L.A. Lakers Lose to the Mavs Again: What in the World Is Wrong with the Champs?
With the series between the Lakers and Mavericks opening with two games in Los Angeles, most NBA fans assumed that the two-time world champs would immediately establish their superiority.
After all, everyone knows two things about Dallas:
1. They are soft, and
2. They choke in the playoffs.
Before Monday's opening game, the Mavs were 0-10 in playoff games in L.A.
Unexpectedly, the Mavericks are the one's who have put themselves in a very favorable position, winning both games in L.A. and heading home for the next two contests.
Game 2 was not just a loss...it was humbling defeat that raises the question: What is wrong with the Lakers?
Only three NBA teams have come back to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first two at home.
Magic Johnson tweeted: "The Mavs have the Lakers pointing fingers at one another. It's going to be a tough climb to come back and I think their chances are slim."
Let's take a quick look at the problem areas that Phil Jackson needs to address immediately in order to prevent the series from getting even further out of hand
The Lakers Are Struggling to Put Points on the Board
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In basketball, there are lots of ways to score.
The Lakers are having a hard time with any of them.
During the '10-11 regular season, the Lakers scored 101.5 points per game.
In the series, the Lakers have scored 94 and 81 points.
More specifically, the Lakers are struggling to put the ball in the hole in the second half.
In Game 1, the Lakers scored 41 point after halftime.
In Game 2, they only netted 32 points in the third and fourth quarters.
Kobe has scored 59 points in the first two games, but he has taken 49 shots to get those points.
Pau Gasol is scoring almost five points below his season average (18.8).
Give Dallas some credit. In this year's postseason—the Mavericks are the best in the West in terms of scoring defense, allowing only 88 points per game in the playoffs.
The Lakers Are Shooting Horribly from Beyond the Arc
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In two games, the Lakers have shot a frigid 18 percent (7-for-39) from three-point range.
If you back out Kobe's 5-for-14, the rest of the Lakers are shooting a ridiculous eight percent from beyond the arc.
It's not like the Lakers shot the lights out during the regular season from downtown. The Lakers connected on 35.2 percent from three-point range in '10-11.
But in Game 2, the Lakers missed their first 15 threes.
In the first two games, Steve Blake has a big doughnut (0-for-6) so far.
Ron Artest is 1-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Derek Fisher (pictured) usually can be counted on to drop some bombs on the Lakers' opponents. So far in this series, Fisher has only hit one of four three-pointers.
The Lakers Aren't Keeping the Dallas Guards out of the Lane
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Nothing good happens if you don't stay between your man and the basket.
So far in the first two games of the series, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and J.J. Barea (pictured) have penetrated at will, breaking down the Lakers defense with seemingly no problems.
And this is from a team that is known for settling to take jump shots from the perimeter.
Barea, the Mavs' backup PG, looked like an All-Star in the fourth quarter of Game 2 when he sliced up the Lakers for eight points and two assists.
As Dallas' guards easily drove to the basket, their bigs (Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion and Brendon Haywood) received open back-doors and thunderous alley-oops all night long.
The Lakers Are Getting Virtually Nothing from Their Bench
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Aside from Lamar Odom, the Lakers bench has been virtually non-existent in the opening two games of the series.
While they have provided an opportunity for the starters to take a blow from the action, they have contributed very little in terms of points or rebounds.
In Games 1 and 2 combined, Odom scored 21 points and grabbed 21 rebounds off the bench.
In those same two games, Matt Barnes (pictured), Steve Blake and Shannon Brown have come in to score a collective 16 points and grab a total of eight rebounds.
In contrast, the Mavericks bench has come up huge.
In Game 1, Dallas' bench players scored 40 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
In Game 2, they put up 30 points and pulled down 12 boards
The Lakers Have No Answer for Dirk Nowitzki
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Even though they have tried a variety ways and thrown a variety of defenders at Dirk Nowitzki, the Lakers have no answer in how to stop the 10-time NBA All-Star.
To be fair, not many teams have figured how to shut down the skilled seven-footer. However, the Lakers, with their length, were supposed to cause him problems.
In the first two games of the series, Dirk has scored a very efficient 52 points on 20-for-38 shooting.
Phil Jackson has tried Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest on Nowitzki, but none of these frontcourt players have been successful at putting the clamps on him.
The only facet of stopping Nowitzki at which the Lakers have been successful is that they have kept him off the line.
In the five games of the Portland series, Dirk went to the line 63 times, hitting on 56 of his free throws.
In the opening two games of this series, he has only gone to the line 10 times, converting nine of those.
Conclusion
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The Lakers are more than capable of pulling out of this current funk.
They have been deep into the postseason so many times that being down in a series is not an emergency...yet.
But the Lakers have created a monstrous challenge for themselves. They now have to win four games with five to play.
They have forfeited their home-court advantage and are now facing having to play three of the next four possible games in Dallas.
I'm wondering: Will Phil and Kobe create some historic magic to avoid an awkward and early departure from what was supposed to be another run to the finals and a chance at another three-peat?
Right now, that doesn't seem very likely.
