Watching the Lakers attempt to execute their offense is like watching John Boehner sit directly behind President Obama during his State of the Union speech and knowing the Speaker of the House vehemently disagrees with everything coming out of the president's mouth. Offense is supposed to be easy: Find a mismatch, milk it until the defense adapts and then adjust accordingly. There's only so much the defense can do: 1 double-team the player posing as the mismatch, 2 employ a zone or 3 foul the worst free-throw shooter on the floor.
Regardless, the defense always yields something to the offense: 1 an unguarded player, 2 open perimeter shots and the opportunity for offensive rebounds or 3 trips to the charity stripe early and often for any player once the opposing team surpasses the foul limit. But the Lakers aren't just shooting themselves in the foot; they're taking a nuclear bomb and swallowing it whole. First off, the Lakers take longer to get into their offensive sets than a two-year-old takes to tie a shoe.
Once their primary offensive option—usually Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol—has the ball in his hands, the shot clock is already under 10 seconds. See our ethics statement. The best jokes have a degree of truth to them. The wry cracks were a tad hyperbolic, but some real frustration was trickling out from behind their smiles.
To paraphrase the great philosopher Lou Williams, they were half serious always never. They also never truly figured out the right mix at center after prioritizing on-paper talent upgrades over continuity in moves that were much-lauded at the time. But where it matters? Where the Lakers were at their best? The short break absolutely took its toll, and really made any other concerns moot, denying us a real chance to dissect whether this mix could have worked when things started to count.
Davis came back and started to find his groove in the postseason, but hyperextended his knee in Game 3, leading to a groin strain in Game 4 while overcompensating and trying to play through the pain to help his team win. He tried again in Game 6, and his body literally gave out under the stress of the attempt.
Without him in the playoffs, the Lakers were lost at center, and their league-best defense started to show cracks. When things mattered last season, Davis at center was the x-factor to solve for all possible problems, their small-ball ace in the hole that led them to the title, eating anyone who came near him alive on defense and scoring at will on the other end. The team got a short glimpse of that dream again to close out Game 2 , but no amount of glue, staples and prayers could hold that title-contending version of this team together.
James will glue the defense together. James will keep this patchwork team afloat until Ariza, Horton-Tucker and the handful of other nicked up Lakers come back. Perhaps he will. But few teams in the NBA have as much potential variance as the Lakers.
Or poor chemistry could turn this season into a disaster. Holloway is ready for a dominant UFC comeback this Saturday. With a 1—0 win over Colombia on Thursday, the South American giant continued its dominant qualifying run. Los Angeles's newest receiver has a new home and a new contract.
The Olympian and her girlfriends, all of Asian descent, were waiting for a ride when a car came speeding by, yelling racist slurs at the group.
Rich Paul says the three-time All-Star is not ready to play right now. The former Browns star seems to have sent a lot of texts on Thursday, ranging from Taylor Swift's Red album release to the iconic Wicked Witch of the East debate. Home NBA. SI Recommends.
By AP News. College Basketball. By Wilton Jackson. By Justin Barrasso. By Marcus Krum.
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