Lakers Go for the Juggler

No that is not a typo or a misspelling. You see a true NBA Championship team, when it has an opponent down by 30 points at home, goes for the jugular. They pour it on. They go for the kill.

We know how rapidly an NBA team can score points and get back into any game. That is part of the excitement of the NBA. So, the idea is to completely demoralize the opponent once you have them down big. That way they can harbor no thought of coming back.

No thought, then no desire. No desire, then no comeback.

But in their narrow 117 – 114 win over the New Orleans Hornets last night, the Lakers went for the juggler. They juggled the ball with one bad pass and one botched 3-pointer after another and juggled their 30-point second quarter lead down to 20 points at halftime.

The ball and the lead continued to slip through their fingers until they only led the Hornets by one-point with a little over four minutes left in the game.

Fortunately, Sasha Vujacic and Derek Fisher hit three-pointers to extend the Lakers lead and Kobe Bryant hit on three of four foul shots in the closing minutes to secure the victory.

So, the Lakers win, coupled with a Phoenix loss in Houston (101-90), gave the Lakers the Pacific Division title. Congratulations. And more than likely Kobe Bryant won the MVP last night with a stellar performance (29-10-8) against another MVP candidate, Chris Paul (15-6-17). Congratulations, Kobster.

But there are 108 reasons why I am not convinced this team can go deep into the playoffs. Over the last 15 games, that is what opponents have averaged against the Lakers.

These teams haven't all resided in the NBA's upper echelons. We're talking Memphis, Charlotte, Golden State and Portland in that mix, and none of them are currently in playoff contention.

That 108-point figure would be much worse if you removed  the meager 78 points that the Clippers scored the other night against the Lakers at Staples Center.

The NBA champs do not give up 108 points per game. The NBA champs do not blow a 30-point lead at home. The NBA champs hold opponents to under 100 and go for the jugular.

The Lakers may have won the score and their division, but they lost the game. What I mean is the Lakers won 1 1/2 quarters while the Hornets won 2 1/2 quarters.

Okay, so quarters don't count, it's total points. But in the playoffs, where defense gets you to the next round, you need to totally demoralize the other team. You cannot let them have the hope of coming back against you. Once you have them down by 20 or 30 points, you've got to pour it on and go for that knockout punch.

Right now, there isn't a team in the upcoming Western Conference playoffs that doesn't believe they can comeback against the Lakers no matter the score.

When the opponents start chipping away at that lead, the head coach has to prowl the sidelines and get in his players' faces. He has to call time out, not sit on his duff, fold his arms and hope his players can work it out. That is, unless he has no clue.

It was clearly evident who the better coach was last night. A former Laker, Byron Scott, brought his team back from a 30-point deficit and almost stole the game. He will more than likely win the NBA Coach of the Year award for the overall success he has had with the first-place Hornets.

Now it is time for Phil Jackson to sit back and let another former Laker, Brian Shaw, take over the reins, and instill a defensive mindset in one of the NBA's most prolific offenses.

It’s one thing when you have tough, defensive-minded players like Trevor Ariza and Andrew Bynum. In that case, there’s little coaching that has to be done. It’s instinctive.

But except for Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant (when he is not hampered by a broken finger) the rest of the Lakers are soft defensively. They know how to score, but they are not defensive-minded. 

They need to be coached, instructed, guided. Yes, even harangued and ridiculed. Not just during practices or in the locker room, but at courtside during a game.

That is what timeouts are for. They are a time to instruct, to coach, and, yes, to call out a guy for not defending his man.