Lakers Couldn't Beat Orlando

Inspite of a spectacular night from Kobe Bryant, the LA Lakers lost to the Orlando Magic 109-103 Friday night. Bryant had a triple-double performance -- the 15th of his career and first since April 2005 -- scoring 28 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing 11 assists in 41 minutes.

With the Magic leading by three, Bryant missed a 27-foot three-pointer from the right wing that could have tied the game with 8.9 seconds left in the game. Jameer Nelson, who got the offensive rebound, was quickly fouled by Pau Gasol. He made both free throws to increase the lead to five.

Bryant again tried and missed a three-point shot with 4.9 seconds to go but no effort could have saved the game with only few seconds remaining in the game and the Lakers suffered its second consecutive losses this season.

But the Lakers didn't lose the game on that last two shots of Bryant. They lost it in the third quarter where they were outscored by Orlando 30-21.

The Lakers entered the third period leading by eight points. Andrew Bynum scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the first half helping lift the Lakers to a 52-44 lead over the Magic at halftime. But he went 1-of-4 in the second half and finished with 14 points with just 3 rebounds.

In the Lakers' loss in Orlando last December, Bynum scored just three points on 1-of-4 shooting and had just a single rebound. He's a non-factor again in the second-half this time.

Pau Gasol, who scored just 11 points and seven rebounds in their previous game in Orlando, only scored 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting with 9 rebounds in 33 minutes. Their two 7-footers combined for just 27 points and 12 rebounds, 7 on the offensive end.

In contrast, Orlando's Dwight Howard scored 25 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, 8 on the offensive end, and blocked three shots. Howard had his fourth 20-20 game this season in a game against the Lakers' Twin Tower! If you're the Lakers' GM, would you trade 7-footers Gasol and Bynum for 6'11" Howard? I would...

Also, for the first time in Orlando's franchise history, the Magic sweep their season series with the Lakers. The Magic wasn't able to do that when the Lakers had a 6'11" Kwame Brown as their starting center going against Howard.

Maybe the Lakers should hire Brown as special consultant to teach the Lakers big men how to play "defense" against the likes of Howard. Too bad he's still warming the bench in Detroit!

Derek Fisher also struggled with his shots missing eight of his 11 attempts for just 9 points. In their last game, he scored 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

Sasha Vujacic returned after missing two games with back spasms, but he didn't score in his 13 minutes on the court. Trevor Ariza added just 7 points off-the-bench.

On the positive note, Lamar Odom had a decent game this time. He had 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grabbed 9 boards. In their last meeting, Odom was also a non-factor on offense with only four points on 1-of-7 shooting, although he matched the total rebounding contributions of their Twin Tower with 8 boards.

Vladimir Radmanovic added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Jameer Nelson top-scored for Orlando with 28 points with 8 assists. Rashard Lewis scored 16 points with 4 steals and Hedo Turgoklu contributed 13 points. Courtney Lee added 12 points with 7 rebounds.

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Lakers lost to the Magic, 103-106

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered its first 2-game losing streak of the season. After losing to the Miami Heat the night before, the Lakers lost to the surging Orlando Magic 103-106--both losses on the road. Sasha Vujacic, who was 0-5 in the field and scored just 1 point, had a chance to win the game but his 3-point shot attempt bounced out of the basket leaving the Lakers behind 104-103, with three seconds left. Dwight Howard got the rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws for the final margin. Kobe Bryant missed a three-pointer as the clock wound down, sending the Lakers to their second consecutive defeat on this four-game trip.

Bryant had a spectacular night scoring 41 points with 8 rebounds and just 1 turnover in the losing effort. Derek Fisher added 27 points. Pau Gasol, who attempted only 9 field goals, contributed just 11 points. For two nights straight, Andrew Bynum played limited minutes and scored just 3 points, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, and 5 personal fouls.

Jameer Nelson topscored for the Magic with 27 points. Rashard Lewis scored 22 points. Dwight Howard added 18 points with 12 rebounds.

It should be obvious by now that the Twin Tower Experiment of Phil Jackson is not working. It worked in November because their opponents haven't figured out yet how to score with two 7-footers patrolling the paint. But after their first loss against Detroit, their weakness have been exposed and teams are exploiting that--just move your Bigs outside and have your best slasher drive to the basket. Phil should really consider having Bynum come off the bench and move back Odom to the starting lineup. You may want to read my previous post for what I thought would be the "keys to this game."

