Lakers: Wrong Time to be Short-Handed
Mar. 17 2008
The Los Angeles Lakers are two games into their high stakes road trip and yet they've already lost both of the "easier" ones. Certainly the proceedings got off on the wrong foot when Pau Gasol sprained his ankle just a few minutes into the contest against the New Orleans Hornets. The Lakers were unable to end the Houston Rockets' mammoth win streak and now must go to Dallas and Utah . The Mavericks have the second-best home record in the league (29-4), second only to the Jazz at 28-3.
So what does it mean to the Lakers if they drop all four? Are they in danger of dropping all the way from the top of the Western Conference to ninth?
The record would dip to 45-23 after which the Lakers host the Seattle SuperSonics before a challenging home-and-home on back-to-back nights against the Golden State Warriors. March ends with the Charlotte Bobcats, Memphis Grizzlies and resurgent Washington Wizards coming to Los Angeles .
The early reports are that Gasol's ankle is healing adequately. It may be premature to expect him back for the pair against the Warriors, but he could be back for the game against the Bobcats (assuming no setbacks).
Projecting a split with Golden State and three wins in the four remaining, the Lakers would end the month with a 49-25 record. At worst they'd still be ahead of the Warriors for the seventh seed. At 40-26, the ninth seeded Denver Nuggets would have a tough time catching the Lakers.
Even if LA does slump, it's important to realize that nearly every team in the West has a difficult finish to the season. Rivals will beat each other up and limp to the finish line.
Gasol's return will certainly bolster the Lakers' chances at a top seed. They'll also get Chris Mihm back shortly from his lengthy bout with a balky ankle. The most recent surgery to remove a screw has worked wonders and Mihm expects to be practicing with the team on or about March 22nd.
Unfortunately, Andrew Bynum's progress has been slower than hoped. A temporarily dislocated knee cap is a serious concern, not to mention the deep bone bruise. There's no fixed return date since no one within the Laker organization will clear him to play until he proves he is truly sound.
The realistic target at this point for Bynum (and forward Trevor Ariza) is probably April 13th against the San Antonio Spurs. That would provide both players with two regular season games to re-acclimate after a few months off.
Bynum's conditioning will be an issue. His recent work on the anti-gravity treadmill was a step forward, but true progress would have Bynum supporting his full weight on standard equipment.
Coach Phil Jackson acknowledged that Andrew Bynum likely begins his return off the bench. He'd be used in six to eight minute bursts until he's back in shape. A starting role could emerge throughout the course of a series if Jackson feels the matchup is favorable to the Lakers.
Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovic and Gasol have reached a comfort level on the court together. Offensively the team is very powerful, though only marginal defensively. While the prospect of running Bynum, Gasol and Odom in the frontcourt is enticing, it may not be realistic at first.
Jackson somewhat downplayed the importance of home court advantage, but acknowledged it could be important against teams who are dominant in their arenas - like the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks. Kobe Bryant said it's overrated because a championship team has to win on the road.
Looking at the other eight teams in the mix, there doesn't appear to be an easy path to the NBA Finals. Position is nice for bragging rights and the extra game at home, but ultimately it's not a requirement.
Having both Bynum and Trevor Ariza back would be a tremendous boon for the team defensively. The Lakers have trouble protecting the basket, especially from quick, penetrating guards. Ariza is one of the team's best perimeter defenders and Bynum was blocking a lot of shots before he went down.
There has been some buzz that the Lakers may fill their open roster spot with free agent Ira Newble. While he's be a nice addition to the team's shaky perimeter defense, LA would have to decide if the stopgap is necessary considering Ariza's eventual return.
While short-handed the team needs to refocus defensively instead of trying to compensate for the loss of Gasol's inside scoring. The Lakers are capable of putting up enough points with the talent they have running the triangle offense. Getting stops needs to be the priority.
The good news is that reinforcements are on the way. They may be too late to preserve the best record in the Western Conference, but the Lakers have a lot to look forward to this postseason.
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