Los Angeles is currently ahead of Portland 58-36 at halftime and, barring a miracle comeback, the Lakers will win their seventh-straight game to begin the season and remain undefeated. Big surprise there, I know.
Amazingly enough, with the official start of the winter season still more than a month away, these Lakers look complete, as they have five players with seven or more points at the half.
While the scoring balance is indeed impressive in tonight’s game, it’s the defensive intensity and the contributions to that darn Triangle offense that are so mesmerizing, especially this early in the season. A couple of times I have watched the Lakers this season I thought I was witnessing the most beautifully run offense ever (sorry Doc). These facts are why I firmly believe we will see a third installment of the newly-epic Lakers/Celtics rivalry this June.
Statistically L.A. is pretty solid team-wise, ranking #1 in both PPG and offensive rating and 13th in defensive rating. I can assure you that as the team continues to integrate new parts and build chemistry we will see a slight rise in their defensive rankings.
Even though I have watched Pau Gasol perform for many years, leading marginally talented Memphis squads to the post-season three times, he has reached his prime in devastating fashion and there may not be a more talented big man in the game today. His intelligence and passing ability (four assists and less than two turnovers per) are so perfect for the Triangle that Phil Jackson must have pinched himself repeatedly the day Gasol arrived for practically nothing in 2007. Not only that, but he’s scoring a career high 24.8 ppg because he is finally being the aggressive force that analysts thought he could become on draft day.
Kobe is Kobe, of course, only a somewhat more mature version than what we’re used to. His scoring is down from prior years to “only” 24.7 ppg, but he’s been slightly more selective with his jumper (I said SLIGHTY!) and is getting to the line at his highest rate since 2007. While his steal totals continue to drop, leading some to believe his defense is faltering, it is more likely because he is staying true to his assignments more often and gambling less. I was never a big fan of Kobe becoming a perennial all-defensive team member because of this, and while he isn’t on the level of the elite defenders, he holds his own by being wiser.
Lamar Odom is playing lights-out, cleaning the glass like his life depended on it and scoring at an extremely efficient rate (over sixty percent from the field and downtown). Andrew Bynum isn’t due back for some time and with the way Lamar is playing there is no reason to hurry back, my friend. From what I can tell Odom doesn’t receive a huge chunk of play-calls offensively but man can he create second-chance points in bunches. Solid stuff from a guy who couldn’t seem to find love from the media in recent years.
The role-players on this team are truly doing their part as well. Matt Barnes and Steve Blake were outstanding additions and I can’t see where Blake won’t eat into old-man Fisher’s minutes even further before the new year hits, although Fisher’s clutch moments have become the stuff of legend, so come playoff time he’ll be there. Blake is calm and collected in crunch-time and can shoot the three with the best of them when he spots up. Barnes doesn’t contribute much offensively but plays tenacious defense and hustles like a madman.
I’m not a big Ron Artest fan. He chucks the ball from a variety of spots, needs constant attention, and has played spotty defense at times this season (although he’s suffocating Brandon Roy at the moment). At his best his defense is top-notch but I wonder if we’ll only see that razor focus come playoff time. I guess better late than never….
Oh, and that Bynum guy? When he comes back these scary foes could become our worst nightmare.
The bottom-line here is that I haven’t seen a Phil Jackson team run the offense this well this soon since Jordan’s second run of titles. Everyone on their squad looks motivated (thank you, Miami) and while the season is a marathon and there will be stretches where everything in this column doesn’t happen, by May I think we’ll see another 56 wins and a top seed at their disposal.
While I still believe that in 2012 the Heat will be blitzing the league come playoff time I’m pretty confident that this is not their year. Of course, being a Celtics fan I need to think this way - our title window is dangerously close to being shut and I can see our players responding in desperate fashion in the post-season, which when combined with talent and precision is difficult to defeat.
As a Boston fan who would relish watching a rubber-match between these two, I say keep it up L.A.