Lakers v/s Suns: 5 Talking Points

The circus surrounding the Lakers couldn’t have been bigger. Their coach believes that they play like an All-Star team, with a lack of urgency and desire to do the dirty deeds before the glorified ones. Howard and Kobe have had their little jibes, and even Howard Sr. stepped in with his comments. Nash is struggling to get to terms with living off the ball. Gasol is out for at least 6 weeks, and the latest Grammy trip saw the team returning with a 4-3 run.

In short, for a team that is struggling in its quest to make it to the play-offs, the home stretch leading into the All-Star game becomes pivotal. In today’s game at the Staples Center, the crowd was geared up for a backlash from the Lakers after the narrow and disappointing loss against the Heat. The Lakers pushed the Heat to the maximum and had it not been for the turnovers and some hyperbolic plays by D-Wade and LeBron, the Lakers might well have pulled off an upset. The stage was set for what the Lakers fans believed would be a backlash performance from the Lakers against the struggling Suns.

Here are the five talking points of the match-up: -

Kobe Bryant messing a bit too much:

The Black Mamba is surely looking into the twilight of his career. He knows that this season might very well be his last chance to win the elusive 6^th ring. The ring that will place him on the same pedestal as Michael Jordan. And in that ardent quest, Kobe has for once shown a desire to sacrifice much more than he ordinarily would.

Kobe has been criticized by the likes of Nash, Howard etc. about taking a lot of high-difficulty shots. Not the first time in his career. Earlier, The Black Mamba however stood stubborn, and defied all such complaints. He refused to give up on his offensive game, and continued being the great scorer that he will be always remembered for. 30k points in the bag, and leading the league in scoring for the better part of the first three months of the season. He was also doing it at a very efficient rate, and beating many of his younger counterparts.

However, Kobe seems to have given up on his scoring instincts and has taken up the role of a facilitator. He is averaging over 8 assists a game, and shooting less than 14 shots in a game. He is creating off the perimeter, kick-outs following a drive to the basket and on the mid-range post-up. His numbers may have taken a hit, but many believed that his defense combined with his play-making abilities is the primal reason why the Lakers are 8-3 post the team meeting in Memphis.

Against the Suns however, Kobe was overdoing the whole play-making role. He messed around with the game and the players, refusing to shoot the ball and ending the first quarter with 7 assists and shooting 0-1 from the field. Kobe Bryant played 16 minutes and just shot the ball once. This is just irrational thinking on the end of the Lakers and Kobe himself. Against the Suns, he seemed to be out to make a statement. He gave up on open lay-ups and free looks, and chose to rather throw a far more difficult pass. A pattern that he followed throughout the game, as the Lakers fans were both perplexed and furious at the juvenile efforts of their star. The other Lakers players sure benefited and their energy showed a definite rise, but the demeanor and the irresponsibility shown by the Lakers’ star was baffling. When people complained that he shot the ball too much, they meant that when he gets double-teamed, he should look to pass rather than shoot. But when he is on single coverage, it is expected that Kobe is aggressive and looks to score.

The call is to find a fine and sensible balance, play the percentages and use his supreme basketball IQ to read and judge defenses. What Kobe did against the Suns was asinine and idiotic. He turned the ball over 8 times, and on all of those occasions he did it by forcing a pass when he had a clear shot. When the game did get close and at a particular time when the Suns led by 3 points in the 4^th quarter, Kobe again tried to be the Mr. Clutch that we know. But he hadn’t shot the ball enough in the first three quarters, and come the 4^th quarter he looked totally out-of-rhythm. He raked up two air-balls, only to be saved by a vigilant Antawn Jamison who collected the ball both times to score. He finished the game with 1-8. 4 points, 9 assists,and 5 rebounds. Not a great game for the Black Mamba and one can only hope to see him more aggressive on offense when the Lakers take on the Clippers.

