I’m a Lakers fan. It’s basically because I am a Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson fan. And since they play and coach for the Lakers, respectively, I am a Lakers fan by default if you will.
So watching the Lakers struggle against the Celtics the past 2 games of the NBA Finals got me to thinking about the old, and often overused sports cliche “Defense Wins Championships.” I am not sure who was the first player or coach to say it, but it has been proven time and time again since it was first uttered. And unfortunately for the Lakers, they seemingly have not yet fully bought in to it – well at least not during this particular series.
But I can’t really say that all of the Lakers don’t buy it. Fisher and Kobe do, that’s for sure. Artest does too. Vujacic is brought in for defensive purposes at times, so I would confer that he does. Gasol has come a long way in the past two years. And Bynum I think does to extent.
But the “X Factor” to the entire series was, and is, Lamar Odom. He may be the most physically and talent gifted player in the series. “What? Are you kidding me?” No, I’m not. Odom is 6″10 230 lbs, can handle the ball like a wing, and run the floor faster than most of his opponents. But the guy plays little to no defense on a regular occasion. And I think he does the latter more often than the former. If you watch him on defense he tries to get into position, but with less effort than I do – and I’m sitting on my couch with my legs kicked up.
Defense is about two things above all else: heart and anticipation. And unfortunately for Odom and my Lakers, he has little of both. Well at least in this series. His BPG (blocks per game) have steadily declined since the Jazz series and he is only averaging 0.2 bpg in the Finals. But beyond the blocks, he seems to constantly fail to stay in front of any Celtic player trying to get to the basket.
I think almost everyone who follows basketball would choose Odom over Big Baby Davis in a fantasy draft, or a pick-up game for that matter. But over the course of the series, Davis has repeatedly beaten Odom to the basket with moves that are not at all world-class. And when Rondo runs the pick and roll with a Celtic big and the Lakers switch, Odom almost always gets blown by.
I say all of that to ask this: What makes a player’s worth? Is it his ability to score? Is it his ability to lead and motivate his teammates verbally and by his actions? Is it his willingness to do the intangibles? What I know is that the commentators and media have been commenting on Odom’s lack of offense as the reason why the Lakers have not been successful in the three losses of the series. But as a coach, I look at his MIA status on defense as the reason why the Lakers have struggled. As a coach, you want the best players to play the hardest because it sets a chain reaction that causes the rest of the team to player hard. The problem for the Lakers, is that Odom has failed to realize that he is among the top three players on the Lakers despite being the 6th man.
Defense wins championships. I believe it. And hard work and anticipation are the main ingredients of good defense. But all of that is lost if a coach cannot get his most talented players to work hard and buy in to the team concept of defense. I have not always been able to get my best players to buy in at all times on the defensive end so I understand why Jackson has not been able to draw it out of Odom. But as Lakers fan I would like to see him be able to do it. And as a coach, I wonder if even the great Phil Jackson can do it. I mean, he has 10 championships and its not solely because of the Triangle Offense. But when he has lost 2 NBA Finals, its because of defense; swarming, team-oriented defense by the Pistons and Celtics.
The Celtics 2 losses in the Finals have been because of a lack of defense by the team who is now praised for great team defense. Somehow Doc Rivers has been able to get his players focused back on that which will most likely lead them to a championship: defense. I wonder if Doc Rivers could get Odom to play defense.
