The last sprint for the Lakers to salvage their season begins

This is the last sprint for the Lakers. Not the last sprint before the promised land housing the holy grail, this is the last sprint to reach the stadium where the battle for the holy grail will commence. The playoffs are less then 10 days away, and the question of whether the Lakers will feature in it is still undecided.

“At this point and time of the season, we don’t really have much of an option,” said Kobe Bryant. “It’s do or die time for us now. Steve going down to injury really puts more pressure on me to be out there, playing the majority of the game and playmaking and scoring.”

How did it come to this? This was supposed to be a ‘super-team’ to put all ‘super-teams’ to shame. But at the start of the season, right off the bat, this team started showing its dysfunction. The firing of head coach, Mike Brown just five games into the season should have been a clue that this team may just be a lot less than the sum of its parts. But with the way they have been playing recently, a lot of concerns have been laid to rest, except the burning question which no amount of good play can extinguish in a hurry – Can the Lakers make it to the playoffs this year?

Two major issues which have plagued the Lakers – injuries and old age, are not as bad right now as they were earlier this season. This is not to suggest that they have gotten younger as the season has gone on, but desperation has taken over those issues by now. Gasol, World Peace, Howard, and Nash have all sustained a lot of injuries this season, but now they don’t have time for all that. Pau Gasol missed 20 games recently, but since he’s been back he’s averaged 16.4 points (58.3% shooting), 8.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and one block in the last eight games, while the Lakers have gone 5-3 over that stretch.

Metta World Peace has rushed back from his knee surgery ahead of schedule to help the team win. “Even if I can come in and give five minutes for somebody — five minutes, 10 minutes, whatever — give Kobe a breather. You know Kobe, he’s played through gunshot wounds,” World Peace said, only half-joking. It is no mean feat that World Peace has been playing with a bum leg himself. “You can play, but the swelling is what keeps you from playing, so when I didn’t have any swelling that’s why I was pushing to play. I wanted to play three games ago. It was good teamwork with the doctors and training staff. We have to make a push and make a championship run,” he added.

The reason World Peace is so keen on being on the floor is because the margin of error for the Lakers is minuscule. “We’ve got no breathing room at all,” Bryant said. “I’m still on edge. We’ve got to win three more games and we’re in.” Kobe Bryant has been playing out of his mind. He did what no other NBA player has done a few days ago, scoring 47 points with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks, 3 steals, only 1 turnover, while he was perfect from the line, going 18/18 while playing all 58 minutes. The Lakers beat the Blazers 113-106 in that game at the Rose Garden Arena, where Kobe actually heard MVP chants. In Portland. That is unheard of. As is Bryant’s clutch play.

“What he is doing is phenomenal. He’s determined to get us in the playoffs,” said coach Mike D’Antoni. “That’s what happens when you open your mouth and guarantee that we’ll get in the playoffs.” I don’t see the sense in coach Mike delegating the task of managing Kobe’s minutes to Kobe himself. Although he knows his body the best, he is also one of the fiercest competitors in the NBA. You can count on him to stay in the game for as long as possible, regardless of how tired he may be. As the coach, it’s D’Antoni’s job to rein Kobe in and protect him from himself. But with the precarious perch the season is hanging on for the Lakers, no one wants to argue with Kobe. Not when he can play 48 minutes on a back-to-back and drop 47.

The road ahead for the Lakers, mercifully, is not on the road. They play their remaining three games at home. But all three of their opponents have a better record than them. First, they will play the Warriors on Saturday, and then on the 15th, will go up against the second-best team the NBA in the San Antonio Spurs, followed by a contest vs the Rockets on the 18th. That is by no means an enviable lineup, but at least there is no back-to-back, and the games are all at home.

The Warriors stand at 45-34, to the Lakers’ 42-37. They are coming off a loss to the OKC Thunder. They are a young team which poses an enormous threat from the deep. That is not something the Lakers guard well against. San Antonio stand at 57-21, and its offense can wear down even the most tenacious defenses in the league. Not that the Lakers are especially good at that this season anyway. The Spurs may choose to rest some of their starters ahead of the playoffs, a classic move by coach Gregg Popovich. Back in 2011, Manu Ginobili had injured his arm in the game before the playoffs, and you can bet that coach Popovich will be extra cautious to avoid something similar happening this time. So that may work in favour of the Lakers. Or maybe not, as the Heat almost found out when the Big Three of the Spurs were rested, and yet San Antonio almost beat Miami. The final opponent standing in the way of a playoff spot for the Lakers are the Rockets. They stand at 44-34 and will be looking to make a statement against the Lakers.

The fate of the Lakers is in their own hands right now. If they win all three games, they will be in the postseason. But if they lose even one, the Jazz have a chance to nudge them out. Utah stands at 41-38 to the Lakers’ 42-37, but the Jazz own the tiebreaker against the Lakers. If both teams finish with the same record, the Jazz will advance. Now, the Jazz have to face Minnesota twice, followed by the Grizzlies, to end the regular season. If the Lakers lose all three games and the Jazz lose all three as well, the Lakers will advance, as they are ahead of the Jazz right now. But the Timberwolves pose lesser of a threat to the Jazz then any of the Lakers’ opponents. The odds are neatly stacked, and it remains to be seen which way the buck will fall.

The last sprint for the Lakers to salvage their season starts right now.