The Lakers long road trip is finally over after a 104-98 win against the Bucks. The Lakers end up winning 5 out of 7 games on the grueling trip, and now come back to LA where 5 of their last 7 will be at the friendly confines of the Staples Center. It was nice to see Kobe have a good shooting night again as he led the way with 30 points on 10 of 19 shooting. He was a perfect 7 for 7 to start the game and he kept it from getting ugly early on. Lamar had a strong performance with 20 points and 10 boards, and Pau finally woke up in the fourth quarter and he finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Sasha Vujacic, virtually non-existent in the last two months, had a perfect shooting performance off the bench as he scored 14 points on 3 for 3 FG's, 2 for 2 from downtown, and 6 for 6 from the charity stripe. And he added 5 rebounds and 3 assists, leading a much needed strong effort from the "Bench Mob", which one of my friends (Brendon) joked recently should be renamed the "Bench Slobs" for their terrible performances of late.
Overall I am pleased with the win but there are few concerns I have with the playoffs rapidly approaching.
1. The Lakers Apathy- This doesn't concern me too much for the playoffs, but it does frustrate me. They just don't look like they care all that much. The only game on the trip where the Lakers had a strong start and maintained it throughout the entire game was in Detroit. Every other game they either fell behind early or blew an early lead. I like to think that during the playoffs this won't be a problem as they will be more focused, but ideally I would like them to change this "flip the switch" mentality before the playoffs start.
2. Where has the "Bench Mob" gone??- Sasha's strong performance in Milwaukee Wednesday night being the exception, the Lakers' bench has been awful of late. I can't look up the numbers right now (After all, I am a student who has class in a little while) but trust me, it's been pathetic. The starters will obtain an early lead, only to have the bench blow most or all of it. Luke Walton has been playing well, but Jordan Farmar, Sasha, Josh Powell, and DJ Mbenga have all been slumping. I like to think that Bynum's imminent return will increase the bench depth and therefore production will increase also. It's vital that the bench be able to hold leads in the limited minutes they receive in the playoffs.
3. Kobe' s legs- I worry about this the most. Kobe has been in a terrible shooting slump. This happens. The part that worries me is that he is short on most his jumpers and is shooting frozen ropes. I hope fatigue is not an issue after over 100 games last year, the Olympics in Beijing, and now 75 games this season. He has not had much time to rest, and until Wednesday night, he had not been getting to the hoop as much as normal, which was a sign to me that he didn't have his normal explosiveness. I would like to see his minutes monitored the rest of the way, and maybe even have him sit out a game or two to rest his nagging ankle injury, but knowing Kobe there is no way that will happen. Either way, they need him healthy and fresh for the playoffs if they have a chance to win it all.
Overall, a 5-2 trip is good. However, I can't stop thinking that it should have been better. After a 4-0 start, the Lakers had clunkers in both Atlanta and Charlotte. Now with no chance of catching the Cavs, I hope the Lakers take the last seven games as a chance to get rested and healthy for the playoff run.
Im very curious to see what Bynum's return will do for the bench play. Im assuming that PJ will have Lamar return to the bench. I have always felt that Lamar is one of those players that needs to be playing well to have confidence in his game and play aggressively. If he has had a couple bad nights, he turns into a very unassertive player which hurts the team. Its obviously totally different from a guy like Kobe who can have terrible shooting night and still have the confidence in his game to come up with the huge shots down the stretch (possibly my favorite quality in his game). So after playing well in the starting lineup, I'm looking forward to seeing if Lamar's confidence will translate to him playing well off the bench.
ReplyDeleteAnd I like the shout out for my "Bench Slobs" comment
I'll take the 5-2 trip even though it easily could have been 7-0. I think you nailed why they lost 2 of the last 3, they didnt care. At least thats what I saw.
ReplyDeleteAnd your correct, no chance Kobe will sit, even though it would be good for him.
Brendon, I really think Bynum is going to come off the bench if/when he comes back. I think they might keep LO engaged by keeping him as a starter. And the struggling bench could use Bynum as the focal point of the offense instead of being the third option as a starter.
ReplyDeleteBryan,
Ya there is no way Kobe is gonna sit. Wishful thinking on my part haha