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Bench Warmer
"Loss due to attrition in scheduling" is the term Phil Jackson likes to use for games like this, but he wouldn't go there Wednesday.
I will. Playing their eighth game in eight cities in 14 days, Jackson tried every trick in the book to get one last gasp from his troops heading into the All-Star break -- limiting Kobe Bryant to 36 minutes, screaming at Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar in separate timeouts after defensive breakdowns, and taking the unusual step of having a shootaround on the morning of a back-to-back with just 22 ½ hours between tip-offs.
And while L.A.'s tired legs were up to the task offensively, the Lakers' fatigue betrayed itself on D in a 113-109 loss to the Jazz.
Bryant conceded a wide open 3-pointer to Ronnie Brewer on the opening possession, Pau Gasol was a step slow on Mehmet Okur all evening, and nobody had an answer for Deron Williams, who blistered the Lakers for 31 points and 11 assists on 12-of-17 shooting en route to his fifth straight 30-point game and the seventh straight where he's made more than half his shots.
"We had ample opportunity," said Jackson when I asked him whether this was an example of his famous attrition quote. "We just didn't measure up tonight."
Indeed, the Lakers had chances. Utah kept L.A. in the game by missing 12 free throws, making two horrific backcourt turnovers that led to layups, and failing to extend a lead while Bryant was off the court late in the third quarter and early in the fourth.
But ultimately L.A. couldn't cash in, missing three potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final 29 seconds. And the fact it came down to those shots was a result of their lethargy at the other end.
"Our problem tonight was that we gave them too many good looks," said Jackson. "They had too many things at the rim, they didn't really have to make shots."
The fatigue showed in other ways too. When some calls didn't go their way and the typical Things That Happen in Utah started happening -- shoving off the ball, contact around the rim and the like -- L.A. uncharacteristically got too focused on the refs and not enough on the game. They came especially unhinged in the third quarter, when a series of off-ball fouls and a no-call when Bryant appeared to be hit on a jumper led to a tech on Bryant.
"We're usually a little tougher mentally at the end of games, as far as playing without the refs." said Lamar Odom. "Tonight we could have done a better job of that."
Bryant fought his way to a 37-point night, but needed 33 shots to do it and had only four assists to go with four turnovers. Against a Utah defense he normally carves up like a Thanksgiving turkey, it counts as an off night -- especially when he missed three jumpers and had an unforced travel in the final 2:29.
"It looked like it," said Bryant of whether his team was fatigued. "But we still had opportunities down the stretch and it didn't happen for us."
Meanwhile, Gasol picked up some of that flu Kobe had in Cleveland. He had just three defensive boards to go with his 16 points and lost Okur on a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left that put the Jazz ahead for good.
"I thought Okur took Pau out of the game," said Jackson. "He looked tired out there tonight."
Ironically, Gasol was also sick the last time he went to the All-Star Game as a Memphis Grizzly, though this time he says he thinks he'll be better by Sunday.
More importantly, Gasol has also played far too many minutes since Andrew Bynum went out -- he's played at least 41 in all six contests, averaging 43.3, and that's something that can't be allowed to happen over the season's final 30 games. Somehow Jackson needs to find a way to trust Josh Powell or Chris Mihm in the middle, or the Lakers are going to run him into the ground.
"Energy-wise tonight I was pretty low," said Gasol. "I fought through it the best way I could, but obviously the fatigue catches up to you at some point. You put those two things together and you can see why I wasn't as effective."
If you want another sign of the grind of the schedule, check out what Odom's doing. It's no accident after his recent promotion to the starting lineup following Bynum's injury, he was the one Laker with some bounce in his legs. With less mileage on him than the other Laker starters, Odom had his third straight season high in rebounding. He had 19 boards to go along with his 19 points and kept L.A. in the game at several critical junctures.
To understand just how effective Odom was on the glass, consider how few shots were missed in this game -- Utah made 58.6 percent from the floor. Odom grabbed 19 of the 65 boards available when he was on the court, for a rebound rate of 29.2. A rate over 20 normally leads the league.
"I'm just focusing on completing the defensive play, trying to crash the offensive boards and get the ball back for us. I'm trying to catch close to the basket so if I miss I'm there for the rebound. We need that presence on this time right now with Andrew out."
The Lakers, of course, still enter the All-Star break with the league's best record at 42-10, and finishing their eight-game odyssey with a 7-1 record is nothing to sneeze at.
Yet how they manage the grind in Bynum's absence, and particularly how they ration Gasol's minutes, remains perhaps the biggest question for them moving forward. L.A. gets to do this all over again during a seven-game Eastern swing at the end of March, part of a stretch where they play 14 of 20 on the road -- with 13 of the 14 in a different time zone.
To achieve their long-held goal of having the league's best record and clinching home court throughout the playoffs, they'll have to hold off the fatigue on nights like Wednesday and find a way to get a few stops down the stretch.
For now, they can head to the All-Star break seeing the glass as half full. Seven times in eight tries they managed to pull it off in the past two weeks. Despite Wednesday's setback, they'll achieve their goal if they keep up that success rate over the final 30 games.
