The Lakers Optimist

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The Lakers are not really so far removed from the lofty heights of championship glory. It seems like forever, but it was only 2010 when they last led that parade. Then they experienced two second round knockouts in 2011 and 2012 followed by being unceremoniously swept in 2013. 2014 and 2015 entered the dark ages.

But missing the playoffs is missing the playoffs whether you miss by a few games or you are the conference cellar dweller. The Lakers have missed the playoffs before. They’ve been here before. See post Magic Johnson. See post Shaq trade. The common denominator is that the Lakers bounce back quicker than most teams (see Knicks and 76ers). I expect this to be no different.

The one reason I see this is based on the very fact that NBA teams can be transformed by only a few players. As bad as the Lakers were they only need a few players. Exhibit A: Miami Heat loses LeBron James and does not make the playoffs. Exhibit B: Cavs gain LeBron James and adds Mosgov and Love and enter the finals. Exhibit C: Thunder lose Durant and Westbrook to injury and flat out suck the first half of the season.

Next, we know Lakers have a very important #2 pick in the draft and plenty of cap space to attempt to secure a max player and or some solid contributors.

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Lastly, the Lakers possess a young, talented and hungry core and an older but very hungry Black Mamba that only needs but a few true go-to guys that were severely missed during crucial moments in the game last year. We have all-rookie first teamer Jordan Clarkson and a healthy Julius Randle, along with shooter Jabari Brown and forward/center Tarik Black.

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Pick that argument apart all you want, Lakershaters and pessimistic Lakers fans.

With all that in mind, we approach a summer that potentially can see a major team upgrade. There are proven game changers like Marc Gasol, Goran Dragic and a Kevin Love among others in free agency. There are potential future all-stars in this year’s draft like Jahlil Okafor, D’angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay (Townes going to Minnesota seems like a forgone conclusion). The Lakers have an additional 2 picks deeper in the draft. There are quite a few scenarios that can immediately set this team on a course towards NBA relevance.

The glaring weakness the Lakers would like to address is their hole in the middle. The NBA mercilessly pounded L.A. on the glass last year and they were outsized all season long. This affects every move they make this summer. Supposing they go with the obvious choice of Okafor or Townes (90% sure it’s Okafor) they now have to consider who the best player is to court in free agency. Kevin Love could be a good coupling for a formidable offensive frontline. Randle would most likely come off the bench as he continues to develop. They would still have to address the small forward issue and point guard depth. I believe Clarkson is on his way to greatness. Lastly they would have to decide who to keep from last year. But now you’ve already added two potential game changers.

Supposing Lakers go small and take a chance on Russell or Mudiay, Clarkson slides over to the two. I’d recommend Kobe moving to the three. Randle takes the four. Now the Lakers have to make a play for Gasol or Deandre. Pairing a dominant center with Randle and also giving Russell or Mudiay a target in the post is money! I feel like Love is a strong candidate to head to L.A. but then the Lakers would still be severely undersized if they cannot get a true center. They would still be considerably improved at this point.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list of scenarios by any stretch. You consider that Lakers have Rajon Rondo in the mix. They still have decisions to make regarding Jeremy Lin, Jordan Hill, Nick Young and Ed Davis. All of which I think we should keep except Hill. (He’s costly and is one PF too many.)

Needless to say, the Lakers are in a good position to make a push in the direction towards competitiveness and subsequent dominance. This summer will be one of the most pivotal in Lakers history, starting with the draft.

I expect greatness of course. I’m The Lakers Optimist.

Things have gone from bad to worst in Lakerland. The Lakers have not competed. They have been killed in the paint. They have been killed on the glass. They have their worst start in history. They are the worst defensive team in the league. They are 1-9.

How does one be an optimist about this?

What’s going on? Following their beating against Golden State, you can hear frustration and disharmony in the locker room from the coach on down. Let’s break down what’s being said. This is very telling.

Lin says as safely as possible amid pauses, no trust and no communication. He shot the ball twice. TWICE. The point guard.

Boozer says not enough trust, not enough guys involved. He says they gotta find a balance between Kobe taking over and Kobe sharing the ball.

Kobe speaks about guys not getting back on defense in transition. He then says he starts off trying to get guys involved and then at some point he’s got to keep them in the game. Basically, if I don’t trust you, I’m not giving you the ball. And so he didn’t.

Byron said simply he’s very close to making lineup changes in search of effort.

At the start of the season I said this was a playoff team. My view hasn’t changed.

The Lakers are struggling with the age-old issue of the Kobe effect. Kobe trusts you, the ball moves, everybody wins, i.e. Charlotte. Kobe doesn’t trust you, the ball sticks, might win, might not. Many times you lose. In the glory days, not so long ago, there was Shaq, Pau, Horry, Odom, Fox, Harper, Ariza, Bynum and the list goes on and on. In the dog days there was Smush, Mihm, Adkins, Kwame…etc. With Lin, Boozer, Hill, Young, Johnson…the question is which group is this one??

