It took the Lakers all of three minutes and 36 seconds to be facing a double-digit deficit in their match yesterday. Never mind that they were as close to being complete as possible under the circumstances. All-Star Game captain LeBron James was back after a five-contest absence due to knee swelling, and they looked to convert their homestand into a win against the struggling Knicks, losers in seven of nine outings. Instead, they found themselves playing catch-up early on, and, in the process, second-guessing their capacity to live up to expectations. In other words, they were experiencing the same old, same old.
The script is now extremely familiar to the Lakers. They would be down in a given contest, spend much of it digging out of the hole, and then, depending on how the ball bounces, either eke out a win or fall short in the end. The problem is that, more often than not, said ball does not bounce their way.
Given how the set-to against the Knicks unfolded, it seems the Lakers relish being masochists. For all the handicaps they were given to start, they got the lead near the end of the third quarter, and then actually pushed it to a supposedly safe nine points with two minutes and change left in the fourth. Unfortunately, they found their worst enemy staring back at them in the mirror, and so gave up all the advantage they had by the end of regulation. And though they finally claimed victory in overtime, the extra five minutes they required to do so represented another five minutes they could have spared their ailing — and, yes, aging — bodies.
Because of the extra period, another 40 minutes were added to the 37-year-old James’ tally for the season. Clearly, the plan to bring additional playmaking to the fold so that he would be burning rubber less is dead in the water. In part, it’s because he feels he can — and needs to — take on the load. Yesterday, for instance, would the Lakers have won without his 29-13-10 triple-double? In larger measure, it’s because Westbrook has been a decided bust; against the Knicks, the former Most Valuable Player awardee canned only five points on one-of-10 shooting from the field.
Bottom line, though, the boos should rain not just on Westbrook, but on all the Lakers — even those in the front office. The saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” may be clichéd, but it’s true. They saw fit to tinker with the formula that had led them to the championship in 2020 on the basis of a subsequent season hampered by injuries, and they’re paying for the mistake. The good news is that they still have time to right the ship; for all their missteps, they’re just one game out of eighth place in the Western Conference. The bad news is that all the time in the world won’t correct systemic infirmities for which they have no one else to blame.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
