Lakers Breakdown: Kobe Bryant and Co. Look Lost and Confused

The Lakers’ performance in their 120-96 loss to Utah was downright embarrassing.

The Jazz dominated Los Angeles in every aspect of the game—and that was without Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur, who were both out with injuries.

Instead of taking advantage of their hosts' health woes, the Lakers played lethargic, passive basketball. The contrast with Utah's aggressive, unselfish, and creative style was as wide as the Pacific Ocean.

In fairness, every NBA team has a few nights a year where nothing clicks. I understand that—and I won't overreact to this particular defeat.

Still, the drubbing does raise a number of troubling issues for Kobe Bryant and Co.

 

Offense

The Laker offense tallied 82 points over the first three quarters, but most of these were the result of fast-break opportunities and Kobe Bryant mini-spurts.

In reality, the O routinely sputtered in a half-court set.

Kobe had nice numbers (10-19 FG, 3-5 3FG, 28 PTS), but most of his points came in inconsistent bunches. A two-minute hypernova in the second quarter, for example, saw Bryant score 12 points on the strength of his one-on-one playmaking abilities—not because of anything having to do with the Los Angeles offense.

Rarely did Bryant look to be a creator. Rarely did he catch the ball in motion, and rarely was he put in a position to make plays for his teammates.

Instead, he'd typically receive a pass on, or dribble to the right wing, where he'd look to take Ronnie Brewer one-on-one.

Brewer hung close to Bryant for the most part—and every KB drive was met by a swift double team, which usually resulted in forced shots or out-passes.

And when Kobe wasn’t going off, the Laker offense stalled.

Deron Williams' pressure prevented Derek Fisher (1-8 FG, 1-5 3FG 2 AST, 0 TO, 3 PTS) from running efficient half-court sets. Instead of properly triangulating the Laker offense, Fisher was often forced to try to create something on his own.

His failings may have been the biggest factor in LA’s demise.

Lamar Odom (3-5 FG, 7 PTS) was a complete non-factor. At his best, Odom is a very talented baseline scorer with good range. But he's not the kind of player who fits into the triangle because he doesn’t excel at moving without the ball—and he’s notoriously soft to boot.

The physical Jazz bullied Odom into oblivion.

Jordan Farmar (8-13 FG, 3-7 3FG, 3 REB, 3 AST, 4 TO, 21 PTS) gave Los Angeles a spark off the bench. Despite his youth, Farmar made several veteran moves, including using the rim to shield Andrei Kirilenko on a block attempt and making a smooth backdoor cut and layup early in the fourth.

That said, Farmar also made a number of poor decisions with the ball—specifically picking up his dribble in congested areas of the court. That’s the main reason for his four turnovers.

Though he's not quite a pure point guard yet, Farmar is at least a player Phil Jackson can trust to provide key minutes at the 1.

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