Living at the rim The Los Angeles Lakers are still the alpha mutt in the Western Conference. I don't care about their seeding, Kobe Bryant's knees, the San Antonio Spurs or the youngsters in Oklahoma City.
This is the Lakers' conference. We're just playing in it.
And I hate the Lakers, don't get me wrong. But they win and they win a lot. They know a big game when they see it. Beating the Dallas Mavericks 96-91 at the American Airlines Center was a huge statement.
It was a huge win. Mainly because it puts the Lakers just a half-game back of the Mavericks for the No. 2 seed and potential home-court should the pair meet later in the playoffs. I know. Eggs before they hatch.
Still, the Mavericks need every ounce of home cooking they can get in order to stick around in the playoffs. They're a team with little edge in every aspect of their game except for home court.
Of course, it helps defending your home court.
It also helps defending Andy Bynum. The much-maligned, young center put up 22 points and 15 rebounds. His counterpart, Tyson Chandler, the guy brought in to stop guys like Bynum, managed just four points and six rebounds in 35 minutes. Meanwhile, Bynum did whatever he wanted to do whenever he wanted to do it. In fact, it felt like all of the Lakers just went to the rim over and over.
It wasn't an awful game for the Mavericks. There's nothing you look at -- outside of interior defense -- that you point to and say "Hey, that's a problem!"
Tonight, if anything, it was free throws. They attemped just 15 in the game on their home court. That means they shot primarily from the perimeter. Which is fine. Against Charlotte or Sacramento. But against the Lakers and good teams, they exploit that and all you to shoot 20 feet from the basket as long as they shoot two feet from the basket.
Jason Kidd, Roddy Beaubois and Chandler did not attempt a free throw between them. The starters attempted just nine the whole game.
Again, this team, offensively, is not different from the team from 2006 or 2002.
Meanwhile, ol' Shawn Marion filled it up: 25 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Right now, Marion as your starting small forward gives you the best chance to win. That's your playoff line-up.
