SB Nation Lakers Vs. Mavericks, 2011 NBA Playoffs
The Dallas Mavericks have the L.A. Lakers on the ropes in the Western Conference semifinals, and after years of dominating, the end is finally here for Kobe and the Lakers.
May 5, 2011 - Even if you expected the Lakers to fade into the sunset this year, you never expected this. Not an absolute drubbing by the likes of the Dallas Mavericks, at home, with Dirk dominating and the Lakers stars disappearing. You had to think, at the very least, Kobe and the Lakers would go down shooting.
But it's kind of perfect. Or at least, it makes perfect sense given what we know about this Lakers team. All year long they've gone back and forth between "freakishly dialed in" and "totally checked out." It just so happens they hit the second phase again at the worst time possible.
I was at dinner with SB Nation friends on Wednesday night before the Lakers and Mavs tipped off, and at one point our boss Jim Bankoff asked whether anyone could beat the Miami Heat. I told him the only team I think can beat LeBron and the Heat was Oklahoma City. Boston's too old, Chicago's not quite there yet, and L.A. has the talent to win, but they won't get that far.
Then someone else chimed in to chide me for doubting L.A. "Oh, come on. We go through this every year with the Lakers. They'll be fine. They'll beat the Mavs, they'll beat OKC in one of those great seven game series, and then they can beat the Heat." And hey, they still might!
But as I said last night, "The Lakers just don't seem to give a damn this year."
"Well, not Kobe..." someone said.
"Oh, yeah, he's insane."
"Exactly."
"No, not in a good way. He's totally unpredictable at this point. Like, actually insane."
As for his teammates: Pau Gasol doesn't want the ball and wants no part of Dirk Nowitzki on defense; the Lakers bench has been godawful; Ron Artest reverted to his Sacramento days on Wednesday and almost certainly got himself suspended for Friday's game. Meanwhile, Phil Jackson's been a space cadet — how are Matt Barnes and/or Lamar Odom not guarding Dirk Nowitzki every second that Dirk's on the court? — and Andrew Bynum's been solid, but he's getting more and more frustrated as he goes ignored. Then there's Kobe, who's pressing the gas harder than ever, but just can't get to that extra gear.
Sure, they still talk like champions. Despite his frustration, Bynum says he's "100% confident" they can win the series. To wit, Kobe said "Everybody's tripping" and that if the Lakers "play with relentless energy" in Game 3, "we'll be fine." But it's been a while since we've seen "relentless energy"...
The Lakers have every reason to think they can still win this series. But we've seen them sleepwalk through the first few weeks of the playoffs already... Why should we think they'll suddenly wake up?
It'd be one thing if this were the Celtics and they were going back home for the next two games. Boston may be fossilizing before our eyes, but you know they're going to fight at home. If a team gives a damn, a home crowd can carry you in the short term.
On the other hand, L.A.'s going on the road and the Lakers' problem is bigger than matchups. Theoretically, they should win every matchup on the court, except for Dirk Nowitzki. But they keep getting burned by the Dallas pick-and-roll: in part because Dirk's been torching them and L.A.'s terrified of leaving him open, but also because they've just been slow to shift defensively.
That part just comes down to effort. There's a lack of urgency, and a lack of respect for the other Mavs players. L.A. may fear Dirk, but the problem is they don't fear guys like J.J. Barea. If someone asks you how a guy like J.J. Barea can wind up dominating in a playoff game, the most obvious answer is Dirk Nowitzki freed him up on the pick-and-roll.
The other, equally acceptable explanation? "The Lakers just don't seem to give a damn."
What's crazy about this Lakers team is that even with that kind of effort on D, they'd still be the favorites to win this series if they could put it together on offense. The Lakers may not have the passion to chase J.J. Barea or Deshawn Stevenson all over the court, but their offense is still a juggernaut ... when it works.
The lack of effort will cost them against OKC (or Memphis, even), but they could still beat Dallas just because they're that talented. Dallas has the best player in the series, and L.A. has numbers two through six on that list.
So far, though, it's been up to Kobe to carry them on his own, partly because Kobe wanted it that way (in Game 1) and partly because his teammates have disappeared (in Game 2). When that happens for one game, the Lakers may win 50% of the time. But if that happens for the entire playoffs and the Lakers are only winning 50% of the time, then they lose. It's not rock science.
