And Kobe knows better. In just about every given basketball instance, he knows better. All the greats have known better, and ignored those better instincts to do things his way. Bird did it. Jordan did it. Jerry West did it. But that doesn’t make it right. And you can’t make it a habit. It has to be an occasional dalliance with the very, very wrong.
Not a consistent theme, and that’s what Kobe’s been on about for the last two months or so. We appreciate the grit, the all-world season at an advanced age and on the best team in basketball. We love all these knockout game-winners he’s been throwing in. We know that even if Kobe keeps it up, it might not matter. The Lakers are too good.
Things are starting to turn, though, and it’s up to Kobe to stop it. If you’re a daily reader, you know I’ve been warning about this for a while. He has to let up, he has to involve his teammates, and he has to run the offense. This team is too brilliant for things to be this Kobe-centric; because he’s not waving off Chris Mihm(notes) anymore.
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According to yours truly …
1. If the reports about Ron Artest still struggling to pick up the nuances of the Triangle Offense are, in fact, true, then, there’s a strong, strong likelihood that Kobe Bryant simply doesn’t yet trust his new teammate to execute the proper reads involved with the Triangle, on a possession-by-possession basis, and is therefore jacking-up a pile shots indiscriminently as the better choice of two evils, at least, in his own mind.
2. Phil Jackson’s decision to play Derek Fisher this many minutes, thus far, this season, is costing the Lakers an untold number of points per game, at both ends of the floor … in comparison with the specific skill-sets of Shannon Brown [who is a far superior athlete and a much better defender/rebounder] and Jordan Farmar [who now has a more complete offensive repertoire], at the PG position, neither of whom Phil Jackson happens to trust, just yet, as a key decision-maker coming down the stretch of important games.
3. The best rotations possible for the Lakers look something like this:
OPTION 1
STARTERS
Jordan Farmar, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum
KEY SUBS
Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton and Lamar Odom
EXTRAS
Derek Fisher, Adam Morrison, Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga
OPTION 2
STARTERS
Jordan Farmar, Kobe Bryant, Luke Walton, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum
KEY SUBS
Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic, Ron Artest and Lamar Odom
EXTRAS
Derek Fisher, Adam Morrison, Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga
and involve:
A. Derek Fisher not getting very much burn, at all;
and/or,
B. Ron Artest [i.e. a powder keg player] being used as a “Key Sub”, rather than as a “Starter”;
neither of which are moves that Phil Jackson seems prepared to make at this point this season.
4. Lingering injuries to Pau Gasol, Luke Walton and Ron Artest have robbed the Lakers of the much-needed opportunity to coalesce, as a well-formed unit, with clearly-defined roles that complement one another.
5. Kobe Bryant is shooting way too much … primarily BECAUSE of #1, #2, #3 and #4.
Until Phil Jackson is better able to:
- Recognize that Derek Fisher’s time is now up, as an on-floor leader/key decision-maker with this team … in spite of his ability to knock down open perimeter shots on occasion
- Make better use of Luke Walton [i.e. a solid glue guy] and Sasha Vujacic [i.e. a solid perimter shooter with good size], as important role players, whether as [i] Starters or [ii] Key Subs
and,
- Help Ron Artest, and his teammates, to play more effectively within the confines of the Triangle Offense
… the Lakers are going to remain in a vulnerable position this year.
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This LA Lakers team still has more than enough “top flight NBA talent” to win the championship this season … if Phil Jackson is actually prepared to do what’s necessary to bring this about, given his level of loyalty to D-Fish, and his still-developing relationship with Ron Artest, Shannon Brown & Co.
What the Lakers have right now, however, is a significant TRUST issue, and it’s up to Dr. Phil to fix it, over the course of the next 4 months.
