doitmitch.com

What a tragic way to squander Kobe’s nearly flawless performance. What a way to lose a chance to gain a psychological edge against the Spurs, who have owned the Lakers on their court.

First of all, let’s not blame the refs. We’ve got bigger fish to fry.

1. Bynum is not reliable.

He got 1 rebound last night against the Rockets, and 3 tonight. Kwame would’ve broken out with pimples if that ever happened to him (Kwame might be the only player in NBA history who sat out a game with a DNP – Acne). Bynum is supposed to be our answer against the Celtics? Please. First he needs to a better rebounder than Smush Parker, who is somewhere in China right now.

Here are some positives: Bynum is more aggressive scoring the ball (yet he’s not always getting good position). Bynum is playing good individual defense (and inconsistent help defense). So even his contributions have some drawbacks.

Bynum is just far from being a consistent, reliable player. 

Some say he’s lost some fire after signing his big contract. Personally, I think he’s not fully recovered from knee surgery. Bynum had some swelling early in the season, and Jermaine O’Neal advised him to be careful (and he should know). Bynum could be playing through some pain, which would explain his reduced explosiveness and lack of energy. It’s a cause for concern. 

2. Gasol is soft.

YES. Soft. Screaming “let’s go” after every time he makes a basket doesn’t make him tough. Growing a tree-chopping beard doesn’t make him tough. Grabbing more than 5 rebounds makes him tough. But that’s the deal with Gasol. Against small frontlines like Golden State and Miami, or even softer opponents like Troy Murphy and the Pacers, Gasol is a beast. Pounding the glass and his chest, the 7′1″ lanky forward seems formidable. Against teams with a little more beef like New Orleans, Portland, Houston, and San Antonio, Gasol is a baby. How many rebounds did he have against the Celtics on Christmas? 3.

As long as we’re playing crappy, small teams in the Finals, we’re golden. Otherwise, don’t be surprised if Gasol disappears when it matters, like he did tonight, with the quietest 21 points in Laker history. His histrionics and facial hair simply highlight his insecurities. He’s soft, and he knows it.

3. Fisher. WTF?

Like Mark Jackson would say, “you’re better than that.” Why would he gamble for a steal on that last play, forcing him to scramble back to Mason, who was able to draw the foul? Then again, Fish has a tendency to foul, and get caught up in sticky situations (see last year in the playoffs when he got away with a foul). Fish just can’t play good, honest defense, which is why he has to get so close to defenders (doesn’t have the length or quickness to do otherwise), gamble & scramble, foul & flop. From now on, that’s what I’ll call Fish: Gamble & Scramble, Foul & Flop.

4. Ariza, aka Gumby.

Watching Ariza trying to play point guard is like watching my parents operate a DVD player. It’s cringe-worthy, frustrating, and at times funny, but more often sad. Ariza has limited ball-handling skills, cannot dribble with both hands, cannot pass, is frequently off-balance and out of control. He made me miss Smush Parker tonight. I said it, yes, I did. Hell, he made me miss Coby Karl tonight. I already missed Von Wafer last night. Where’s Jannero Pargo? 

Still, it’s not his fault. With Farmar and Vujacic out, Ariza did the best he could, which was inadequate, but again, it’s not his fault he had to play out of position. What is his fault, however, is fouling players way beyond the three-point line, such as his boneheaded reach on Hill (isn’t he the rookie?) with less than one second left in the fourth quarter. That would have been the difference in the game, completely isolated idiotic incident.

5. Kobe was brilliant.

My goodness, people can talk about Gasol’s consistency (yeah right) and Bynum’s potential all they want, they’re simply missing the show of a lifetime. Kobe is not just a great player, he’s one of the greatest ever, and it’s a priviledge to watch him in his prime in purple and gold. When Kobe hangs it up and the Lakers end up a crappy version of Portland, people will realize how special Kobe was to our team. The guy is amazing.

It’s funny, everybody knows 4th quarter is Kobe time. Greg Popovich said it during the interview, Jeff Van Gundy said Kobe’s the best in the Final Four (minutes)…and Kobe comes back after a big deficit in the fourth quarter and the Lakers go on a run to take a 3-point lead (before the loonies take over). Kobe might not have the statistics that Lebron, Wade, and Paul are putting up, but that’s largely a combination of his role, the team around him, his maturity, and his age. Kobe isn’t trying to dominate the ball all the time like those previous players. He has spent most of this season getting his teammates involved in the first half, and if they need him, he’ll punch through in the 3rd or 4th. That kills his stats. But when he wants to, as we’ve seen since Christmas against Boston, he can be a one-man wrecking ball. Tonight was a virtuoso performance, combining tough shots with great playmaking. He was Jordan and Pippen combined tonight, unfortunately, he didn’t have the rest of the Bulls who could come through. No Rodman on the boards, no Ron Harper to run the point, no players he could rely on every night to fulfill their roles.

For those who still cling to this notion that Kobe is selfish, take note of Kobe’s consecutive feeds to Josh Powell, who nailed the open jumpers. Or his last second pass, interrupting his jump shot in mid-air, to Odom for the open layup. Kobe just needs players who can fulfill their roles reliably.

The Lakers currently rely on too many young players (Farmar, Bynum, Vujacic) who haven’t really proven themselves in the playoffs, and one-dimensional, major liabilities such as Radmanovic, Walton, and Fisher.

They should look to make some moves before the trade deadline, since we’re hardly running the triangle consistently or effectively. The Lakers are simply being propelled by the greatness of Kobe Bryant and the heady and smooth Pau Gasol, and getting enough, if inconsistent, contributions from the others. This has been good enough for the best record in the league so far, but it’ll hardly guarantee the pressure-cooker of the playoffs, where many regular season win leaders have been eliminated early, such as Phoenix and Dallas, two other high scoring teams.

Get off your ass and Do It, Mitch.