A Season in Review: 2013-14 Lakers

Final Record: 27-55 .329, 5th Pacific, Home Record: 14-27, Road Record: 13-28, Division Record: 6-10, Conference Record: 15-37

Alright, welcome to the Season in Review post for the 2013-14 Lakers. So like my Raiders post last year, it will follow the same format: looking back at all 82 games, look at the personnel, and the Lakers' needs heading into the 2014 NBA Draft and in the Free Agency period.

So to summarize this whole season: injuries, short-handed active roster, and just overall turmoil. If you think last year was a train wreck when we had Kobe, Dwight, Nash, and Gasol on the same team, this season was just a natural disaster waiting to strike. And I gotta say, the experts were right this time around that ever since Dwight left, this Laker team will barely taste a playoff hunt and I said in my preview that the Lakers had a good solid core still and loaded with younger talent, they can probably have a chance to sneak in and I was wrong, but I wasn't delusional saying that, I thought this team could compete, but then the injury bug happened. Nash had a bothersome nerve root irritation, Kobe, just six games back ruled out the rest of the season due to a knee injury, and Pau was in-and-out with multiple injuries. Out of the Lakers' "big 3", Pau was the one that had to carry the massive load, which is why he was a constant this season putting up double-figure numbers day in and day out. Then, even our younger players got injured, I think the only players that stood healthy all season long were Kendall Marshall and Robert Sacre, I could be wrong, but they survived the injury apocalypse that the Lakers had all season long. I don't like Mike D'Antoni, but credit where it's due, I gotta give him props for working with what he had, making a lot of roster changes and handling substitutions in a handicap situation; my goodness, no coach doesn't ever want to handle stuff like that.

Considering the NBA is an 82-game season, I'm going to try and shorten this up as simple as I can. The Lakers opened some eyes in the regular season opener against the Clippers. When they beat the Clippers that opener, there was a sense of hope that hey the Lakers are still the Lakers, they're going to compete their hearts out and win. Then, Kobe returns, the Lakers' hopes are soaring sky high until he hurt his knee against Memphis giving the Lakers a victory. It was basically a waiting game if Kobe was going to return or not, but the Lakers early in the season + in Kobe's return, they had a decent start, had a decent record and then after the home game against the Timberwolves in December, things just started to go downhill from there. The injuries were like a plague out there and it became too much to handle for the Lakers and they went on long losing skids against top teams and even the sub .500 teams that have a better roster than them. Especially during this stretch after the All-Star when teams start pushing for playoff spots, the Lakers just couldn't even have the manpower to compete and that's why opposing offenses were able to clamp down on their defense easily because the Lakers were just void of talent, yet at the same time D'Antoni is the stereotype of no defense and the Lakers gave up 100+ points almost every damn game. It was frustrating to watch that, especially when they were not playing their best and getting blown out, you know this Laker team was awful when Jack Nicholson is not sitting courtside anymore midway through the season at Staples. I could flame good old Jack easily for not sticking to his team till the very end, but he's old to witness that and who could blame him? Laker Nation still loves you Jack.

Anyway off topic for that Jack Nicholson thing, but it's the truth that the Lakers possibly in their history has their worst roster ever in this season. If a time machine happened for this Laker team to compete, we would snag 2005-06 Nash and Kobe and 2009-10 Pau; if we had those guys, they would've made this current roster look like a million bucks, but superstars age and they were in the twilight of their careers, although Pau I believe still has some mileage and years left in him. So in reality, there were times that the Lakers would compete against the top teams I mean they took it to Miami in both matchups although they lost both, but they would lose to teams that had a much awful record than them like Milwaukee and Philly. It was the question like is this Laker team a doormat team or are they competitive enough? I guess the majority would say that the Lakers this season were a doormat team for other teams to steamroll on because the roster was so handicapped, made the Lakers look like their D-League affiliate, Defenders and the record reflects that.

