On the Eights: Part One

Eight games in the NBA is essentially one-tenth of the season. I'll provide a sort of report card every eight games (or so) to track the Lakers' progress in a variety of categories.

Record: The Lakers started off 3-0 before slowing down a bit. After eight games, they are 5-3, which is good enough for 3rd place in the Pacific and tied for 5th in the Western Conference. This trends out to 51 wins, which would certainly be good enough for a solid playoff seed.
Grade: B


Coaching: Phil Jackson battled injury early on, missed the first road game, but is now back as LA's coach. Jackson has befuddled fans by putting out a variety of lineups, and he has not changed his ways of letting teams play through bad stretches without a timeout. All things considered, however, fans must consider this first period a success. Jackson just coached his 500th game with LA, has won more than 300 of those, and knows how to manipulate a team as the season progresses. He has squeezed a lot of out players like Luke Walton, Maurice Evans who likely wouldn't be in the top six of a rotation for most teams in the NBA. His smartest move in the early season must be allowing Andrew Bynum to grow as a player by giving him serious minutes, but Jackson has hardly had a choice given injury woes at the Center position.
Grade: C+


Front Court: With Luke Walton, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum starting, LA boasts a very young front court. With Brian Cook, Ronny Turiaf coming off the pine, LA packs great energy and scoring punch. Finally, and most alarmingly for other teams, with Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm out for significant stretches, LA is far from what they could be. All three starters have averaged double figures scoring, but Odom leads all front court players in scoring, rebounding, and assists. Second year man Andrew Bynum has shown great passing skill to tie for fourth in the NBA in assists per game among Centers. The defense has been sketchy at times, allowing Zach Randolph to abuse them notably. Perhaps surprisingly, the only position that has defended in line with the league average (using 82games.com's PER Rating) is the SF spot. And the Center position, anchored by Andrew Bynum holds the biggest advantage between PER and PER Allowed (at +4.7). This is great news for a team that struggled mightily last year at the PF and C spot (both positions were outplayed last season according the PER system).
Grade: B


Back Court: Not having Kobe Bryant at full strength is tough, and not having had him at all for the first two games might have been tougher, but Kobe has still struggled to get in a rhythm since coming back from knee surgery. On a sometimes gimpy knee, Bryant has been far from his record-setting self last year, but he has still managed 21 point, 4 assist, and 5 rebound averages in his six games. While he has to take better care of the ball (4.7 TO per game), he has done a good job of involving teammates and not forcing shots (shooting a career high 52% on FGs). Starting opposite Kobe Bryant has been the disappointing Smush Parker. Parker will never be a lockdown defender, but he has been consistently bad this season. To add insult to injury, the shooting touch that made Smush the starter last season seems to be gone. Smush has shot 35%-32%-50% in FG-3Pt-FT categories. His -13.2 PER is the worst on the team among starters, as he allows opposing PGs to shoot 53% Effective Shooting %, and to average 26 points, 10 assists per 48 minutes. Sasha Vujacic (23% effective FG%), Shammond Williams (inactive last game), and Jordan Farmar (4-22 over his last 4 games) have provided little relief.
Grade: C-

Bench: Maurice Evans (6 points, 2 boards), Vlad Radmanovic (46% on threes), Ronny Turiaf (7 points, 3.4 boards), and Brian Cook (7 points, 3 boards) have been a strong second unit for the Lakers. While last year, fans cringed when a starter left the court, fans actually become excited when a bench player enters the game. With Kwame Brown returning effectively (6 points, 2 boards) to add his considerable defensive presence, LA is working on building one of the most cohesive and energetic second units in the game.
Grade: B+


Lakers' Ace: With all due respect to Luke Walton, who has played out of his mind, it is Lamar Odom who should earn the bulk of praise for the Lakers' early success. Through eight games, and 40+ minutes per game, Odom has averaged 20 points, 9 boards, and 6 assists. What's more, he has been alarmingly effective shooting the ball (51%-47%-84%). While he was abused by Zach Randolph, Odom has been effective enough on defense to put LA in positions to win in all but one case this season. Odom's ability to create shots even with Kobe Bryant on the floor will be the most important factor outside injuries, as LA eyes a return to the playoffs.


Hot Seat: It doesn't matter how the guy behind you is playing. When you are not scoring, are not producing points for others, are not rebounding, and are not playing defense, your days are numbered. Smush Parker has got to rise to the challenge from Jordan Farmar or he will be replaced sooner rather than later. While Farmar has made his share of rookie mistakes, his upside makes Smush look like an LA Defender.

Big Question: Why is Aaron McKie still on this team?

Preview: The next eight games feature six home games, with one more being played in LA against the Clippers. If the Lakers are to make things easy for themselves at the end of the season, they must make statements in their four key matchups, two against the Clippers and two against the Utah Jazz. Keep an eye on the progression of Kobe (knee), Vlad (hand), and Kwame (shoulder). LA's season could well hang on these injuries.

Prediction for the next 8: 4-4

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