5 Things: Lakers tantalize in loss

Without LeBron I had this stamped, signed sealed and delivered as a loss. Then the game started and I thought we were at least playing the way you want to see a team without it’s best player rally. Then the 76ers shot 371 free throws. Then we came back. Then we lost. Still, it was a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be. Getting late for the Lakers.

1. Russell’s solid outing. Other than the 7 turnovers and nascent trips to the free throw line (not by his design, mind you) I though Russell had a pretty good game. If he got the Harden treatment he would have gone to the line a few more times. Russ scored when we needed, tried to make the right play and generally played like the player I thought we traded for. It’s been a slog for Russ and he’s endured quite a lot of flack for a season for whom he is not entirely at fault for. But he, too, has his own responsibilities to shoulder for this dumpster fire of a season. It’s games like last night, and his play over the last couple of weeks, that makes me think the Lakers might run the trio back.
2. Stanley’s stellar start. He faded in the scoring department after the first quarter but SJ came out with a head of steam and got us off the mark in the first quarter. He scored 13 points (which was what he ended with) and took only 2 more shots after the 1st frame but he also had the tough assignment of guarding James Harden, which I thought he did effectively. He also didn’t force his own offense after his hot start with 8 assists to lead the team along with Russ’s ocho. Johnson’s passing and handle have been a revelation to me as he has shown an above-average ability to make productive reads, can get to where he wants to on the floor (although some of that is out of sheer disrespect from the opposition who are playing him to get into the paint and try to score, that will eventually be scouted better).
3. Dwight can still bring it. This is one of the more personally infuriating plot lines of the season. Dwight gets a start, plays well, sits for 3 games we usually lose. I just don’t get it. If Frank is doing this because the internal analytics team is telling him our offense is SOOOOO much better with Dwight off the floor they don’t understand basketball at a basic level. Is the spacing better? Yeah, I guess, but that’s not the be-all-end-all of a basketball team. Great spacing helps, yes, but so do these funny things called defense, rebounding, setting solid screens and size. So it will, to me at least, be quite ironic if Frank has foregone minutes for Dwight in the name of the over-used, over-referred to, and often flat wrong, theory of how the game should be played based on analytics. Let the big man loose while you still have a prayer Frank, offense isn’t as important enough to sacrifice all of your defense for. That’s the deal with the Devil the Lakers have made with LeBron at the center. Yes, the offense looks wonderful, but the defense sucks and we keep losing. So, while outscoring the opposition is the way to win, you don’t get there focusing on one end and entirely ditching the other.
4. Free throws. Can’t be ignored. At one point the 76ers were approaching 20 and we were stuck on three. This after Russ got thrown to floor on a driving layup (no call), and Embiid landed on Stanley’s left shoulder which was deemed a rather excellent blocked shot by the official standing roughly 9 feet away. Johnson’s yapping after that one earned him a tech, the other one was gifted to Dwight who complained that he wasn’t afforded the same luxuries on defense (grabbing, pushing, etc.) that Joel was getting. This is a league of reputations, for better or worse, it’s why you need to work extremely hard not to get pigeon-holed in the NBA. Give up big leads, it’ll happen because the other team will smell blood if they can just make a couple of late buckets, breathe on James Harden wrong=foul, create space through bodying up means it’s a really tough call to make. The Lakers are on the wrong end of a lotta reputation issues and it’s not fun to watch. What also can’t be ignored is that they put themselves in those holes by blowing big leads to inferior teams all season long, not playing hard consistently for 48 minutes, and generally acting like an entitled team of destiny and not a team that has to earn it’s way for the first 2/3’s of the season.
5. Here come the Spurs. I’m not sweating the 9th spot at this point, I’m expecting us to finish 10th…at best…and can easily envision a scenario where we play ourselves right out of the play-in rounds, as well. Don’t believe me? Cool, that’s what I call cognitive dissonance and willfully ignoring reality. Because with a scant 2 games separating us and 9 games to go for both teams we need to win more than we’ve shown ourselves capable of doing. 3 games is our longest winning streak of the season. T-h-r-e-e. The Spurs schedule looks like this:
   

Sat, Mar 26	@New Orleans
Mon, Mar 28	@Houston
Wed, Mar 30	vsMemphis
Fri, Apr 1	vsPortland
Sun, Apr 3	vsPortland
Tue, Apr 5	@Denver
Thu, Apr 7	@Minnesota
Sat, Apr 9	vsGolden State
Sun, Apr 10	@Dallas

Sun, Mar 27	@New Orleans
Tue, Mar 29	@Dallas
Thu, Mar 31	@Utah
Fri, Apr 1	vsNew Orleans
Sun, Apr 3	vsDenver
Tue, Apr 5	@Phoenix
Thu, Apr 7	@Golden State
Fri, Apr 8	vsOklahoma City
Sun, Apr 10	@Denver

So feel free to dismiss the reality that we are facing being eliminated from the playin round. The tie-breaker will be decided by the team with the better in-division record, I believe, since we split the games between our two teams this season. We’re behind on that score, as well, and we’re facing pretty tough in-division opponents from here on out.

Anyhow, they’re all “must-win” from here on out and frankly that was the case after the All Star break. But, in a fashion typical for this team, we’ve continually squandered each and every possibility to make this season easier and so here we are: just likely to be the 10th seed as the 9th and facing a complete and utter collapse. Miss the playoffs with LeBron, AD, and Russ? To me that signals a total tear down, re-evaluation of our talent assessment (like who decided THT over Caruso) and so on. What it’ll signal to Jeannie is anyone’s guess.