"Lollygagging" Lakers End Lackluster Roadtrip at 2-3

Kobe Bryant labeled his Lakers teammates "lollygaggers" after their disappointing loss in New Orleans on Monday. Unfortunately, I think lollygagging is only one of the ills that the Lakers need to cure in time for the playoffs. Despite their impressive win in San Antonio last week, the Lakers never seemed to gain their footing on this roadie and lost by an average over 14 points a game to Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and Atlanta. In retrospect, the Lakers only played 3 quarters of good basketball during the entire trip (the 2nd half in San Antonio and the 2nd quarter in Houston). There are now valid concerns about the Lakers ability to repeat as championship after failing this last test. John Hollinger of espn.com has laid out the Lakers' issues twice over the last few days. I agree with a lot of what Hollinger has to say about the team. Let's take a look at a few of the Lakers' problems, in no particular order:

• Point guard play has become a serious issue- Even though this has been a weak spot the Lakers have overcome for the last two years, it finally seems as if their lack of production from the point guard spot has become a major problem. Not only is Derek Fisher not helping the team, I'd make the case that he actually hurts the team. I love Fish, but it's getting tiresome watching opposing point guards light him up. And his 37.6% field goal percentage ranks him near the bottom of qualified players. Take a look at the game logs of opposing point guards during the road trip: In San Antonio George Hill went off for 21 points. In Oklahoma City Russell Westbrook had 23 points. Laker killer Aaron Brooks scored 26 in Houston. The Hornets' Darren Collison and Chris Paul combined for 32 points and 16 assists, and Atlanta's Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford combined for 26 points. To be fair, not all of this is Fisher's fault. The Lakers consistently struggle in defending the pick-and-roll, and it is a team wide issue. But Fisher exacerbates the problem with his inability to stay in front of opposing guards and his continued problems attempting to fight through picks. D Fish's lack of scoring ability further complicates everything since the opposing point guards basically get a the night off defensively when they play the Lakers. Unfortunately for the Lakers, backup Jordan Farmar has been up-and-down all season and has not been able to wrestle the starting job away from Fisher. That being said, it would prudent for the Lakers to give Farmar upwards of 25-30 minutes from here on out as he is the best point guard on the team both in terms of defensive prowess and scoring ability. (UPDATE: For some reason I forgot to mention this in the original post, but this is why I was such a proponent of the potential Kirk Hinrich trade. Hinrich is a good defensive player who can defend both guard positions well. He would add flexibility to the roster in that he can play both off the ball and as a point. While his overall field goal percentage leaves something to be desired (40% this year, 41.4% for his career), he is a good 3 point shooter (37.7% for his career) and on the Lakers his main job offensively would be to knock down open jump shots. I was very disappointed when this deal didn't go down, but I think the Lakers were lulled into a false sense of security after their good first half of the season).
  
• The Lakers lack the necessary depth of a title team- Andrew Bynum's injury has exposed the Lakers lack of depth. When Bynum is healthy, Lamar Odom comes off the bench and the second unit has a decent core of Odom, Shannon Brown, and Jordan Farmar. The Lakers were surviving with an eight-man rotation. Now with Bynum out, Lamar is forced to start and the Lakers have little depth. This was readily apparent throughout the road trip. Starters were forced to play extended minutes because the "Bench Mob" couldn't get the job done. Without Bynum, coach Phil Jackson is forced to call upon the likes of Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga to fill some of the frontcourt minutes. As much as I love Congo Cash, it is not a good sign for the team when he is in the rotation. Hopefully with the return of Bynum and the imminent return of Luke Walton, the second unit can start to play better. In turn, the starters will be able to get more rest. It is a win-win situation. During the Lakers' run to the Finals in 2008, the Lakers had one of the best benches in the NBA. Last year, the bench was not great but was good enough to win it all. This year, their play has been disappointing. The Lakers will need more production from the second unit going forward to have any chances of playing into June.
  
• Kobe is not the Kobe of old- Fans of the Lakers will not want to hear this, but it appears as if the Black Mamba is slowing down a bit. Either as a result of age or injuries (or a combination of both), Kobe has had his least efficient offensive season in years. As Hollinger notes in his article, while Kobe's per-game numbers remain similar to previous years, his points per minute and Player Efficiency Rating (PER) are down. I won't spend too much time on this as Kobe is still a great player, but there is a legitimate question of whether Kobe can carry the Lake Show through the playoffs. I wouldn't bet against him, but the question still remains.
• The Lakers Still Lack Energy and Effort- The most disheartening problem is the fact that the Lakers still haven't been able to play with consistent effort. They are often outworked by lesser teams and some nights don't seem to bother showing up (see: Oklahoma City). This is especially concerning as they are being challenged and have yet to rise to the challenge. They rarely blow teams out (just one double-digit win since the All-Star Break) and sometimes coast enough to pull out the win. The Lakers have also been blown out by teams a lot this year. A team as good as the Lakers should not have that happen. I don't think this Lakers team is anything like the '01 team in terms of the ability to flip the switch when the playoffs start. I initially thought this was the case, but after watching this team for 75 games, I just don't think they will be able to do it. I still think the Lakers can win it all, but it is going to have to start with hard work and consistent effort. Unlike past championship seasons, this team is not talented enough to rely solely on ability to get it done. They have their backs against the wall, so it is time for them to come out swinging and prove to everyone what they are capable of.
  

Time is running out on the regular season. The Lakers have to find their identity before the playoffs start, as their first round opponent will likely be much stronger than the typical #8 seed. 4 of the Lakers next 7 games are going to be good tests. The Lakers host Utah and San Antonio before going on the road to play Denver and lowly Minnesota. After that they return to Staples Center for games against Portland, Sacramento and the Clippers. They need to treat these games as building blocks for the playoffs. Everyone knows the Lakers can still repeat as champions, but it is becoming less and less likely with each lackluster outing. If they are going to make a deep playoff run, the rest of the regular season is going to have to be the starting point. I have lost some faith in this team, but I hope they prove the doubters wrong.