Garbage Time: P.D. and the Missing Links

Teach: 48 Minutes of Hell offers some sobering thoughts and links on the current predicament facing the Spurs' front office.  The conclusion they come to is that this year's team is obviously not a contender, so moves must be made to provide the future with a sound foundation...

This basketball season has been a tough one for me.  While I didn't expect championships from Carolina or San Antonio, I did expect to see competitive teams that on any given night flirted with greatness; instead, I've been treated to night after night of rooting for teams without chemistry.

At first, lack of chemistry only shows up in tight games and crucial situations.  Talent can carry a team against inferior talent, but those tight games and crucial situations are just cracks that eventually turn into fissures.  Eventually, the talent gives way to the lack of chemistry.  How else can one explain the Spurs dropping a game to the Kobe-and-Bynum-less Lakers by twelve points?  Something is rotten in the state of Texas, and if something's not done to set things straight, then the last few years of Tim Duncan's career may unfold like the plot from Hamlet.

-According to Jerry Stackhouse, Vince Carter's knee isn't right.

-If you're a Carolina fan looking for perspective after the blowout loss to Maryland, or just a Carolina hater looking to gloat, then Adam Lucas' article "The Long and the Short" is definitely worth your time.

-Tom Friend's piece on Darryl Dawkins is the kind of piece one wishes ESPN did more often.

-Big man trade rumors. 

-And, lastly, my thoughts on Chris Paul and the Hornets over at The Faster Times.  

Langston: Last week, I mentioned the importance of the last four games for the Lakers. The possibility of losing all four was more than likely, and if that happened they would enter the all-star break with hardly a game lead over the Nuggets. Thankfully, it didn't happen. They made it through the stretch with a record of 3-1, but I may have overstated the importance of the games. The first two games proved my statement,as the Bobcats and Nuggets continue to save their best for the Western Conference leaders. Whereas the injury to Roy and the addition of Jefferson contradicted my prediction in the final two, mostly because the Blazers just aren't the same without their all-star leader and the Spurs have yet to find a way to play consistent ball with Jefferson in the mix.

Though a 3-1 record against three of the top teams in the West is nothing to scoff at, the one loss is eye-opening. The Nuggs shot 68% from downtown, showing the Lakers biggest weakness, a lack of perimeter defense that comes from injuries to Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum. With Mamba a step slow and Bynum's sore knee forcing Artest and Odom to play more in the paint, the other guards need to step up the pressure on defense or they will be looking at a tight race in the West. Allowing Denver back into the race for the top spot in the playoffs would be a big mistake, as it could give Denver even more confidence. Something they aren't lacking, and with even more, they would become a more formidable opponent. To paraphrase, I believe the Lakers need to put more emphasis on perimeter defense and the health of their starters, or the likelihood of repeating becomes less likely.