Lakers' Bench Lacks Powe(r)

June 2008

Lakers' Bench Lacks Powe(r)

For three more quarters, Los Angeles's high-powered offense sputtered and the Lakers' frustration spilled out onto the court, and across their faces. In Game 2 of the NBA Finals last night at TD Banknorth Garden, the Celtics smothered scoring star Kobe Bryant with double, sometimes triple teams, and Leon Powe showed the sedentary Laker bench how to rip open a game, running off 21 points in 15 minutes as Boston took a 108-102 victory.



The Celtics went to the foul line again and again, piling up points as the Lakers idled on the court.

Bryant didn't see many free shots early in the game and no one from the Laker bench responded. Meanwhile, Powe finished , 6 for 7 from the field, 9 for 13 at the line

"Big minutes," Bryant called Powe's contribution, not stating the obvious - that his team came up small.

Bryant's frustration was obvious during and after the game

"It was beep, beep, beep, beep, beep," he said, describing his feelings

"We played terrible for three quarters," said Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic. "They just played better than we did and they took advantage of it."

The bench play was a disappointment - combined, LA's bench outscored Powe by just 2 points - but, said Vujacic, "When you lose, everything is disappointing."

The Lakers have a young bench, and they made mistakes. No. 2 point guard Jordan Farmar had 9 points to lead the subs.

In the first half, the Celtics had 19 free-throw attempts (connecting on 14), and Los Angeles had two

Forward Luke Walton (2 points on 1-for-2 shooting) said the difference at the free throw line - Boston went to the line 38 times, LA just 10 - was not the Lakers' only problem

"We didn't play well for the first three quarters," he said. "Well, we played all right in the first quarter, then we had breakdowns in the second and third. They did a good job of taking advantage of it."

The Celtics were 27 for 38 from the line. The Lakers were perfect, but 10 for 10 doesn't get a team very far

"It's not the only difference, but it's a big part of it," Walton said. "We didn't play as well as we would have liked to or as well as we feel we're capable of playing."
Other Lakers also demonstrated their discouragement with their actions, or lack of actions. Lamar Odom, probably the Lakers' most volatile player in the first half, was in foul trouble and there was no one strong enough to take his place.

During a timeout with 8 1/2 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Farmar and Walton had an animated discussion, while Bryant sat stone-faced on the bench, and Derek Fisher watched dispassionately.

"It was tough emotionally and mentally," Walton said. "It was tough to get in the groove with them going to the free throw line so much. We have such a motion offense. As you get into a flow you start playing well

The Lakers managed to close the gap with a strong fourth quarter, but fell short. That, too, was frustrating.

"We're a young team," said Bryant. "Being down 10 points is not something that should discourage you."

"Discouraged? Never," said Vujacic. "We know what our goal is - to win the championship. The first two games don't matter. It matters, but it's not over yet. You've got to win four and we're not giving up."