Lakers Need a Win

The Lakers need a win in a big way tonight. After losing to Miami, San Antonio, and Boston so far this season, this is about time the LakeShow gets a statement win. They have to be able to protect their home court, especially against the best team in the league (record wise), the San Antonio Spurs. I'd really like to see the Lakers make a good push towards the all-star break this coming week and ride some momentum into the second half.

I think Pau Gasol is the key for the Lakers at this point. He really needs to step up. He played well on Tuesday night against the Rockets and finally had a big game against Luis Scola putting up 26-16 with 6 offensive rebounds. This came after Kobe had a talk with Gasol after the Boston game telling him he had to be selfish. Kobe said Gasol needed to go from the white swan to the black swan, and that definitely is true if the Lakers want to have a chance to bring home the three-peat. Gasol will have a big test tonight matching up against the best power forward of all time, Tim Duncan.

San Antonio is a team that just flat out executes, and that's why they are so difficult to beat. They bring in no-name guys (George Hill, Gary Neil) who fit into the system seamlessly. The Spurs have been running a different offense this year, which is more guard-oriented instead of dumping it into Duncan each time down and running the offense through him. They also have brought Ginobli into the starting line up, and he has been on a tear. The key for the Lakers will all start at the defensive end. Kobe and Ron will have to pick it up on Ginobli, force him baseline and force him to make a play. If the Lakers continue to run Chuck Person's new defensive scheme, this is a team that can be contained.

Lamarcus Aldridge last game dropped 40 against the Spurs and was able to secure the win for the Blazers. I don't think Kobe going for a big 35-40 point game will be a winning formula for the Lakers tonight. LA needs to get the big men involved and make Duncan, Blair, and Splitter work on defense. If two out of the three big men (LO, Gasol, and Drew) can secure 10+ rebounds, shoot a high percentage with (18-22 points each) the Lakers will win this game.

As far as all the trade rumors go in LA, there always are going to be trade rumors. The Lakers have made a commitment to try to bring in the best talent to give the team the best opportunity to win. Personally, I don't see the Lakers trading away Artest. His defense was key in winning the championship last year. The thing that is bothering Ron is the shots. He has always been a top 2 or 3 option before he got on the Lakers, but he is now 4th or 5th at best. Ron understands his role and he will fulfill his part if it means another championship. Phil has expressed that he would like to get the team more quick, and that most likely means bringing in a guard. I don't see a blockbuster trade in the making but Walton, Blake, Smith are all on the trade block. I would like to see the Lakers bring in a quick guard that can hit open shots.

I don't think the Lakers should part ways with Bynum yet either. He's shown strides in improving this year and I think he will continue to get better. His defense has been stellar so far as well. His knee will continue to hurt, its a given. This team can win this season with Bynum. With that said, he's one major surgery away from being shipped out of LA. If they decide to pursue Dwight Howard, I believe they should wait till the end of this season.