Breaking down the Lakers

At the top of the Western Conference, the Lakers are playing a game none of us have seen before. Keep it coming yall. Who would have thought that they would be sitting on top 60 games into the season?

I didn't. I didn't get a chance to see the first 20-30 games of the season, so I missed Andrew Bynum's blossoming and the cohesion that took place in the locker room. Of course the biggest news since then is the acquisition of Pau Gasol. What an amazing trade! As good as Pau is as an individual, he fits in even better with this Laker team. Phil Jackson can run plays with Pau that he couldn't run with Shaq because of Pau's ability to stretch the defense. Yet the full impact of Pau Gasol is not limited to his individual skill or coachability. It is the boost in confidence to the other players on the team that has sustained this early success for the Lakers. Farmar, Vujacic, Turiaf, and Radmanovic are playing better and better. Finally, it seems for some of us, the Lakers have someone else who can shoot the ball or score on a consistent basis besides Kobe.

While Kobe's assists are up this year as he has taken on more of a facilitating role in addition to being the leading scorer, his game is freed by Lamar Odom's versatility. Lamar has flourished in his do-whatever-it-takes role as Kobe's swingman. Lamar has been a great floor general and is comforted even more now that Pau has taken away the pressure of being the second scoring option. Odom feels like he can score when he's comfortable now which allows him to play his own game.

Sasha! The Machine! Man, his jersey sales (if they make a Vujacic jersey) must be soaring as high as his confidence right now. His growth, along with Jordan Farmar and Vlad, has changed the dynamic on the floor. Some people are wondering why they haven't seen the unhuman Kobe plays, where he takes on all 5 defenders and somehow gets the And1 with an impossible move. Well, Kobe used to force those shots because he didn't have the trust in his teammates to hit the open shots. Granted, the argument can be made that they weren't able to get used to shooting in the game because he never passed the ball. This year, he made an effort to change his game to involve his teammates and it has paid off. Now when he drives the lane, he simply drops it off to a cutting Ronny-Pau-Lamar, or kicks it out to Sasha-Jordan-Derek-Vlad for the corner triple. Of course Kobe's passing had to improve this year for this style of play to be successful and the growing pains have come in the form of more turnovers by Kobe.

Derek Fisher, God bless him for returning, added yet another dimension. The Lakers need a strong point guard so Lamar and Kobe don't have to handle the ball, call plays, and direct traffic all at the same time. And who better than a veteran of the 3peat-Jackson days who is familiar with the offense and the players. Derek's scoring consistency and calm-collected attitude on the court has made the younger guys comfortable as well.

Luke Walton is the only player on the team who has been left out in this unprecedented year of growth for the Lakers. His struggle this year is ironic. For the past 3-4 years when the Lakers have been struggling as a team, Walton was one of the more consistent players helping them stay afloat. Now, as the team is growing into the playoff team they want to be, Walton seems to be stagnant. His shot is off, and passing ability hiding somewhere he can't get at. Hopefully the excitement of the playoffs will bring out the Luuuuuuuuuuke in him.

As for Bynum and Ariza, I can't comment. Just as I came back home they both went out with injuries. Ariza should be coming back soon, and Bynum a bit later. If both of them play like everyone says they played before they went out, I think the Lakers will be fine.

Scratch that. The Lakers are arguably the best team in the league right now, making a run at the right time in the season when most teams are falling prey to the monotony of the 82-game season. And when Bynum and Ariza come back, there will be an air of excitement for the final 10-15 games of the season heading into the playoffs. I cant wait!

...Keep it fresh

- Neil