Personnel-wise, fire Mike D'Antoni. I honestly don't care if the Lakers have to still pay Mike Brown's contract and Mike D'Antoni's at the same time, but D'Antoni is not the same coach he once was, every team knows his run-and-gun system that it's a more like a gimmick offense rather than a legitimate offense like the Triangle or the Princeton (yes even the godawful Princeton is better than D'Antoni's system). However, we all know Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak wouldn't do it because it would make them look like total fools again. I just don't understand what the organization sees in D'Antoni. He didn't utilize Pau the right way, trying to make him be a stretch 4 and not be himself as the dominant low-post big man, he didn't want to play Kaman and Hill although they showed him this season, and the guy has a big time resume of not emphasizing on defense enough and isolating guys who thinks is not eligible to play in his system. He doesn't make adjustments, he doesn't modify his system to put his players in the best possible position to succeed, this guy and his offense is too predictable, he thinks it's still 2005-06! Fire Mike D'Antoni, I gave him credit for working with this roster, but fire him before an even bigger mess happens, enough said.

So heading into the Draft and later Free Agency, at best for the top pick, the Lakers gotta have a rim protector. Yeah, currently they've had bad luck on finding a dominant rim protector since Shaq. Bynum couldn't stay healthy, Dwight didn't even want to play for the Lakers in the first place, but bottom line we need a rim protector that can revitalize the dominant center position and is actually committed to earn his place in the Lakers' glorious history of big men. The hype of Andrew Wiggins and Jabrari Parker has died down ever since both Duke and Kansas had an early exit during March Madness and both didn't perform up to standard so anything goes for this year's draft, but the Lakers, for the first round, it's better to draft a need than an overhyped star that could possibly have a risk of being a bust because the Lakers have not drafted in the first round since like forever. I think the last first round pick they made was Javaris Crittenton and look where he's at now so the Lakers have to strike a diamond in the rough that can make an immediate impact and hopefully pick is a big man that can be a rim protector. In the Free Agency, oh boy, here we go again with a lot of big names on this year's class, but with the state we're in, why would somebody like LeBron or Melo come in to don the purple and gold? Like I said, there's gotta be a fallout plan in case the Lakers lose out early in the sweepstakes and once LeBron and Melo are off the list, the Lakers are in a lot of trouble trying to build a win-now team. In Pau's case, who can blame him to go play for a team that admires his skills? It would be hard to see him go, but his post game was disrespected the last two seasons and I would be shocked if Pau agrees to re-sign. As long as Mike D'Antoni's coaching, nobody would want to play for the Lakers at this stage, especially after this debacle of a season.

There's a lot of money for the Lakers to spend though and I don't like what Mitch has turned into as Jim Buss' "Yes" man, but we Laker fans still believe in his negotiating power and his ability to keep impending big moves behind closed doors. All I can say is: do your thing Mitch, do your thing. Do whatever it takes for the Lakers to get back into the promised land. Lakers don't rebuild, they reload, so do your thing Mitch. Anyway, thank you for following the Lakers' season with me. I'll see you guys for the NFL Draft in May and the NBA Finals in June and I'll be keeping watch of the playoffs. If you haven't noticed, I'm collabing with my best friend, Stillmattic on his blog: http://bleachzealot.blogspot.com/ for Bleach Fantasy month from the rest of April till the end of May pitting Bleach characters and Final Fantasy characters and we will post our 3rd matchup tonight, so if you haven't catch up on the first two matchups, catch up since it's still early and I'll see you guys later, I'm out.

Lakers Top Resting Spurs to End Season

In the midst of a disastrous season, the Lakers went to Utah Monday night with a win and went to the ever-daunting AT&T Center in San Antonio tonight and displayed one last team effort to end the season on a somewhat positive note against a resting Spurs team who already locked up the #1 seed in the West. Jordan Hill was the Lakers' top performer with 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Lakers' last inspiring play over the Spurs 113-100. Wesley Johnson and Kendall Marshall joined Hill in the double-double club as Wes contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds and Marshall contributed with 15 points and 11 assists. Ryan Kelly added 12 points and Jodie Meeks racked up 14 points to round out all starters in double figures. Nick Young, as usual, lead the bench with 16 points and Jordan Farmar and Robert Sacre boosted the bench play as both scored 10 points.

