Lakers Seek to Redeem Themselves on Extended Road Trip

The Los Angeles Lakers have embarked on their annual Grammy’s road trip; hitting the road for a seven-game, seven-city and ten-day stretch away from the friendly confines of the Staples Center. An extended expedition is always pivotal because of injuries, uncertainty, multiple line-up changes, setbacks, unacceptable defense and poor execution during the first half of the season.

The Purple and Gold have recently placed themselves in a hole so deep that it is doubtful they’ll be able to climb out of it. They are in a precarious situation serious enough to say that, for the rest of the season, every game is as important as a playoff game. This particular journey will either be season-defining or season-ending.

To stay on track, the team needs to post at least a 6-1 or 5-2 record. A short-lived three-game streak made Los Angeles appear as if it had a handle on how to work through its problems, improve and move forward. The loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday (Jan. 30) proved otherwise.

Although the Lakers led for most of the game, they once again fell victim to the ghosts of leads past. A bounce-back win against the Minnesota Timberwolves — their first road win of 2013 and a return to prominence by power forward Pau Gasol — were welcome sights. Gasol posted the type of numbers Lakers’ fans expect of him with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He showed what he can do when featured.

Although most of Gasol’s production was from the mid-range area and not the post, when he is aggressive, the Lakers are a different team. Center Dwight Howard is still injured and is listed as day-to-day. He came back to Los Angeles to receive platelet-rich plasma treatments on his right shoulder and has since re-joined the team. But he will not play today in Detroit.

The Lakers need Howard back, but it is blatantly obvious that, for the purple and gold to make a playoff run, coach Mike D’Antoni has to figure out how to play Gasol and Howard together. The team is now 10th in the Western Conference and 3rd in the Pacific Division. It is chasing the Denver Nuggets (sixth), the Utah Jazz (seventh) and the Houston Rockets (eighth) for one of the last three playoff spots.

The Lakers are three games behind the Rockets, four games behind the Jazz and trail the Nuggets by eight games. There are 35 games remaining in the 2012-2013 season and the Lakers need to win at least 26 games to earn a playoff berth. They have improved their ball movement, player movement and are doing a better job of reading the defense and getting the shots desired.

Shooting guard Kobe Bryant is doing a solid job of playing the facilitator, getting everyone involved as well as chasing triple-doubles in points, rebounds and assists. Consequently, the Lakers have developed a nasty habit of surrendering big leads, turning the ball over at an alarming rate and not playing defense for 48 minutes.

The only route to success for the Los Angeles Lakers is to take it one game at a time, control the tempo on offense and make it a half court game. They need to limit their turnovers and communicate on defense. Playing with better energy and more passion is a must. This team needs to step up its game in all phases of their defense; transition, half-court, pick-and-roll defense and quickly rotating out to open shooters.