Los Angeles could be in
trouble for at least another week or so.
It has been reported that
Lakers’ point guard Steve Nash has a small fracture in what was previously
thought to be simply a leg contusion in his left leg. The Lakers have had
enough troubles to start the season, but with Nash being out for what appears
to be at least a week, the Lakers woe’s look like they will continue. Of
course, Steve Blake has been a perfectly adequate point guard in substitution
of Nash so far this season, limiting his turnovers, hitting his three point
shots (60% on the season), and keeping the Princeton Offense running smoothly
around Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard. He had his struggles vs. Chris Paul and
the Clippers (mainly foul trouble), but he rarely has negative plays for the
team, and knows how to play with the starters.
The bench, however, has been
the exact opposite, and without Blake leading the second unit, the Princeton
Offense takes a hit with the second unit, as players like Antawn Jamison and
Jordan Hill have looked absolutely lost in the pass and move nature of the
offense. Other than turnovers and transitional defense, the biggest problem for
Los Angeles has been the few quality minutes given by the bench, and as a
result, the few minutes of rest the starters have had. Other than Steve Nash
(who is only averaging 25 minutes a game), all of the starters are playing 35.7
minutes per game or more, with Pau Gasol topping the list at 39.7 minutes per
game. It’s an insane amount of minutes for players who are old (Gasol and Metta World Peace are the youngest of the “old” starters at 32 years of age) or coming off
of a major injury like Dwight Howard is. The bench has been the second worst
unit this season averaging a measly 16 points per game on 41.9% shooting, the second
worst offensive efficiency rating in the league at 19.3 and a negative defensive efficiency rating at
-14.7. Despite acquiring Jodie Meeks and Jamison this off season, the bench has
managed to be worse so far than the 2011-2012 Lakers bench.
Los Angeles is likely in trouble
with Nash out for so long because of depth issues. On paper, the bench looks
like a very solid group that can spread the floor and give the starters some
rest. In reality, that bench is thin, and doesn’t seem to understand the nature
of the Princeton Offense. Antawn Jamison, as stated earlier, continues to
struggle as he is only averaging 3.7 points per game, 4 rebounds per game and
is only playing 16 minutes per game. Jodie Meeks has hardly played or made a
difference in his time in. Blake is being pushed into the starter role. Jordan
Hill has been disappointing to say the least and Devin Ebanks has been a
non-factor to start the season. If Nash is indeed out for a week longer, that
will be 3, potentially 4, games in which Nash will not be available, and the
bench will have to step up, something I think they won’t be able to accomplish
this early in the season, playing in an offensive system that they don’t quite
understand yet.
In the positive news for Los
Angeles, the next four games will be vs. the 0-2 Detroit Pistons, 1-2 Utah Jazz
(after two days of rest), 2-1 Golden State Warriors, who the Lakers (particularly
Kobe Bryant) have had a history of playing well against, and the 0-3 Sacramento
Kings. This is the stretch the Lakers can handle, on paper, without Nash in the
rotation, and it will certainly test the 2nd unit on whether they
can insert themselves within this scheme head coach Mike Brown and assistant
coach Eddie Jordan have placed over the summer. A visit from Detroit could help Los Angeles
get back on track. Though the Lakers had their five-game winning streak against
the Pistons end with an 88-85 overtime road loss on March 6th of
last season, they've won the last two at Staples Center by a combined 38
points. And in more positive news for L.A: Veteran guard Rodney Stuckey has
totaled 10 points on 1-of-17 shooting and has missed all six of his 3-point
attempts through two games.
Starting Lineups:
Position
|
Pistons
|
Lakers
|
Point Guard
|
Brandon Knight
|
Steve Blake
|
Shooting Guard
|
Rodney
Stuckey
|
Kobe
Bryant
|
Small Forward
|
Tayshaun Prince
|
Metta World Peace
|
Power Forward
|
Jason
Maxiell
|
Pau
Gasol
|
Center
|
Greg Monroe
|
Dwight Howard
|