Final Score: @ San Antonio 113-100 [W]

Full Recap: http://www.nba.com/lakers/gameday/140416_gameday_spurs

Highlights:

Announcement: Now that the Lakers played their final game of the season, stay tuned for my Season in Review post that will be published some time this week. 

Nick Young's 41 Point Performance Dominates Jazz

The least I can say is the Lakers are not going to be dead last in the Western Conference. After blowing their home finale Sunday night, the Lakers head over to Utah Monday Night and gave an inspiring performance. Nick Young, oh Swaggy P, was the Lakers' top performer with 41 points shooting 14-23 from the field and 6-11 from 3 point land to help the Lakers make sure that the Jazz remain dead last beating them 119-104. Jodie Meeks and Jordan Hill both had outstanding shooting nights as Meeks contributed 23 points on 8-13 shooting and Hill contributed 21 points on 10-13 shooting. Kendall Marshall was full on facilitator last night tallying 15 assists and both Wesley Johnson and Robert Sacre added 12 points.

Final Score: @ Utah 119-104 [W]

Full Recap: http://www.nba.com/games/20140414/LALUTA/gameinfo.html

Highlights:

Next Game: @ San Antonio (04/16)

Lakers End Home Finale With One Last Loss

Alright welcome in to the full recap and the final full recap of the 2013-14 regular season of the game between the Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies where the Grizzlies, are still very much alive for the race for 8 as they beat the Lakers 102-90 and the Lakers end their last home game of the season with another loss.

It's only fitting that the Lakers would end their home finale after this season of turmoil with a loss. It's a disappointment for the Laker fans that there is nothing positive to take in after this home loss. While we can't lament on this, let's go straight to the whole positives, negatives, and conclusion, one final time for this season.

The Positives

Jodie Meeks, 20 points, 7-12 shooting. Meeks bounced back this game after a really ice cold shooting night on Friday against the Warriors. Like I said in my halftime post, I thought he made really good decisions regarding his shot selection. What more can I say, he's been the most consistent all-around player for the Lakers all-season, he deserves at least a mention for the Most Improved Player award, even though it's likely he won't win it. There are times this season, that Meeks frustrated us Laker fans with his shot selection and missing the high percentage shots, but I tip my hat to him this season because he was one of the lone bright spots of the season.

Wesley Johnson, 15 points, 15 rebounds. Like I said also in the halftime post, this is Wesley Johnson's final chances to prove he can make decent contributions for the Lakers down the stretch and he put up decent points and shot well and he was a rebounding machine this game getting every missed shot the Grizzlies have to offer.

Nick Young, 14 points, 5-12 shooting. Awesome 360 reverse layup highlight for Swaggy P. Nothing much to say for Nick Young, hopefully we keep him long term because at this point, there is no other destination where he wants to play.

The Negatives

Offensive rebounding. Huge disparity on the offensive rebounding numbers where the Grizzlies grabbed 16 offensive rebounds compared the Lakers' 5. Obviously you can credit the fault to lack of size on the Lakers' part, but the Grizzlies were out-hustling the Lakers fighting for the ball and that's why they are a tough and gritty team for other West teams to handle. There are times in the game, where the Lakers played good defense, but they couldn't finish that by boxing out and securing a rebound and that was difference maker this game.

3rd Quarter. This quarter is basically where the dagger was for the Lakers. The Grizzlies scored 34 points in the 3rd quarter compared to the Lakers' 17. It was a lackluster shooting display for the Lakers that quarter, really reminiscent of the Houston game when the Rockets dropped 49 in the 3rd. This was always the knack for the Lakers that they would keep games competitive, then either in the 2nd or 3rd quarter, they would let the teams turn it up and not put up much of a fight.