They obviously take issue with the Kobe takeover effect. There are valid complaints. Players are out of rhythm. They lose interest defensively. They don’t feel a part of the game. Okay… Here’s the thing. Can Kobe force-feed initiative? How patient should Kobe be? Kobe takes on a “if you want something right you gotta do it yourself” mentality once things seem out of hand. Problem is, the game is typically out of hand already. Picture a company where you don’t empower your subordinates by entrusting them with tasks because they make a few mistakes. What kind of motivation do you create and what kind of morale do you create? How do they learn? But as with any team leader, this is the balance challenge you have. It can be done. See Spurs.

Kobe, like everyone else needs to trust the system. I’m not so sure what we saw against Golden State was what Byron drew up in practice. That certainly was not the Princeton offense. When it’s Kobe vs. the world on offense, there is no flow and no rhythm. He needs to empower his teammates.

However… There’s more than one way to contribute. When Kobe’s got it going like that, the rest of the team can expend energy on the defensive end. Get stops. Don’t be selfish. It’s not always scoring. But guys give up on both ends. It gets ugly. Guys need to also take power and empower themselves!

But offense isn’t the problem. Lakers scored 115 points and gave up way more. 90 has always been my magic number for a successful defensive team. They cannot or will not do it. Byron Scott said that he will make lineup changes starting Tuesday. He simply has to follow through or he loses credibility.

What changes can be expected?

I would like to see him take a defense and youth development approach. We tried the veteran offensive approach. Place guys alongside Kobe that, one will give maximum effort, two, will play defense hard and three, won’t be so high and mighty that they get butt-hurt when they don’t get the ball. Definitely expect Ed Davis to start over Boozer.

Here are changes that I would like to see. Nick Young needs to start at small forward, giving Kobe a break with scoring and giving Lakers two offensive threats. Kobe also gets freed up to expend energy on defense. Price needs to start over Lin. Sorry Lin. Price is a better defender. Also he feels no pressure to run the offense. He and Kobe looked comfortable together in the backcourt during pre-season while Lin was hurt. Lin will be much more assertive running the second unit. I’m on the fence with this but Sacre needs to be in at center. He is the only true center Lakers have. He’s not perfect but he works hard and has really developed that jumpshot. He can spread the floor while Davis handles the inside scoring. Right now it stands, nobody on the Lakers is getting in the paint and they are allowing way to many paint points. It’s paintball out there.

So here’s my lineup:

Sacre
Davis
Young
Bryant
Price

I know they are 1-9. It’s horrible right now. But it’s still 10 games into the season and plenty of time to turn around. They won’t play top 4 playoff teams all season. Let’s see if these guys truly can respond to adversity. One adversity added would have to be players being forced to come of the bench. If Byron is true to his word, this will happen. The next would be to keep it together because they are publicly NOT on the same page. Byron’s got his work cut out for him. We will also see how Byron can lead Kobe Bryant and reign in the mamba when he wants to takeover like against Golden State.

No better time to work it all out than now. Time isn’t running out, but it is running. Perhaps, things turn up in the A.T.L.

I gotta expect that. I’m the Lakers Optimist.

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Easy there, Lakers fans!

The Lakers came out the box with a huge win against a Denver that featured a dangerous point guard and a pretty strong offense. They played defense. They attacked the basket. Kobe looked good. Nash looked good.

But it’s just pre-season.

Then the Lakers went up against the much better championship contending Golden State Warriors and got mauled…twice. They didn’t play defense. They didn’t attack the basket. Kobe looked pretty good. Nash didn’t play.

But it’s just pre-season.

Let’s dissect the Lakers current situation. Byron is still putting his team through rigorous conditioning. In fact the team had practice the same day of the 2nd game against Golden State. For much of the game Golden State played their starters against the Lakers 2nd, 3rd and maybe even 4th string players. These are two teams with a different pre-season focus. Golden State is pretty set in their rotation whereas Lakers are figuring it out. Golden State is healthy where Lakers are not.

Keep away from the panic button!

These guys will get it. Coach Scott says he’ll be tapering off the conditioning as they get closer to the season. They are working on fine tuning offensive and defensive strategy. Aware of the injuries, they will most likely start settling in on their rotations. Things will be cleaned up. Being killed by 40 is ugly, but if you’re going to have your ugly games, it’s best that it happens now when it does not matter.

If I’m not mistaken, the 1984-85 Lakers lost by 42 in pre-season. We know how that season turned out.

There’s no need to pick on Scott’s coaching or take his comments out of proportion. But because of the losses, they have had a media field day!

10 to 15 Threes. Yes! Exactly! The Lakers should not be jacking up threes early in the clock. This leads to long rebounds and transition buckets. Rather, Lakers will stay inside out. Threes are necessary within the flow of the offense. He gave a number and you pundits ran with it.

Fouling on defense. Yes! Exactly! Standing by and getting dunked on all night and getting beat off the dribble isn’t defense. What Coach Scott expects is active hands, fighting on every play and not giving up easy layups. The byproduct of this defense will be fouls and physicality. Also, as this team learns this philosophy they will foul less and less. Easy, pundits!

Clippers are 0-3. Jazz are 3-0. Means nothing. Sure it helps to win, but the Lakers are hopefully focused on the big picture.

Look for the Lakers to be a little more cohesive and less lost on offense and defense tonight against the Jazz. They are still missing key players, so don’t expect too much yet. Be patient. They still have guys out including Lin, Clarkson, Nash, Henry and Kelly. Many of these guys will be back in time for the tail end of pre-season.

Remember. It’s just pre-season.