Saturday, April 12, 2008
Lakers show both strength and vulnerability in big win
LOS ANGELES -- So the bout went to Kobe Bryant, by decision, not knockout, after the Los Angeles Lakers had Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets down on the canvas but let them back in the fight.
Bryant took a step toward winning the MVP award (more on that in a moment) and the Lakers secured one of the top four seeds in the Western Conference by clinching the Pacific Division with a 107-104 victory over New Orleans on Friday night. But the Lakers didn't erase all doubts about their potential playoff soft spots by allowing the Hornets to chop a 30-point lead down to one. And it looks increasingly doubtful that Andrew Bynum will come back to help them in the middle.
That's the holdup, the one thing that keeps the Lakers from obtaining clear-cut No. 1 status in this crowded field. Even on this night, they looked great at times ... but not invincible.
Bynum met with the media before the game, and the news was that there was no news -- still no estimated date for his return, still not enough improvement in the left kneecap he injured Jan. 13. He has pain in the knee and can feel himself compensating for the imbalance in his legs. He's also wary of doing any long-term damage by returning too soon.
"I'm going to play when I'm ready," Bynum said. "Right now, I'm not."
The optimistic take is that he could return for the second round of the playoffs. But some in the organization are bracing for the possibility he won't be back at all this season.
Bryant said he told Bynum to take all the time he needs.
"The pieces are here," Bryant said, meaning championship components. "No need to rush.
"The unit that we have right now is good enough to get the job done. But with him in there, you can have something that's pretty special."
If you turned off the game in the first half, you must have envisioned a Lakers championship parade.
They pounced on the Hornets and outscored them 39-20 in the first quarter. The Lakers have one of the league's most potent offenses, and they'd had a 39-point opening quarter earlier this season. The surprise was that the Hornets, fifth in the league in points allowed, could be so bad defensively.
"They were aggressive on both ends of the floor, and we didn't match that aggressiveness," Hornets forward Peja Stojakovic said.
When the Lakers were rolling just after the Pau Gasol trade in February, they were putting opponents away. Lately, they've had to keep the starters in the game, and that was the case Friday.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said the problem was on offense. Even though they were playing with the lead, the Lakers took 14 3-pointers in the second half, making only three, and they had 10 turnovers.
"We just didn't stay precise," Jackson said. "We let them run through passes, get underneath, destroy our screen rolls. We have to work at that as a coaching staff."
The one encouraging sign for L.A. was that after a barrage of Peja 3-pointers nearly made the Hornets' comeback complete, the Lakers came up with three straight defensive stands that resulted in a steal, a blocked shot and a steal.
Western Conference favorites? Who knows? That mythical role changes hands nightly, especially after the Phoenix Suns took another step back by losing at the Houston Rockets. Currently, the Lakers sit in second, one half-game behind the Hornets in a race that could affect not only the conference playoff seedings but the MVP results.
As campaign statements go, Friday night wasn't exactly Barack Obama's speech on race relations for either Bryant or Paul.
"I don't think either one of them had the best games I've seen them play, that's for sure," Jackson said.
Bryant had 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Paul had 15 points, six rebounds and 17 assists. In a sense, they played exactly the type of games that have made them top candidates -- not trying to do everything themselves, helping in a variety of ways.
"Anything that your team needs in a big part of the game, that's what those guys provide," said New Orleans guard Jannero Pargo, a former Lakers teammate of Bryant. "I think that's why they're up for MVP. And that's why they're great players."
Bryant scored a smooth 10 points in the first quarter, and Jackson credited him with providing the energy to power the Lakers' early surge.
The biggest knock on Paul on Friday: He didn't score his first points until the Lakers led 63-33 in the first half. An MVP has to do something before the other team scores 63, right?
"I wasn't trying to make no statements, impress no voters or whatever," Paul said. "This is an 82-game season. If we've got to determine how I played or how he played off of one game, then it's a problem."
Bryant said he's just adapting to the unofficial balloting guidelines that led to Steve Nash winning the trophy in back-to-back seasons.
"MVP nowadays is not an individual award," Bryant said. "You really have to make your teammates better and elevate your ballclub. For me to be nominated in that race is a tremendous honor.
"I've been [playing team ball] all year. It's nothing new. I moved the ball, I read the defenses, just stay within the framework of what we do."
He did have a flashback to his early days with an over-the-head dunk in the fourth quarter. He seems to like showing us he still has his athleticism, even if it's enhanced by special effects in that Web video of him jumping over a speeding sports car.
"I have superhuman strength," Bryant said.
"I have a new nickname. My new nickname is 'Cape.'"
Self-appointed nicknames? Isn't that Shaquille O'Neal's gimmick? Maybe he absorbed a little bit of Shaq's mind during the shooting of that other new commercial, in which he shares the screen and words with the Diesel.
"It turned out great," Bryant said.
"It's a great concept. It hypes up the playoffs and it's a lot of fun."
These playoffs don't need any more hype. Every team has strengths and flaws, which is what makes it so unpredictable. The Lakers and Hornets both presented their cases for and against Friday night. You saw a little bit of what makes Bryant and Paul so valuable. Ultimately, the impression was more favorable for the Lakers, and when the Staples Center crowd chanted "M-V-P", it carried just a little more weight this time.
J.A. Adande is the author of "The Best Los Angeles Sports Arguments." He joined ESPN.com as an NBA columnist in August 2007 after 10 years with the Los Angeles Times. Click here to e-mail J.A.
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