Empty the Bench

The difference between Game Four and Game Five for the Lakers in their second-round series with Houston is like the difference between a grungy dive bar with sticky floors offering $2 Tecate in a can and the plush lobby watering hole of a five-star hotel known for it’s potent and pricey specialty martinis.

Finally, the Lakers came to play and came to play with a vengeance, dismantling the Rocket’s 118-78.

And the most important stat of the night was the fact that, after jumping out to a 25-point lead at halftime (thanks to 20 first-half points from Kobe Bryant and 11 points and 8 rebounds from Pau Gasol), the Lakers didn’t relent. Instead, unlike so many times this season and in these playoffs, they kept their foot pressed firmly to the throat of the undermanned Rockets and won the second half by 15.

Seven Lakers scored in double figures and the Purple and Gold played with a passion and poise so sorely lacking in their Game Four debacle.

In other welcome news for Lakerland, there was an Andrew Bynum sighting in Game Five, as the big fella finally decided to make an appearance in the playoffs, looking sharp with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and only two fouls in 20 minutes of action.

The defensive intensity was there as well, as the Lakers limited the Rockets open looks and forced Houston into 17 turnovers while collecting 12 steals.

This was one of those games you want to bottle and save for a future date, to be opened when the Lakers offer up the flip side of their Jekyll and Hyde act.

Which begs the question: which Lakers team will show up for Game 6 in Houston?

Contemplating the Lake Show enigma, after the jump…

I fully expect The Lake Show to leave the Lone Star State with a series-clinching victory Thursday night, but in what manner – I have absolutely no idea.

If the Lakers truly want to be title contenders, they need to come out and kick Houston’s ass again, demonstrating to themselves and their future opponents that they do indeed possess some killer instinct, because killer instinct is exactly what they’re going to need when they venture into the Mile High City to take on the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals – which should be a real treat of a series. I could easily see it going seven games, as the Nuggets are playing excellent basketball at just the right time and the combination of the clutch Chauncey Billups and the size and speed of Denver’s frontline will be a stern test for the Lakers, something they truly need after dispatching two clearly overmatched teams in less than remarkable style.

The Lakers need Denver to push them, to force them to hone their focus and raise their energy to the level required to compete successfully with a Cleveland team on fire and on a mission.

At this point, everything is up in the air, a championship parade down Figueroa still perfectly possible just as a five-game flameout against the Nuggets is also viable.

So what will it be, Lakers? A top-shelf martini or a can of Tecate?

More Postcards From LA:
- Volume One
- Volume Two
- Volume Three

The popular Postcards From LA series is back for a 2009 Lakers run at the NBA Championship. As long as the Los Angeles Lakers survive through the 2009 NBA playoffs, Empty the Bench’s West Coast correspondent Christopher Thell will be submitting a local fan’s take on his beloved Lakers’ postseason trials, tribulations and successes.