After Metta World Peace’s now infamous elbow to James Harden, the league has suspended him for 7 games. What does this mean for the Lakers?
In the middle of an eventual double-overtime win for the Lakers over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Peace threw down a vicious dunk, one of several, and then threw an equally vicious elbow to the back of the head of an unsuspecting James Harden.
No Peace:
Despite World Peace’s slow start to the season, he had become a solid contributor again. For the season, World Peace has given the Lakers a modest:
7.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.1 spg
Peace has only been shooting 39% from the field and less than 30% from three point range, and that’s not getting it done. But, Peace provides a great perimeter defender for wing players like Kevin Durant and LeBron James, and the Lakers will miss that.
The first game Peace misses is against his old team the Sacramento Kings, whom he usually plays well against.
That leaves six playoff games. And, in the 1st round, the Lakers will either play the Denver Nuggets or the Dallas Mavericks, depending on the next couple games. Right now it’s Denver by half a game.
If the Lakers play Denver, the Lakers should win in five or six—sorry Nuggets fans. Despite the Nuggets’ depth, the Lakers have Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum, and with them plenty of championship experience. Bryant used to devour the Nuggets when they had Carmelo Anthony; I’m sure now he sees them as a team without an alpha dog scorer.
If the Lakers have to play against Dallas for the second year in a row, I worry that it will be a long series; it might even go all the way. The Lakers would be looking to exact revenge on the Mavs, but the champs won’t want to go down easy, especially to the team they swept on their way to the crown last season.
Dallas sweeping the Lakers:
So, that will be it. Peace should miss the first round, which works out well enough for the Lakers because they will probably see the Thunder in the 2nd round. And the Lakers will obviously need to find Peace in order to cover the amazing Kevin Durant.
In the meantime, Matt Barnes will get some extra minutes, and the Lakers should get by okay.
Rob S. De France is a College and University instructor of English Composition living in Los Angeles. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing. De France has played, coached, and officiated competitive high school basketball in California for many years. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.
