Lakers: Win In Orlando or Tank In Orlando?
On Friday, the Lakers play the third game of a four game Eastern Conference road trip. They are 0-2 on the trip so far.
The drama that usually attaches itself to the Lakers is now hovering like a ghost over the Orlando Magic who Thursday morning fired their head coach, Jacques Vaughn. The move had been rumored for a week, ever since the Magic put on an embarrassing performance against the Milwaukee Bucks at home. The firing was an embarrassing slow process with constant speculation on who the replacement would be, all this before Vaughn had been given his walking papers.
The Magic, who have lost 10 games in a row, host the Lakers, who have lost 11 out of their last 12 games. The Magic have lost 37 games on the season. The Lakers have lost 36 games on the season. Both are vying for a top 5 spot in the draft lottery and as close as their records are, the outcome of Friday night’s game may be, in fact, a badly needed edge to grab the top pick. But the Magic, unlike the Lakers, have offensive talent, which is what makes their swoon seem like a choke job.
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Tobias Harris scores 17 points a game and shoots 45%, numbers not duplicated by any active Laker. Nikola Vucevic averages 20 and 11. Victor Oladipo averages 17 points. Rookie point guard, Elfrid Payton, regularly passes out 6 assists a game. So why are the Magic this bad?
Their offense is abysmal. Their defense is wretched. They don’t rebound nor do they block shots. Ball movement is uninspiring. They don’t get to the line. They turn the ball over. Basically, they don’t do anything worthwhile, even though they have young players with talent.
As for the Lakers, a team absent of talent, their top ten offense has plummeted. The absence of Kobe Bryant has stalled production. Either the Lakers are selfish or they are disinterested. In the 6 games without Bryant, the Lakers have scored 92 points or less 4 times. With Bryant or without Bryant, their defense is still the second worst in the NBA. The Lakers are a decent rebounding team and they get to the line 25 times a game. They don’t turn the ball over. But they have lazy defensive habits that erase strong efforts, like Wednesday’s against Milwaukee.
Of course, the players don’t give a crap about tanking. Many of them won’t be around next year; this is audition season for them. But how do they approach Friday night’s game after that heart wrenching loss? What team will Byron assemble at the end of the game? Against Milwaukee, he trusted Jeremy Lin, something he has been reluctant to do in recent games. Jordan Clarkson will face another rookie, a lottery pick in Payton who can get to the rim and is an expert passer.
The stakes are high even as both teams are looking to play out the schedule with crossed fingers. The Magic’s incentive to win with their new coach (James Borrego) will be sky high. But, will the Lakers be motivated playing against a team as miserable as they are? They beat the Magic quite handily a month ago. These are the types of games the Lakers lose. Overconfident, disinterested and dismissive of their opponent.
But in this part of the season, there is no such thing as losing. Not when losing gets you closer to the #1 pick in the draft.
Orlando Injuries: Aaron Gordon (foot, questionable)
Los Angeles Injuries: Jordan Hill (quad, out), Kobe Bryant (shoulder, out), Julius Randle (leg, out), Steve Nash (back, out)
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