Howard still isn’t close to being the best

Howard Sr. may have spoken out of turn in his protected defense of his son, but even he has to agree that Howard hasn’t done enough to prove his detractors wrong. Howard may be right in taking his own call over his return and his methods to handle the shoulder injury, but the Lakers fans are pissed at him more for his lack of intensity and desire. They see Howard as the face of the franchise, and with the Lakers faithful well-aware of the tirade that he pulled in Orlando. they seemed speculative about the possibility of another Dwightamare. He still refuses to commit to the Lakers, and hasn’t shown much intensity to match up to the famed Lakers patriarchs like Kobe, Shaq, Wilt etc. He still remains an honest and hard-working player, but a player who aims to please a lot of quarters. He complains about feeling the pain in his shoulder after every match, but is also looking to make an appearance at the All-Star game. He may have stated that he would not want to play beyond a couple of minutes, but why try to please and even bother to attend the same? Why can’t he just stay back and recuperate and earn some well-deserved rest?

If he has any doubts about the state of his injured shoulder, his struggles on the court today should clear some of that cloud. Howard may have come up with a team-high 19 points and 18 rebounds, but he didn’t have a great game at all. Matched up against the veteran O’Neal and Gortat, he failed to establish decent positions on the low-post. He did manage to get some signature dunks, but those were merely a reflection of the creative skills of Nash and Bryant rather than an indication of his energy and effort. The Suns managed to garner 46 points in the paint, and with someone like Howard marshalling the paint, it isn’t acceptable. He was nowhere close to the explosive defensive phenomenon that we know him to be, and if the Lakers are to launch a serious play-off run, it is imperative that Howard plays at a paramount level.

Lakers need to play for 48 minutes:

The Lakers haven’t exactly been as dismal as their record suggests. They have actually played better basketball than some of the elite teams in the NBA, but haven’t done it consistently over a period of 48 minutes. They tend to get into and out-of-rhythm far too often for the liking of the fans. The same happened against the Suns, where the Lakers had an impressive first 9 minutes with the Suns. Kobe’s dimes were the highlight, and with the whole team moving the ball and helping each other off the ball, the Lakers raced to a 12 point lead. It seemed destined for a blow-out only for the Lakers to become complacent and allow the Suns to end the quarter on a 12-5 run. The same was repeated in the third quarter, when the Suns out-scored the Lakers 24-9, a season low for the Lakers. The Lakers may have managed to turn it around, riding on the exploits of Jamison, but the game got real close in the fourth quarter. Too close for comfort.

The Bench came out big:

The starters of both teams may not have had the best game, but the bench surely did their bit to keep both teams in the game. Beasley and O’Neal came up big for the Suns. O’Neal in particular did a great job of denying Howard decent low-post looks and ended the game with 12 points, 5 blocks and 13 rebounds. More importantly, he helped shore up the paint, and was instrumental in the 24-9 run that the Suns launched in the 3^rd Quarter. Beasley had a very effective game of his own, scoring 18 points on 7-15 shooting. He helped Suns launch a 4^th quarter rally, and was more than effective in his role as the 6^th man. Jamison, on the other hand, was the star for the Lakers today. Given an extended run by D’Antini, he validated his Coach’s trust and knocked down several clutch jump-shots. His most important contribution was his two put-backs off Bryant’s missed shots in the 4^th quarter, that allowed the Lakers to launch a comeback and overturn a 5 point deficit. He finished the game with 19 points and also notched up 10 rebounds.

Suns need help:

The Suns may not be having hey-days with a new coach at the helm, and with their struggles in the league. They may have a very competent PG in Dragic, and Scola and Gortat might be among the better big-men in the league, but they seem to lack a leader and a patriarch on the court. Their offense looks disoriented, and other than the time when they run on transitions and semi-transition opportunities, their offense lacks much of an impact. Dragic still remains a PG who likes to get space and launch shots, and his play-making skills are still a little too suspect. Dudley looks a pale shadow of the player, that he looked under Steve Nash and the rest of the roster seems prosaic and mediocre. They need a PG who can create shots for the likes of Scola, Dudley, Beasley and Gortat. The Suns also need a player who can create his own shot and a leader who they can rely on come clutch time. Indeed, living without Nash has come as a very harsh lesson for them.

The game may not have been very pretty, but it did help the Lakers on their quest to reach the play-offs. The Suns will still need a lot to figure out their intangible issues. The Lakers are matched up against the Clippers next, and Kobe and Company need to sort out some serious issues if they desire to win the battle of the city.