December 23, 2010 – R.S. De France

With their recent struggles against mediocre opponents, the LA Lakers have shown the Miami Heat a blueprint of how to beat the Lakers on Christmas Day.

The Lakers started their quest to a three-peat in strong fashion. Even then, we were warned about their easy schedule that included lots of home games. Now we see why. Leading up into their recent, successful road trip 6-1, the Lakers were a pedestrian 5-5 in their previous ten games.

Despite the road wins the Lakers have lacked effort, intensity, and concentration. The Lakers has much reason for concern heading into their much-anticipated match-up with the Miami Heat.

Even though in his post game interviews Phil Jackson seems somewhat satisfied with these recent Lakers’ victories, these have been tight contests.

Against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lakers were a missed lay-up away from losing, as the Lakers barely beat the Clippers 87-86. Almost losing to one of the worst teams in the league angered Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, and Phil Jackson. They were angered by the team’s apparent lack of effort, energy, and motion. But that anger did not produce any results as the Lakers lost to the Bulls by 4 on Friday, 88-84.

Next, the Lakers played against the then 6-17 New Jersey Nets whose starting point guard Devon Harris was suffering from a shoulder injury. I knew going into the game that it was another trap game, another game where the Lakers would play as if they had won the game merely by taking the court.

The Lakers did not disappoint my low expectations, starting the game down 0 to 7 with multiple turnovers that led to easy buckets for the Nets.

After not being able to put the Nets away in the 3rd quarter, the Lakers found the game tied with two minutes left in the 4th. Then, it seemed that all of a sudden, the Lakers finally started trying.

Kobe, on a mad drive thru the lane, dishes to Gasol. Dunk.

On the next offensive play, Kobe drives to the baseline and shovels it to Odom. Bucket.

Then, Odom buries a three-pointer off of a Lakers’ play with good ball movement and spacing like they did not have all game.

It was sad that the Lakers could only pull off a 99-92 win over the lowly Nets, who were only a loss away from the worst record in NBA history last season.

After Nets game, Phil admitted that as of late, Lakers has been playing a formula for losing, not winning.

The game against the Indiana Pacers was the only exception, the only game where the Lakers played fairly well throughout as the Lakers beat the Pacers 109-94. This game was sparked by the defense of former Pacer Ron Artest. Of course, this came after a disappointing loss to the Pacers in Los Angeles on November 28th.

On Tuesday, Lamar Odom led the Lakers to a 103-89 victory over the John Wall-less Washington Wizards. This was a closer game than its lopsided score would have you imagine, and it was another game were the Lakers did not put away a depleted opponent until late in the game.

In their next road game, the Lakers had a difficult time against the Philadelphia 76ers. Lakers made it tough on themselves though, too. The Lakers did not demonstrate enough effort or speed on defense. There was a lack of motion on offense. Fisher got eaten up by Holiday, who carved up Fish off the dribble. Spencer Hawes was allowed to shoot, which he does accurately from the outside. The game went so poorly that Philly led by 4 early in the 4th quarter.

By all estimations, this was an ugly game—poor shooting for both teams. The teams hovered around 39-40% field goals for most of the game. Although they trailed late, the Lakers started to blow the Sixers out later in the final quarter. The Lakers went on to win 93-81 as they won their 4th straight on the road.

Against the Toronto Raptors, who had lost 6 or their previous 7, the Lakers put together a decent game. Despite their lead, Coach Jackson preached more ball movement at halftime and that was the issue throughout.

As the 3rd quarter started, the Lakers seemed to take Phil Jackson’s advice, playing with better movement and teamwork to take a 16-point lead. But, later in the 3rd, the Lakers regressed into taking quicker shots and making turnovers, which led to transition buckets for Toronto. Adding to a 15-3 run, the Raptors cut the lead to 7, exemplified by Luke Walton’s wild in-bound pass to Leandro Barbosa who then banked in a ½ court shot at the buzzer.

In the 4th quarter, the bench saved the Lakers, who were in danger of letting the lead slip away. The Lakers were victorious 120-110 over the Raptors. During the game, the killa bees were on the swarm; the killa bees (Shannon Brown, Matt Barnes, and Steve Blake) and the rest of the bench combined for 57 points. In the game, Bryant achieved another milestone, becoming the 3rd all-time leading scorer with one franchise behind Karl Malone (1) and Michael Jordan (2). Despite the positives, the Lakers gave up 110 points to the Raptors, so that doesn’t reflect well on the Lakers’ defense.

When the Milwaukee Bucks took on the Lakers, many considered this a yet another trap game for the Lakers due to the Miami game being right around the corner. Without Brandon Jennings (left foot surgery) and without Carlos Delfino, the Bucks blew it open late and cruised to a 98-79 win over the Lakers. Lack of effort was a huge problem that manifested itself in terrible defense. In particular, switches were late and the defense was slow to react, especially Andrew Bynum.

So, what a piece of cake schedule, right? The Clippers, Nets, Wizards, Pacers, 76ers, Raptors, and Bucks. A 6-1 record should have been expected. Even so, the wins over the Clippers and Nets were too close for a championship team.

So, here’s part of the blueprint to beat the Lakers that we can take from their recent losses:

Force the Lakers into turnovers. The team averages 14.76 turnovers per game, so the Heat should put a lot of pressure on Derek Fisher

Turn those turnovers into points in fast break offense

Take advantage of Andrew Bynum as he works his way back into NBA game shape

Force Kobe into jump shots, preferably long ones; even then, you should bring a double-team to force him into a bad shot or a bad pass

Using the Boston Celtics’ strategy, try to pack the paint, especially against driving players like Kobe, Artest, Odom, and Brown

As with any plan, execution is key. Fisher and Bryant are not easy players to stop.

The Lakers has a tendency to lose on the road, especially after defeating a team at home this season. So, the Lakers has to improve their effort against mediocre teams because their letdowns are becoming infamous.

So, how will the Lakers do against the Miami Heat who is fresh off a 12-game win streak? If the Lakers are motivated they may keep the game competitive, but the Lakers are notorious for not being focused for Christmas games. On Christmas, I’ll be watching for the Lakers to squeeze out a victory, but I wouldn’t be surprised if L.A. gets blown-out by the Miami Heat, like the Lakers were by LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers last year.

Before the Lakers’ debacle of a game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Kobe Bryant told his team to beat the Bucks, so they would have a ‘good’ Christmas. If the Lakers lose again on Christmas, they may have to wait until their matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers on New Year’s Eve for a ‘good’ holiday.

R.S. De France is a College and University instructor of English Composition living in Los Angeles. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing. De France has played, coached, and officiated competitive high school basketball in California for many years. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.