I'm thinking that, just maybe, the Lakers are in better position than most would surmise. That maybe they've got the rest of the West teams right where they want them. How's that? Well, here's one way to look at their current plight. Their chances of pushing their way into one of the top four playoff seeds are not good. They can do it, but the odds are against it, to say the least. The Lakers have run into the perennial problem that faces struggling teams entering the first month of the new year: They can't catch up unless they play better than they have been and the target teams play worse. In this case, the Lakers have to perform substantially better and the top West teams substantially worse. Consider: The Lakers can forget about catching the Kings or Mavericks, each of whom could win just 50 percent of their remaining games and still hold off a Lakers team winning 65 percent of its contests. If the Lakers win 60 percent of their remaining games they will still fall short of the Spurs and Suns, tied for the West's fourth best mark Tuesday morning, even if the two teams win only 50 percent of their contests. Barring severe San Antonio or Phoenix breakdowns or injury problems, that's unlikely to happen. So, Los Angeles can take aim at the team currently sitting in the No. 8 slot — the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves sit with a 17-14 mark, hovering over .500. They will finish with 42 wins if they win 50 percent the rest of the way. If the Lakers go 65 percent, they finish with 45 victories. So, there lies the direct shot into the playoffs for Shaq and Kobe et al. The Rockets and Jazz also hover just above the .500 mark and could be snared from behind. But, again, the teams have to remain very so-so while the Lakers jack it up into a much higher gear. So, why should the gang from L.A. possibly be regarding themselves as sitting pretty? Consider again: Which team is going to be the more nervous if Los Angeles winds up galloping into the playoffs — the Mavericks or the Lakers if the two square off in a five-game series? Right. I agree. The Mavs, who already have been embarrassed in Los Angeles and still must prove they can hold off a ferociously motivated O'Neal and Bryant and Horry and, well, etc. The Kings won't like it either, although they at least have shown they can come back against a Lakers team playing pretty decent ball. The news coming out of L.A. is stormy, as it always seems to be about this time of year. There's speculation that Jerry West fled East to Memphis because he tired of butting heads against Jackson regarding the infusion of fresh blood into the championship squad. That speculation is mindful of the tension between Bulls' general manager Jerry Krause and Jackson during the final three Chicago title years. There's the fear that Jackson will leave the team after a season or two and that Shaquille will then decide his toe has had enough and Kobe will elect to play elsewhere. Is a Chicago Bulls West in the offing? Anyway, the current climate — other than the W-L record — feels all too similar to Lakers title climates. We'll see whether it's showers or sunshine come April. grogers@express-news.net 01/01/2003
Jerry West left because he didn't have as tight a reign as he did before the new CBA. Jerry Buss didn't want him to spend over the luxury threshhold just like he doesn't want Mitch Kupchak to go over either. West has always felt that Buss never gave him the credit he truly deserved for making the Lakers the way they are now, and though Jackson did look to steal all the spotlight, Jackson and West had always had a professional relationship because of their defined roles. Jerry West's reasons for leaving is more because of Buss than Jackson. Phil Jackson has always told the team that their goal is to have at least home court advantage for the first round. He knows that a 5 game series is more dangerous than 7, especially for a jaded veteran team that only turns on their game at the last minute. There is no silver lining to the Lakers plight right now.
