5 Things: Lakers Quest for the Elusive .500

It didn’t used to be like this. The .500 mark, at least for this season, has become the barometer for success. Astounding considering the legacy and history the Lakers have, that LeBron and AD are on the team, and that a lot of the key players in the rotation are still here after the trade deadline. We can go back and forth about what could have been if we had made a move this summer but I don’t think a better move existed. Would the Turner/Heild deal have been better overall for the Lakers than the moves we made? Maybe? At least we would have had more time to incorporate them into our offensive and defensive schemes. Still, in my opinion, I like the larger package of players acquired both for flexibility and overall fit. A such, we lost yesterday and went back to two games under the ever elusive .500 mark.

1. The little things can add up to big issues. Even with all our new guys the Lakers really can’t afford to let the minor details slip from their focus. This was a pretty evenly played game that essentially came down which team made more free throws. That would be the Knicks who beat us in all the hustle and energy stats: both kinds of rebounds, points in the paint, steals, blocks, made and taken free throws and points off of turnovers. Everyone loves to hit that crowd pumping three ball, especially in semi transition before the defense gets set. You can’t let those big, happy-fun-time moments eclipse your attention to detail and doing the basics of the job: rebound, defend, get back in transition and make your free throws.
2. Malik continues to grind. The calls for Reaves to start will continue to grow so long as the Malik Beasley three point shot is as ineffective as it’s been. There’s nothing about Malik that will change the defensive game plan when it comes to the Lakers, especially with LeBron out. Junk the paint, throw a defender or three at AD, and let the rest of the Lakers try and beat you is the recipe that is both tried and true. The hope and theory was an elite three point shooter could alleviate that issue by keeping at least one defender honest. That’s kind of working in that there is a guy who is a step or two off of Malik at all times. I think part of the issue is our sets are pretty stationary for this to really work. If Malik camps out in a spot and doesn’t move from point to point B with the aid of screens he’s fairly easy to defend . Get him in motion and you might start to see a seam or two open up. Of course, once LeBron is back, the same will apply. Junk the paint, keep a guy a step or two off the weak-side shooter, let the superstars fight through the defense all game long. Nothing Malik is doing right now will change that.
3. The learning curve. This was always going to be how it went down. Few head coaches come on like Phil Jackson (55-27, lost in the conf. finals, went on to 3-peat in Chicago after that). Coach Ham was going to go through a learning curve on live TV in an arena filled with thousands for the entire season. That doesn’t really bother me. What does are the statements where he insists he not only did the right thing but that, given the chance, he’d do it the exact same way. While a good chunk of those answers may be just to get through a media session there is also something to be said about allowing the learning process to humble yourself. perhaps that will come more in the summer when the grind isn’t ever-present. I think that Ham, like Vogel before him, has a lot of solid coaching potential and that, for the most part, the coach gets the blame when the issue is really that LeBron and AD have been in and out of the line up all season long, he was handed an ill-fitting roster and did the absolute best anyone could ask for, has to incorporate about half of a new team into the fold on the fly while battling for a playin or playoff spot, and all while LeBron may or may not be back at all this season. There’s an awful lot to like about both Ham’s approach and demeanor and we should all have expected some kind of learning curve. Stubbornness can be a boon and a bust, just ask Russ.
4. AD takes the blame. I have to agree with Schroder: one person does not win or lose a basketball game. It’s culmination of events and moments that allow for the last minute or so to be micro-analyzed. If we had made more shots, gotten more rebounds, or any one of 4 Lakers who missed free throws made the one they missed this story turns out differently. Sometimes I think AD’s heart is in the right place in that he believes he is and should be an alpha-level player but that his default mentality just isn’t quite up to the task. This stretch is a good barometer for the Lakers: what can AD do with this group sans LeBron? So far it’s been to mostly beat teams with keys players missing with some real solid showings against a mostly healthy Golden State (no Wiggins but a returned Curry), a totally healthy Dallas (still the win of the season, IMO) and a solid win over Toronto when it looked like we had kind of decided we weren’t going to win. AD taking the blame would feel better if I though he approached the game with a “I shall kill them…I SHALL KILL THEM ALLLLLLLL!!!!!” mentality. But I don’t think he does. he’s too nice, too laid back and so on. Like Gasol he needs that guy who does have the extra gear almost on command. With no LeBron, however, we just have to hope AD can come up to something like that kind of level of domination. Force the offense to run through you, don’t let it.
5. Time is running out and many factors are aligned against us. 14 games, out of the playin, nobody wants to do us a favor and we don’t hold many tie-breakers. Not a recipe for an easy journey to the post season. There is hope, though. I don’t think Malik can shoot much worse than this, Vanderbilt had a “bad” game by his standards and DLo went cold at the wrong time. We have enough to push through talent-wise. This group just has to want it more than they show some nights. The little things add up, the journey will be tough and all the more rewarding should we come out of it with a deep playoff run, and if we can finally reach, dare I say pass, .500 we can hang with a lot of the western conference teams in a 7 game series with half a LeBron or so. I may not pick us to win it all that way but if we get more than half a LeBron and AD can keep rounding back into form while the new guys coalesce we have as good shot as a lot of teams do. There are so many “ifs” that need to start breaking our way, though.

Big back-to-back coming up with the biggest question being will AD play in both? If not and we lose one (or both) all the hope and optimism will deflate out of the balloon and fast. Win out, get to .500 and come back home for a decent stretch of games and…you never know. Go Lakers.