Published on February 11, 2010
I was really starting to question the Lakers’ ability to repeat as champions after an embarrassing loss to the Denver Nuggets at home. The Lakers gave up 125 points, and put on a dismal performance on the defensive end.
Since then, Kobe Bryant has been out with an ankle injury, as well as Bynum on the sideline. For some reason, this gave the Lakers some motivation to play at the level they are capable of.
I rediscovered why I loved the Lakers after a dominating victory over the Utah Jazz on the road last night. It was ice to finally see the reserves step up.
When Kobe was in the line up, Laker fans were probably like me, hoping the reserves could just maintain the lead, or not have it trimmed too drastically while the Lakers’ starters were on the bench.
Against Utah, however, Jordan Farmar added 18 points, and even Sasha Vujacic started showing why he was offered a $5 million per year contract. Although his shooting game remains atrocious, he made key plays on the defensive end.
Rumor has it the Lakers were going to trade for Kirk Heinrich of Chicago, sending Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Adam Morrison or D.J. Mbenga. Last night’s victory over the Jazz impressed me so much that I now do not believe we need a dominant point guard to lead the triangle offense.
The triangular trade seems to be back in business for the pesky Lakers’ squad. The Lakers not only won on the road, but also cooled off a Jazz team that was hot enough to melt the Rockies. The Jazz had a 9-game win streak snapped, and had previous won 13 out of their last 14 games,
No Kobe, no Bynum, no problem.
Lamar Odom entered “Beast Mode” and scored 25 points, while adding 11 rebounds. Pau Gasol also stepped up, almost getting a 20/20 night for the second time this season, but finishing with 22 points and 19 rebounds.
The reserves are back into the mix, and have proven critics that the Lakers do have some depth.
The Lakers won three straight with Kobe and Bynum sidelined entering the All-Star game, with the Western Conference’s best record at 41-13.
Maybe the injuries were the best thing that could happen to the Lakers.
Last night was a great quality team win, and since Kobe’s injury, the defense has stepped up drastically, and the play from the reserves has been impressive to say the least.
If the Lakers fix three areas of concern (two of which have been achieved since Kobe’s absence), they can prove why they are the NBA’s best team and the number one contender for an NBA championship: 1. Get healthy (in progress), 2. Play from reserves (so far check that), and 3. Play better defense (check that for now).
Improve in all these areas, and look out, here come the champions.