As the NBA’s regular season continues to wind down and teams prepare to write the final chapters of their seasons, Tuesday night will go a long way in revealing the outcome of a few of our perennial favorites.
It’s a story of two coasts: East and West.
As the Miami Heat and New York Knicks (winners of nine straight) continue to surge into the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers continue to unravel at the worst possible time.
After a much needed 101-81 thumping of the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night, the Lakers are now tied with the Utah Jazz for the 8th-seed in the West, with the Dallas Mavericks now 2.5 games behind.
The Clippers — once winners of 17 in a row and thought to be a legitimate contender in the West — have now lost three straight and six of their last 10 games. Because of their late season swoon, the Clippers are now fifth in the West and are looking at a first round rematch at Memphis, who have been playing excellent basketball since trading Rudy Gay.
Not even a healthy Chris Paul has been able to carry this team. The Clippers were 7-7 (2-5 on the road) in March and have seven games in April to right the ship. After tonight, the Lakers will as well.
Sometimes, to find the best answers you have to understand the worst problems. And then, if you don’t accept the reality of the problems, you’re not going to be able to beat them.
“We didn’t finish a few games out,” Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro explained about the slump to the Los Angeles Times. “We had a couple of opportunities, but you have to be able to finish games out by getting stops or by making plays. And we missed a few opportunities, especially on the road.”
More from the Los Angeles Times: “You’ve got to play better,” Del Negro said. “You win games by playing at a high level and consistently at a high level. You can talk about injuries, you can talk about the schedule, you can talk about all these things, but everyone goes through it. Some more than others. At the end of the day, you have to win games.”
With two of the Clippers key players banged up — Blake Griffin and Matt Barnes — Del Negro better figure out a way to get his team to play better or his job may be in question by the time the playoffs begin.
As for the Lakers, Dwight Howard expects it to be a little easier:
“We need every game. We have to come out and play with the right intensity and effort for 48 minutes and we should win all of these games,” Howard said to the media on Tuesday. “We just have to have that same effort from everybody. We have to have every game, every game is important. We just have to go out there and play and do what we do best.”
As easy as it sounds, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times may have found the problems for the Lakers. Pincus claims that injuries have been the biggest issue as to “why,” but “how” can be found in the stat sheet. More from Pincus: “The Lakers score an average of 102.4 points a game, sixth in the league. They shoot a respectable percentage from the field at 45.8% (10th overall) and 35.8% from three-point range (14th). By tiebreakers, the Lakers have the 16th best record in the NBA, but their basic offensive numbers aren’t to blame.”
More from Pincus: “The problems start at the free-throw line, where the Lakers are dead last at 68.8%. They also take more attempts than any other team (27.7 a game). The free-throw problem falls primarily on the shoulders of Dwight Howard (48.6%). Another key issue is turnovers, an area in which the Lakers have improved but are still ninth worst at 15.1 a game. The Lakers also give up 44.6 points in the paint per game, third worst. They’re second to last in giving up fast-break points (15.9). The math isn’t difficult — turnovers that lead to fast breaks often lead to finishes at the basket.”
The Lakers may be able to win enough of their remaining games (7) to sneak into the playoffs, but what is going to happen when they meet the Spurs in the first round, when defense, free throw shooting, ball control and half-court execution are critical on each and every possession?
When the Lakers are at their best (which hasn’t been often) Kobe Bryant is playing with a balanced attack. Last nights triple-double is the perfect example. Without Steve Nash, Bryant played the role of distributor. His 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, four steals and two blocks fueled the Lakers on both ends of the floor.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Kobe assisted on 11 of the Lakers 36 field goals last night (36 percent). When Kobe assists on at least 25 percent of his teams field goals while he’s on the floor the Lakers are 29-13. When he comes in below that number, the Lakers are just 9-22. Against the Mavericks his assists led to 28 points and an additional 12 points off secondary assists (similar to the “hockey assist”). When it was all said in done, Bryant contributed to 73 out of the Lakers 101 points. All on just 18 field goal attempts.
As Pincus points out, the Lakers clearly will not be able to fix all of these problems at once, but with Steve Nash banged up and out of the lineup, they must move forward one issue at a time.
If they can plug some holes and get their key players back and healthy, if Kobe can keep playing with a balanced attack, they’ve shown an ability to play above what their record says they are.
But for now, they’re still searching.
Onto more news around the NBA