Lakers Bench Mob Losing the War

They battled with the best of them, from one coast to the other and had coaches and players alike trying to find a way to deal with them. They called themselves the "Bench Mob," these four in purple and gold who were rarely on the court for the start of a game but almost always there at the end.

They felt they were the very best at what they did. Although David Stern wasn’t about to hand them any trophies; nevertheless, they considered themselves the MVB – Most Valuable Bench – in the NBA.

But that was then – the regular season – and this is now – the playoffs.

Suddenly, in the Western Conference Semi-Final series with the Utah Jazz, the Bench Mob has met their match.

The Mob, which consists of Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar and Rony Turiaf, has been outscored in both games and considerably outrebounded in last night’s game.

If you take away the Mob’s only standout in the semi-finals so far, Sasha Vujacic, the difference is overwhelmingly in favor of the Utah bench comprised of Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring, Ronnie Price and Paul Milsap.

In fact, it was Milsap’s 13 first-half points that kept the game from being a blowout and kept the Jazz within striking distance while Deron Williams was trying to jump start his game. Williams finally did kick it into gear and added 22 points in the second half to overshadow his skimpy three-point output in the opening half.

Milsap ended with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead all bench players from either team in both categories. His ten rebounds were team-high for the Jazz.

Although the Jazz were finally outpointed by Kobe Bryant and the Lakers starters, 120-110, the results could be quite different when the series moves to Utah Friday night for Game 3.

With Deron Williams finding that extra gear and his bench, led by Paul Milsap, winning the war against the Lakers Bench Mob, the Jazz could realistically return to Los Angeles with the series tied at two games apiece.

The problems the Lakers must deal with are the stout rebounding and second chance points of the Jazz plus the woeful struggles of three of the four members of the Bench Mob.

For the season, Jordan Farmar averaged 9.1 points per game. For the playoffs, his average has dropped to 4.8 with an average of 6.3 in the Denver series but only 2.0 in two games against Portland.

Rony Turiaf averaged 6.6 points per game on the season along with 3.9 rebounds. He nearly disappeared in the Denver series, suffering from tonsillitis and has yet to show any signs of recovery in the Western Conference semi-finals. In the four playoff games that he has appeared in, Turiaf is averaging just 1.5 points and only 2 rebounds.

Luke Walton or Luke Warm, for the fact that he had an up and down season coming back from injuries, averaged only 7.2 points per game with 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. However, he had a sensational Denver series, averaging 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

Fast forward to the Utah series and his output has dropped way off to 5 points and only 1.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. In Walton’s defense, he has been suffering from an upper respiratory infection. So, it remains to be seen whether or not he can regain the performance level that he had against the Nuggets. If he can, that will certainly be good news for the Lakers and trouble for the Jazz.

The one role player for the Lakers who has remained steadfast throughout has been Sasha Vujacic. The 6’7" guard, who calls himself "The Machine" averaged 8.8 points per game, making 43.7% of his three-point shots. In the first round against Denver, he averaged 7.8 points and an even 50% three-point average.

Vujacic is the one player off the bench who has really made a difference for the Lakers in the conference semi-finals. Without his 13.5 points per game and an incredible 63.6% field goal percentage and a perfect 1.00% three-point average, the Lakers could have lost both of their home games against the Jazz.

Whether or not Farmar, Walton and Turiaf will join Vujacic in equaling or outbesting their season averages may very well be the determining factor in the Lakers ending the series in Utah with a sweep. If they don’t return to form, the series is bound to be a long one.