Bynum doesn't have the versatility of Odom. Not yet, anyway. Sure he's able to provide some defense against big body post players like Howard but their opposing guards are killing them--in this case, Rashard Lewis--by his inability to provide help defense without committing fouls.

Moreover, Gasol's scoring opportunities are being limited by Bynum's presence. The night after taking only 10 shots in their loss in Miami, Pau attempted one fewer shots today. Was he worried about his shooting percentage or he's just not getting enough touches? Bynum-Gasol teamup is not like the old Twin Tower of the Spurs, Robinson-Duncan. Bynum passing ability is still a work in progress. How many assists he had this game? Let me check...zero? Oh, how I miss Shaq!

And how about Odom? He seems to be very confused on offense although he's still decent on defense. He made only 1 field goal in 7 attempts with 2 free throws for 4 points. Well, at least he matched Bryant's 8 rebounds and had 3 steals in 36 minutes on the floor. I think his inability to be a factor on offense is not because of his waning talent. He was an All-Star material just last year and he's on his contract year so he should be very serious about being a very effective contributor on his team.

Watching the team play, it's pretty obvious that they are not running a lot of Odom-Gasol sets that was so effective last year. I could still remember how unstoppable they were during the first half of Game 4 Finals against the Celtics. Of course, they lost that game when the "unstoppable Pau and Lamar" disappeared in the second half of the game. That game cost them the Finals, right? But at least they run unbelievable highlight plays for one quarter.

And look at how effective Lamar was in their game against the Knicks--the only time he started the game in place of Gasol who was sick. He elevated his game because he knew he had to. He didn't have Pau Gasol to defer to. He's like a Manu Ginobilli on the Spurs team with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. He's perfect when he's the third best player in his team--one of the three options. You make him the 4th option and he'd be the worst performer on the Lakers team.

So, what should the Lakers do? I hate to keep on repeating myself but I'll do it anyway. Put Odom back to the starting lineup!

Please...

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Lakers-Magic Preview - 20-Dec-08

Lakers (21-4) at Magic (20-6), 20-Dec-08, 7:00pm ET

This is the first meeting between the Lakers and Orlando Magic this season. Their record last season was 1-1 beating the other team on the road. They first met at Staples Center on December 2, 2007. Magic won 104-97. Kobe Bryant had 28 points on 10-26 shooting, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Lamar Odom had 19 points and 17 rebounds. Andrew Bynum had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 7 block shots. Pau Gasol was still playing for Memphis during that time.

Rashard Lewis led five Magic players in double-figures with 18 points. Dwight Howard had 17 points and 8 boards. Hedo Turkoglu scored 14 points and collected 10 rebounds.

Their second meeting was on February 8, 2008 in Orlando. Lakers won 117-113. Bryant scored 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Gasol, on his third game on a Laker uniform, torched the Magic with 30 points on 12-15 field goal shooting and 9 rebounds. Odom went 5-5 from the field, 2-2 on the 3pt line, for 12 points with 6 boards. Bynum was on the injured list during that time.

Howard was 8-8 from the field for 19 points and collected 11 rebounds but played for only 29 minutes due to foul troubles. Their starting point guard, Jameer Nelson had 17 points and 9 assists. Lewis and Turkoglu added 16 points each.

Orlando has an 8-2 record the last 10 games. They lost to Boston and Phoenix and beat the Clippers, Portland, Utah and Golden State on the road. They beat Minnesota, Oklahoma City, and in their last game, San Antonio at home.

Keys to the game:

• With his teammates struggling, Kobe Bryant should continue to be more aggressive.
• Pau Gasol should be more assertive in his offense. In their loss to Miami last night, he took only 10 shots and made 5 scoring just 13 points. He is a better offensive player than Dwight Howard and he should take advantage of that.
• Lamar Odom should play the way he was playing last year. He looks very confused in his role which maybe attributed to him coming off the bench.
• Andrew Bynum should avoid getting into early foul troubles. His contributions would be critical in a close game providing defense on Dwight Howard.
• Phil Jackson should consider having Andrew Bynum come off the bench to avoid getting him in early foul troubles. Odom should start with Kobe and Gasol at center--their lethal combination last year. Odom can't lead their second unit. He should put Kobe to provide leadership to their bench mob as he seems to be the only player in this team that Sasha Vujacic listens to.

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