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It’s April 9, 2012 and the (35-22) Los Angeles Lakers are in the Big Easy to play the (15-41) New Orleans Hornets. In the first of a three-game road trip, playing without shooting guard Kobe Bryant, the Lakers were routed by the Suns (125-105). Saturday’s game against Phoenix was L.A.’s first in two seasons without the services of Kobe Bryant.
Bryant’s absence was due to injury and snapped a string of 138 consecutive regular season games. The Lakers’ guard leads the league in scoring, averaging 28.1 points per game. Against the Suns, his average rose to 38 points. The numbers suggest that, if healthy, the outcome of Saturday’s game would have been different had the Black Mamba laced up his Nike Kobe System VII Supremes.
Despite the loss, the game provided us with the good, the bad and the ugly.
The good: the Lakers scored 64 points in the paint with the front line of center Andrew Bynum, power forward Pau Gasol and small forward Metta World Peace combining for 72 points. Bynum and Gasol had 52 shot attempts, Metta World Peace averaged 21 points in two straight games and everyone on the bench played, including forward Devin Ebanks who scored a career-high 12 points in 32 minutes.
The bad: Bynum and Gasol made only 24 of those 52 shots attempted and the Lakers’ defense of the three-point shot was poor.
The ugly: the reserves scored only 10 points and shot 4-of-16 from the field. Reserve guards Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris combined for four minutes and the Lakers shot 1-of-11 from behind the arc.
The Lakers lead the three-game season series with the Hornets (2-0) after sweeping last season’s series (4-0). L.A. has won the last three season’s series and are 9-1 in their last 10 games against New Orleans – including the last six straight. They are 10-3 in their last 13 games at the New Orleans Arena.
The Purple and Gold needs to establish Bynum and Gasol in the paint tonight. In Bryant’s absence, these two will receive the majority of the shots and it is imperative that both are aggressive. The Lakers need to use solid ball movement and good player movement to find high-percentage shots attacking the basket.
L.A. needs to play with a high energy level and sense of urgency in this game. They also must do a much better job of taking care of the basketball to decrease their turnovers.
The Lakers have to communicate on defense, do a solid job of defending the pick-and-roll play, control the tempo, get back in transition, control the boards and quickly rotate out to open shooters. It is imperative that they win the points-in-the-paint battle, the offensive rebounding battle and their reserves need to outscore the Hornets’ bench.
To expand the rotation is a necessity for the L.A. team tonight. The Lakers’ reserves, like any other players, need two things – minutes and opportunities. Hopefully they get these tonight.
Starters
Lakers: R. Fisher, D. Ebanks, M. Peace, P. Gasol, A. Bynum
Hornets: G. Vasquez, M. Belinelli, A. Aminu, C. Landry, C. Kaman
Tip-off: 5:00 PM PST
Television –
- Los Angeles: KCAL 9 (Bill Macdonald & Stu Lantz)
- New Orleans: Cox Sports Television (Bob Licht & Gil McGregor)
Radio –
- Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (John Ireland & Mychal Thompson)
- New Orleans: KMEZ 106.7 (Sean Kelley & Gerry Vaillancourt)
Injuries –
Lakers:
- Kobe Bryant (Left Shin Contusion) Out
- Andrew Bynum (Sprained Left Ankle) Probable
- Jordan Hill (Sprained MCL, Right Knee) Questionable
- Ramon Sessions (Sprained Left Shoulder, AC Joint) Probable
Hornets:
- Eric Gordon (Lower Back) Questionable
- Emeka Okafor (Sore Left Knee) Out
- Jarrett Jack (Stress Fracture of Right Foot) Out
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