Conclusion

Overall, the Lakers competed as much as possible for this home finale. They pushed the tempo and tried to turn up the intensity, but the Grizzlies fought harder because this was must-win game for them. It would really suck for either Phoenix or Memphis gets eliminated because Phoenix, even though I give no sympathy to a division rival, they are a Cinderella story in the making this season and Jeff Hornacek did a masterful job in his first year as head coach. For Memphis, they let go of Lionel Hollins, Marc Gasol was injured for the 1st portion of the season, but when they're in, the West is gonna have to make a change of underwear because facing the Grizzlies in the 1st round makes teams crap their pants. But regardless, the West in the playoffs is going to be a blood bath, many interesting matchups unlike the East. Lakers go out to end their season on the road, it's going to be tough to grind it out in Utah and San Antonio. Anyway, last Q-by-Q, Halftime Post, and Full Recap for the Lakers' 2013-14 campaign, this ride has been full of turmoil, frustration, but I stick by my team no matter what. Thank you guys for following this season. After the Utah and San Antonio games, I will post my Season in Review and I won't see you guys until the NFL Draft and the NBA Finals.

By the way for any of you Raider and Laker fans that are also into video games, anime, particularly into Bleach and Final Fantasy, I am collabing with my best friend, Stillmattic on his renowned blog, http://bleachzealot.blogspot.com/. Currently, we are in progress of a Bleach Fantasy fight night mania from April-May pitting Final Fantasy characters (handpicked by me) and Bleach characters (handpicked by Stillmattic). Be sure to check our collaboration out, we've already started Friday with Uryu Ishida (Bleach) vs. Zack Fair (FF), so catch up on that if you like and we're gonna post again tomorrow night. I will be spending the rest of this month and next month with Stillmattic doing the Bleach Fantasy tournament. Alright guys, I'll see you later, I'm out.

04/13: LAKERS vs. Memphis Grizzlies Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: MEM 102 LAL 90

Just another game where the Lakers look competitive, but they let the game slip away as the opposing team turns it up. Memphis is very much alive in the playoff hunt and they're dangerous as usual for the other 7 Western Conference teams. A bitter end for Laker fans on the last home game this season. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: MEM 87 LAL 69

34-17, the official score of the 3rd quarter. Lakers are starting to let this game slip away right now. Credit to the Grizzlies for turning up their defense to work the tempo into their favor. Lucky enough a rally is still eligible because the Lakers are down 18.

Q2:

Score: MEM 53 LAL 52

All I can say is "aah" on that last play. Grizzlies made a good run, but a pretty game. Highlight of the night in this quarter, Nick Young's acrobatic 360 reverse layup. Whew, onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: MEM 23 LAL 27

On one side, you got a Grizzlies team that wants to play at a slow pace and the other, the Lakers play up tempo to run and the Lakers are working their style over this gritty Grizzlies team. Of course the Grizzlies are playing desperation ball to clinch a playoff spot and the Lakers are trying to end with something positive in their last home game. Good quarter for the Lakers so far.

LAKERS vs. Grizzlies Halftime Post

Score: MEM 53 LAL 52

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of the game between the Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies where the Grizzlies gain a last minute one point lead on the Lakers heading into the half.

The Positives

Tempo. I can say the tempo in this game is working into the Lakers' favor. Yeah they're down by one because the Grizzlies are out-rebounding and hustling for the ball, but the Lakers have countered the Grizzlies' slow tempo very well with the run and gun and quick shoot. As the halftime report on NBA TV stats state, the Lakers have outscored the Grizzlies on the fast break 18-9.

Jodie Meeks 9 points, 4-5 shooting. Meeks' is the top performer in that first half. Good that Meeks is being a little more conscious with his shot, trying to make a good decision.

Wesley Johnson, 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3-6 shooting. Audition season is winding down, so Wes has to step his game up to prove that he's worth keeping. He doesn't have to put up great numbers, just be efficient and Wes has done that on Friday and doing it again tonight.