The problem with Kobe is that we have as good a chance guessing which Kobe will show up as his teammates do. They don't know whether he's going to take 30 shots and score 40, or take 20 shots and score 25, then quietly take shots at Pau Gasol in the media. It's not about Kobe being selfish; he just wants it so bad, he's pressing in both directions. Sometimes that means passing to a petrified Gasol, sometimes it means ignoring Andrew Bynum. Lately, it means the Lakers lose.
What does it mean when a team is dysfunctional on offense, and disinterested on defense? It means watching the most talented team in basketball lose to a team with one superstar and a bunch of guys that were washed up last year. It means anyone that's ever defended Pau Gasol's toughness (or doubted Dirk Nowitzki's) feels a little stupid now. It means watching Kobe come to terms with his own mortality while Phil's failure is obscured by his own immortality.
It means that Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe will all go down in the same year. It means that at the end of all this, the Lakers will have to come to terms with reality. It means Pau and Bynum will be trade bait this summer, when L.A. will make a play for Dwight Howard and/or Chris Paul.
It's still surreal, and it'll take a while to sink in. But this is the end.
7 comments
Andrew Sharp:
The End Of The Lakers? The End Of The Lakers.
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Comments
Awesome article.
I like your writing man.
One day...
by Jeterian 2 on May 5, 2011 2:55 PM EDT reply actions
Nice to see one article today that isn't sugarcoating it for LA
Simple fact: 3 teams in NBA history have come back from 0-2 at home. This isn’t like Boston going home for 2.
The only thing I’d disagree about is the Lakers ‘winning every matchup’ besides Dirk. I’d say Terry/Berrea on Fish is a win as well. The simple fact is, the Lakers have been troubled by athletic teams the last 2 seasons. Against teams that want to pound the ball inside, they’re still dominant. But 1st against Denver 2 years ago, then against OKC last year, and then this year when New Orleans could play small even (despite greatly inferior talent), the Lakers have shown when they have to chase to the perimeter, they can’t.
The sole advantage of the Lakers is that long front line. But drag them away from the lane (kicking and screaming after 5 seconds) and that’s no longer as much of an advantage. Dallas is more mobile, and makes tougher guards for Bynum and Odem. Gasol, in theory, ought to keep up. But expending that much energy chasing Dirk is leaving him useless on the offensive end.
This is not a historically good Laker’s team, so yep, they’re done.
by Shawn Gillogly on May 5, 2011 4:21 PM EDT reply actions
far from done
I hate the Lakers but this team has too much talent to be written off so quickly. I will admit it isn’t looking good after losing twice at home, but Dallas isn’t a model of consistency either. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lakers came back and at least made this a 6 game series.
One thing i can do...................is FINGER ROLL.
by gunnin' gervin on May 5, 2011 5:06 PM EDT reply actions
Six games is still done.
Do you see them an HISTORIC team? Really? With 2 scorers, one of whom is too exhausted from chasing Dirk to put up his usual numbers?
They’ve been a team exploited by athleticism for 2 years now. It’s just MOST teams in the NBA are as willing to play 1-4 isolation stall ball or 2 man games as the Lakers are. Now they actually have to chase, and they can’t.
by Shawn Gillogly on May 5, 2011 6:19 PM EDT up reply actions
They are unfortunately still the champs until proven other wise. Plus they are healthy so I have to respect what they are capable of doing
One thing i can do...................is FINGER ROLL.
by gunnin' gervin on May 5, 2011 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions
The End of the Lakers needs to be a Facebook page
Bullets Forever | Twitter
by Bullet Nation in Exile on May 6, 2011 1:38 PM EDT reply actions
"when L.A. will make a play for Dwight Howard and/or Chris Paul."
Haha, funny joke. You do realize that the Lakers still owe a little over $80 mil to Kobe over the next three years, right? Not to mention Pau’s contract, and I don’t see them trading him.
I guess the Lakers could try to trade Kobe, but at his age, with his “bone-on-bone” knee, and, yes, that contract, what franchise is going to want him? Might as well let him retire as a Laker.
In conclusion, Laker fans are going to have to suck it up and accept a rebuilding phase if they truly want this team to be relevant. You can thump your chest and say “we don’t rebuild, we reload” but after the reaction to the Pau trade a couple years ago, good luck convincing another franchise to hand over more titles to you. Sorry.
Clippers // Chargers // Rays // Gators // Boise State
"The Lakers do win games. But things can change." - Blake Griffin
by 82-0 on May 6, 2011 4:20 PM EDT reply actions
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