While this is a somewhat simplistic view of Jordan’s bread and butter, it also illustrates on several levels why the Lakers – as presently constructed – probably are better in a conventional NBA offense with pick-and-rolls, pindowns and isolations that create defensive overloads.
For now, the Lakers are still committed to Jordan’s offense. Howard has turned the phrase, “It’s a process” into a mantra. And Bryant said after the loss to the Clippers, “You’ve got to push at it. We’ve just got to keep working on what we do.”
It certainly needs work. The Lakers have looked extremely tentative on offense and are near the bottom of the NBA in assist-turnover ratio with 1.18. And thus far, they have shown an inability to grind it on defense for extended stretches, which means they have to outscore opponents with an offense still in its test stage.
You have to wonder what’s best for the Lakers right now. Bryant’s foot probably hurts when someone simply says “constant movement.” Howard’s offensive improvement over the last couple of years hasn’t incorporated an elbow jumper. And even if the Lakers start getting the hang of things, at some point down the road they will have to incorporate Nash, who is out at least a week and likely longer.
There were some positive signs in Sunday’s demolition of Detroit; the turnovers were down, the intensity on defense was up, Metta World Peace finally awoke and Howard – stationed very close to the basket – continued to make folks drool with anticipation of when he will be totally healthy.
Even with Nash sidelined, the Lakers are way too talented to maintain residence in the abyss of the Western Conference with the Sacramento Kings as their next-door neighbors. But until they figure it out, they won’t be rubbing shoulders with the San Antonio Spurs, either.
“I’m not the most patient individual in the world,” Bryant said.
Neither are Lakers fans.
TRIVIA: Which is the only NBA team without an international player on its roster? Answer below.
The trivia answer is actually incorrect. Joel Anthony is a Canadian national and has played for their national team.
CMS,
That is a great job by you and an awful job by me, which I will explain when I give you a shout-out in my column next week. The correct answer is in there now. Thanks for reading.
CB
This article is poorly written for a few reasons; the most glaring one is the premise that the Princeton offense relies on constant movement and thus is a bad fit because the Lakers have older players. All good offenses have good player and ball movement. All…without exception in other words, function based upon ball and player movement. To suggest a team shouldn’t run an offense because there is too much movement is silly. Especially considering just last year Nash played in a system where they ran every possession and he used 3 to 4 pick and rolls per game. I would say that using ball screens continuously and pushing tempo as a PG is tougher than what the Lakers are asking him to do. Also, to suggest that Dwight is away from the basket and it minimizes his effectiveness is not looking at the offense as a whole. He may start on the elbow but they run actions that allow the ball to be swung with Dwight ceiling his man on the reversal. The issue with the Lakers is not offense. Kobe is shooting 60% from the field. Dwight is getting dunks and layups at will. Artest looks rejuvenated. The issue is they cannot guard anyone. The talk and focus on the offense has been too much and the excuses as to why it hasn’t worked has been ignorant at best. All offenses work when executed correctly and where belief remains. No one will remember this silliness when the Lakers have won 60+ games.
Should read Nash uses 3 to 4 P&R’s per possession.
Cornelius,
Thanks for reading. I did say it was a simplistic view, but I just don’t think it’s what’s best for the Lakers and their star personnel. I think there is a difference between movement and constant movement; my HS team runs a Read and React which involves constant movement and conditioning is a HUGE part of our season prep. Yes Nash ran constant P/R in Phoenix; he also was limited to 32 minutes per game and was an absolute mess when he played more. And while Dwight is not a disaster at the elbow (he often started there in Orlando’s sets), I think Pau is more suited. I do think all of this will have an adverse effect on the other end, which you and I both mentioned is an issue with this team. Having said all that, these are really good veterans who will figure out something to get between 55-62 wins. The panic is in LA, not in this space. CB