Nick Young, 9 points, 3-8 shooting. He's not shooting well, but just because of that 360 reverse layup he made, he's a positive. Definitely that play is going to be on SportsCenter's Top 10.

The Negatives

Foul trouble. The Grizzlies hang around with their slow tempo and getting to the line. That's the only negative for the Lakers this game. Ryan Kelly has 3 quick personal fouls, the Lakers as a whole have 7 quick personal fouls.

Bottom Line

Short halftime post. The Lakers just have to keep this kind of effort up. Do it for the fans, this is the last home game of the season. Go out there, play, and get a victory. Enough said.

Lakers Fall to Warriors on Steph Curry's Triple Double Night

Alright welcome in to the full recap, finally, on the game between the Lakers and the Warriors where Stephen Curry put on quite a spectacle against the Lake Show helping the Warriors clinch a playoff spot over the Lakers 112-95 and they beat the Lakers at Staples for the first time since the Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, etc. era.

First off, I do apologize for putting this full recap on late, by the time I finish this, it'll probably be 12 midnight already, damn Internet problems causing this delay. So I'll make this as quick as possible. The Lakers have given up over 100 points in a dozen games already this season, it's really hard to keep count. At this point, it just doesn't matter already because the Lakers are already set for a top pick.

The Positives

Nick Young 25 points, 10-20 shooting. If I were Mitch Kupchak, I would keep Young for next season since he's been a reliable part of the bench. I didn't like early in the game that he was jacking up shots, particularly on the three ball and he was on my negatives watch list due to that. 2nd half though, Swaggy P somewhat redeemed himself, hitting his strides to give the Lakers some life for a rally, but obviously it wasn't enough, so he deserves top performer status this game.

Ryan Kelly 14 points, 11 rebounds, 5-11 shooting. Like I said in my Q-by-Q reaction 1st quarter, Ryan Kelly has stood out to me, not just no longer a spot up shooter, but he can attack the basket inside and post up to earn his shots. Hands down, Kelly is gonna be a big time experiment along with Sacre to develop as long they are both under contract with the Lakers because they have the potential to be Mitch's diamonds in the rough.

Wesley Johnson 8 points, 4-8 shooting. For the minutes he's given, Wes' inside jump shot looked slick and polished tonight. He's not going to give you those kind of nights on a day-to-day basis, but he earned a positive this game.

The Negatives

Jodie Meeks, 10 points, 2-12 shooting. Take away the free throws he's earned for the points, Meeks was ice cold this game, even for a solid free throw shooter, he missed a couple key ones to help the Lakers keep reeling to make the game tight. Arguably one of Meeks' disappointing performances this season.

Point guard play. Kendall Marshall and Jordan Farmar combined, 16 points, 6-18 shooting, 3-11 beyond the arc, 7 assists. At this point, I can already see that maybe Kendall Marshall is not the long term answer for the Lakers' point guard position. He's gone back down for quite a while. As for Farmar, awful shooting night for him and he played out of control committing 4 turnovers.

Steph Curry containment. For Warriors' fans, he's the story this game, 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. There's no denying that he's fun to watch and all-around he played a hell of a game, but the Lakers, a couple times this game showed they were slouching on Curry a lot. At times, they leave Curry open, you can't do that and they were not fighting hard enough to get through screens. Klay Thompson had an off night this game, but if Curry goes off there are two scenarios: 1) The opposing is lucky enough to win because the rest of the Warriors are playing mediocre 2) He did just enough to help the Warriors pull away. He can score at will, but at the same time, he's unselfish and the Lakers didn't account for him as a scorer, passer, and defender this game.

Conclusion

Overall, not much to react to about this game. It is what it is. Hopefully the Lakers can pull an upset on Sunday against the Grizzlies. I mean it's the last home game of the season for the Lakers on Sunday, then they go to Utah and San Antonio for their last two games, at least they should give the fans something positive to hang their head around after this debacle of a season. The game is also on NBA TV, so I'll see you guys for that game on Sunday.