Los Angeles Lakers: At Least They’re More Competitive
By Shane Young
The 0-5 start for the Los Angeles Lakers took Hollywood by storm. Never has that happened since they moved to California. They thought those mortifying results were left in Minneapolis, where the team started their professional journey.
Everyone knew, coming into the season, that Byron Scott‘s eccentric group would be scavenging for wins. It never met the extreme by thinking they would be in the same boat as the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that would be optimistically happy to win five games all year. But, they were still projected to finish below New Orleans, Denver, Sacramento, and probably Utah in the Western Conference. Remember, it’s the toughest conference we’ve ever laid our eyes on.
Los Angeles did scrape out their first win of the season in a Staples Center meeting with the inconsistent Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, and it was more than gratifying for the people suffering in agony. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing a bottom 10 offense that struggles to perform on the road, the first win of the season takes the monkey off your back.
Since the Lakers only had one game in five days (between Nov. 5-9), they had to promptly hit the road and get ready to take on the feisty Memphis Grizzlies. After the short break, they had to get it back in gear with a stretch of six games in nine days. That includes two back-to-backs, and one exhausted roster by the time it’s over.
On the way to Memphis, it may have been a thought in Kobe Bryant‘s head of what happened last season in their first visit to FedEx Forum.
Trying to take Grizzlies’ defender Tony Allen baseline, Bryant will always remember stumbling to the ground, getting his legs tripped up with the aggressive defense. After sitting on the floor rubbing his knee in a little pain, he certainly finished the game. There was hardly any grimacing during the fourth quarter, and he even nailed a game-clinching bucket from 3-point range in the final minutes. Nevertheless, it was the last regular season game Bryant would play of the 2013-14 season, as he suffered a fractured lateral tibial plateau in his knee.
Memphis didn’t give this team good memories. That didn’t change after Tuesday’s game.
Dave Joerger’s pack of defensive grizzly bears were not all the way on their game, even if their record indicated they would be. Entering the game tied at the West’s best record of 6-1, Memphis had been getting after it on their favorite end of the floor.
Against the Lakers in just their third home game of the year, Memphis allowed the most points in a single game out of all seven of their previous. Giving up 107 points to the Lakers, at home, wasn’t something they aimed for, but Los Angeles’ frontcourt must have rode in first class on the airplane, and got a sip of Jordan’s “special sauce” in the Tennessee hotels.
The Lakers’ three frontcourt starters of Carlos Boozer, Jordan Hill, and Wesley Johnson combined to score 48 points on 20-of-40 shooting to give Bryant the proper help he needed away from Staples Center. It was, by far, the best Boozer has played all season. Getting his first 20-point game since Feb. 19 (a member of the Chicago Bulls), he had to feel proud that it was against the league’s most strenuous duo in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.
However, if Scott is going to find someone to give a moral victory to, it has to be Jordan Hill. Not only was Hill the single reason why they stayed alive in the down the stretch, but he’s been more assertive throughout the whole start of the season. Even in his weakest area — mid-range shooting — he’s been able to have more confidence and work without hesitation.
Last year, Hill finished the season attempting just 0.8 mid-range shots (on average) from 15-19 feet away from the basket, per NBA.com. That’s from the free throw line, extended. This season, through seven games, Hill is taking 3.6 field goals per game from that distance so far. Even if he’s failing to find reliable success on his jumpers (making just 32 percent), he’s still going through the process of being a consistent shooter. This is the first year that’s he’s actually been encouraged to step out of the paint and take these shots, mainly because it’s what Bryant has wanted him to do.
Now, you may ask yourself why Hill needs to be behind the free throw line taking jumpers, if he’s barely above 30 percent on them. It all starts with spacing, and ends with freeing the lane for Jeremy Lin and Bryant himself.
If Hill becomes too one-dimensional and reliant on his post game, it’s going to keep the paint packed near the restricted area. That only equates to problems for the Lakers’ guards, who need room to penetrate and create problems once they’re inside. Whenever you drive and get it deep in the middle, it causes the defense to scramble and even commit to some help defense when guys have to step over and cut off the driver. Typically, that’s when the 3-point options open up along the perimeter, because the men guarding those wing threats are over-committing to the guy penetrating. It’s all about being able to space effectively.
That’s where Jeremy Lin enters.
This whole season is predicated on Lin getting more comfortable running point guard by himself as the starter, instead of being the backup in Houston. People have questioned his aggressiveness, and it was justifiable.
But, in order to be more aggressive and drive to the rack more, Lin needs space. Hill has been supplying that, because even the smartest defending big men have to close out on him when he’s taking those jumpers. They aren’t aware of the percentages, but they are aware of the increased number of shots he’s making from outside the paint.
Hill only shot 6-of-17 from the field in Tuesday’s loss, but his rebounding helped the Lakers significantly down the stretch. He grabbed 14 boards on the night, with eight of them being offensive rebounds. That’s been a common trend for him since the start of the season, as Hill leads the league in offensive boards with 34, per ESPN.com.
Where the Lakers need to improve is obviously in their late-game execution, as it’s exactly what cost them the game at Memphis. There’s no denying it would’ve been somewhat equivalent to a “statement win,” in the context of them not being as bad of a team as people make it out to be. But, they couldn’t make the proper moves in the final minute.
With 37 seconds left in the game, down by three, Byron Scott had a perfect opportunity to do one of two things. Either get a solid pin down screen for a 3-pointer by his clutchest player, Kobe Bryant, or let either Lin or Bryant attack the rim and get to the free throw line. Taking the first scenario could have tied the game and forced Memphis to make a move. The second option could have caused free throws, or a lucky bucket over the Grizzlies’ interior defense.
What you don’t do in that situation, is exactly what the Lakers did:
You can’t fault Jordan Hill too much. It’s exactly what he’s supposed to do, for the first 47 minutes of the game. If he’s left that wide open by Marc Gasol’s screen hedge, then he’s supposed to take the 20 footer. He loves to do it.
However, with the game on the line, and you needing three points to tie, you don’t take a mid-range jumper. In that case, you’re either playing for the tie (triple), or playing to stop the clock and create free points (free throws). A wide open 3-pointer in that scenario — if they could have gotten it — would have been much higher on the efficiency scale than an open mid-ranger from the top of key. It’s just how late-game situations work.
Hill takes that shot with 16 seconds left on the shot clock, and it’s a low percentage shot. Thus, Memphis only had a three-second differential between the shot and game clocks, meaning they could have nearly drained the entire game out. You could’ve stuck a fork in the Lakers after that missed jumper, because we know they aren’t playing defense.
That’s something else you have to have in mind when in those situations. If you know your defense is one of the worst in the league, you have to play for the gamble if an open three comes … preferably from the corner. You can’t bite at low percentage shots and expect to get a stop on the other end.
As you could tell, Bryant looked visually frustrated and confused with the decision-making on the most crucial offensive play. From the beginning, he was telling them to slow down the pace, and get a great opportunity. Hill had a great opportunity for himself, but the team should’ve been thinking elsewhere.
You would probably like to see Lin, a 90 percent free throw shooter this season, driving on the aggressive Grizzlies’ defense. If anything, he would draw attention and possibly open up a shooter from the outside.
But, you can’t remove the past, and you can’t argue with the results.
The Lakers are 1-6, but at least they’re finding their way. Now, it’s getting fun and creative for them.