5 Things: Lakers find some inner grit and down Pistons

Almost 17 years to the day was the infamous Malice at the Palace the Lakers and Pistons got together for an impromptu, unscheduled, old-timey re-enactment. While last night didn’t turn into a “one player against the world” kind of thing it was, by far, the most intense on-court brawl in a long time. At the time the Lakers were down and sinking fast. The Pistons came out after the scrum and scored the first bucket for a 17 point lead. Everything started to change after that and hopefully it’s a change for the better and on a permanent basis.

1. The LeBron James question. Both in the national media and on our Gerald Glassford’s Lakers Fast Break podcast the question has been raised: is Father Tim finally sinking it’s claws into LeBron James. The question is legit as James has been dealing with an abdominal strain that took an extended amount of time off the court to heal, and even when he did play nearly half his shots were from three point land. I actually thought the beginning of the Pistons game showed us that the true LeBron remains. While he was getting hit and slapped on a bunch of his drives he was more balanced in his shot repertoire. 1-3 from three but also three shots in the paint with one midrange step back that he drilled. I am of the opinion that James still has something in the tank and that he’s easing his way into the regular season. This is not only common for players his age who generally play more of a role than lead but it’s been LeBron’s traditional approach for some seasons now. The King will be fine if he can avoid contact injuries and get time on the court with the team. Now, he may end up getting a suspension as a result of his retaliation but that’s up to the League office.
2. Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook found a way. It sure wasn’t pretty but wrestling with a pig never is. Let’s be honest, Detroit’s plan was to junk up the game from the start and the number of free throws shot, the fight that added a 15 minute delay, and the overall feel of the game. Detroit has never been known to field a finesse team, it’s just not in the state of Michigan’s DNA. Piston teams are hard-driving, gritty and play in your grill. It’s why players like Bill Laimbeer and “Big” Ben Wallace are revered there to the degree they are. It took the best quarter of Russ as a Laker and a return to form for AD to pull this one out. Davis swatted 5 shots, Russ started attacking with the purpose to score and not figure it out in mid air. They both played like the superstars they are and we need them to be to have a shot. Davis shot 4-4 in the final frame and was stellar on defense overall. Russ carried the load offensively shaking loose for 15 points. Both guys found each other repeatedly for baskets down the stretch. This is how they have to play all the time, every game. With that intensity and fervor.
3. Carmelo shaking off his road woes. it’s no secret that Melo has mostly struggled on the road. Outside of his game against Boston where he wasn’t much involved but shot well, his road splits have been awful. Last night he came up huge on both ends in the 4th quarter with some aggressive close outs, his shooting and his overall presence which is still one of elite NBA pedigree. While he may not be the Melo of old, he has a ton left in the tank and the young guys react to that in a positive way. Melo is going to be a big part of this team’s successes and it’s been a thrill to watch. I’ve always loved me some Carmelo.
4. Dwight Howard’s monster 13 minutes. We lose this game without Dwight. He was the only one who, early on, rose to the level of physicality that Detroit was playing with. He wasn’t part of an effective unit but he played with the kind of focus and intensity this game required when he was out there. Oh, and he hit 2 threes within the flow of the offense. One to close out the first half as time expired. Clutch.
5. The gritty stats. While we can once again point to a plethora of first half issues defensively we still found a way to win. We outrebounded Detroit by a decent margin (51-39), and did a great job on the offensive glass with 12 boards there (4 of those by DAJ who got the start). Kept the turnovers low when they had crept up early, our defense in the 4th quarter is something I’d like to bottle and save for every single game from here on out and, in general, we found the right kind of hustle this team needs to play with. They stopped relying on talent, stopped begging the refs to bail them out and simply played harder down the stretch for a potentially season-saving and job-saving win. Had we lost (and should we lose either of the next 2 games on the schedule) this will be a losing road trip and ensure we come back no better than .500. Win these next 2 games and everything starts to look a little better: 11-9 with a .500 road record. While not elite, that works for a team that is still figuring out a lot of different things on the fly and waiting for key guys to get back.

The main thing for the Lakers is to avoid the play in which means a top 6 seeding. 4 or higher would be nice but it’s already looking like 1-3 are going to go to Golden State, Phoenix and Utah in some order or another. That means we have to knock one of Dallas, Denver or the Clippers out of the top 6. With 64 games left that seems doable. Who knows with some injury luck on our end and something unexpected happening to one of those 6 teams there is still more than enough time in the season to make a serious move up the standings. I think the team has enough as-is to compete for the title. If we do make a move it feels like this team plays better with a traditional big man, at least to start halves and play spot minutes leading up to crunch time so I would hope that we’d acquire a player to fill that role rather than split it up between Dwight and DAJ. Heck, one potential solution in my mind is to actually try starting Dwight and letting him play 20+ MPG and DAJ is there in case of foul trouble. Super Man has shown he can hit the three, after all.