National Basketball Association

Personality goes a long way in NBA

Published Mar. 22, 2010 7:05 p.m. ET

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Certain watchdogs who remain busy sniffing NBA protocol may believe teams with serious designs on winning the league championship should have, for example, two star-caliber players. Others insist that the O'Brien Trophy's calling card is top-shelf defense or a really good post player and a stellar perimeter employee. Still others are partial to a sharp mind on the sideline and/or veteran chops throughout the rotational lineup.

And they're all right, depending on the team and the year.

The same can be said for another variable that receives little attention. That variable is a team's personality, which may be more important than some observers imagine. So while this season's contenders jockey for seeding position as the 2009-2010 campaign chugs down the home stretch, we're here to see how a team's personality can affect its bid for provoking an unscheduled parade.

We'll begin with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, who have been accused of doing just enough during the regular season to secure home-court advantage through the Western Conference playoffs. In the process of annoying fussbudgets and some of their fans, the Lakers still are reasonably close to making a move to finish with the league's best record — although the Cleveland Cavaliers currently are sitting pretty with three fewer defeats.

Anyway, the Lakers aren't exactly a cinch to figure out in regard to motivation and a widely embraced philosophy that a team's character often is defined by its best player. Were that the case in L.A., the Lakers would remain in lock step with Kobe Bryant, whose interest in ripping out the throat of his opponent on almost every play should (if the theory applied to the Lakers) produce a similar focus for the entire team.

But several variables are at work in Los Angeles.

We certainly can't rule out the battle with a post-championship lull that attaches itself to teams experiencing championship hangovers. The dilemma seems to be even greater for veteran teams with players who believe they can turn it on when at the proper time. So despite Bryant's pit bull-like attempt to carve a legacy comparable to the greatest the sport has ever seen, the Lakers have demonstrated more lapses in focus than you'd expect.

Another variable is produced by the presence of coach Phil Jackson, a laid-back spirit who might refuse to stop the action with a time out if the arena was going up in flames. Sure, Phil would love to win every game and has presided over teams that have compiled brutally efficient records, but his mantra of staying "in the now" must have convinced some of his players that he doesn't always mean "right now."

Phil, who knows more about what it takes to prevail than any coach alive, also knows that no NBA team has won a championship in January or even March.

Knowing that they're fully equipped to win four out of seven games against any team in the league should serve the Lakers well when the playoff party resumes. It also doesn't hurt to have talented large players (assuming Andrew Bynum is healthy enough to work beside Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom), a defensive stopper with an edge in Ron Artest and the ultimate fiend in Kobe.

While Bryant still is considered by many the game's best closer or money player, Cleveland employs the game's most dominant regular-season player.

That, of course, is LeBron James, whose personality covers the entire franchise. While the Lakers receive their marching orders from Kobe and Phil, LeBron's singular will simply overpowers that of anyone else on the Cavaliers' payroll.

That personality underscores the league's best team (by record) as a collection of cocky characters who don't mind a few showy maneuvers during pre-game warm-ups or in the closing stages of the occasional rout (hello, Joakim Noah and the Chicago Bulls). Although the James Gang may look relaxed and free-flowing when they win, the 2009 playoff collapse against the Orlando Magic may indicate that a more rigid approach is necessary, right?

Well, according to an NBA assistant coach employed by a Western Conference team, a loosey-goosey attitude is fine ... as long as LeBron inspires his teammates to work hard in practice and games while adhering (at least reasonably well) to the game plan.

"That's who they are," the coach said. "And that's who (James) is. If they put in the work in practice — and everyone I've ever heard says they do — then the way they interact before and during games may help them play more relaxed. I'll tell you this much, they didn't lose to Orlando because they pretend to take pictures during the intros; they lost because they couldn't handle Dwight Howard and didn't have anyone at the four with the foot speed to chase Rashard Lewis out to the three-point line.

"(Coach Mike) Brown could put the hammer down and turn them into zombies," the coach continued, "but having Antawn Jamison and Shaq (O'Neal) in the lineup this year is more important than how happy-go-lucky they act. Actually, I don't know if he could put the hammer down with LeBron around, but you get the point."

We also get that even though King James sets the team's emotional pace, Brown has more influence over the on-court proceedings than many give him credit for. No team will be as committed to playing defense with the zest the Cavs have demonstrated in recent years without a healthy dose of respect for the coach.

A more interesting coach-superstar dynamic has been at work in Orlando, where feisty Stan Van Gundy has been credited with trying to goose the Magic into a sharper focus than the players sometimes seem willing to assume. Van Gundy's emphasis on details often seems to be at odds with the (let's call it) youthful exuberance portrayed by Howard. The Magic center likes to wear a cape in dunk contests and try to make underhanded shots from mid-court before the game.

He also doesn't mind suggesting that Van Gundy is a bit more gung ho than Orlando needs to achieve the ultimate goal.

"Yeah, the situation in Orlando is pretty interesting, or at least seems to be to outsiders," our coach said. "And even though Howard often looks like a big kid who needs to zero in on getting better at the (free-throw) line and more polished on the low block, we have a faction that thinks Stan needs to loosen up a bit. But here's what a lot of people seem to forget -- when it mattered last season, Howard dominated in the Eastern Conference finals and Stan made enough moves to help them get there."

In the end, the Magic would be wise to heed Van Gundy's advice on playing high-level defense on a more consistent basis. And as hard as Orlando's latest Superman attempts to replicate Shaq's jolly big-guy routine, grabbing a ring with this jolly attitude is a lot easer when working with Kobe or Dwyane Wade. Vince Carter isn't of that caliber.

Considerably less jovial are the Boston Celtics, who won the title two years ago and might be flashing more enamel if they were healthier. But even in good times, the C's personality is edgy in the extreme. The pace is set by Kevin Garnett, a fiery trash-talker who helped create the defensive culture that brought Boston its latest championship.

Paul Pierce wasn't exactly warm and cuddly before KG arrived, but his defense was noticeably upgraded; the real benefactor from the Garnett experience was Ray Allen, who actually served as part of the defensive rotation that held Kobe reasonably in check.

Not to be slighted among the edgy Celtics are young point guard Rajon Rondo and center Kendrick Perkins, a couple of kids who seem to enjoy physical interactions with opposing players. Even though Rondo and Perkins arrived in the league with a snarl, Coach Doc Rivers didn't turn them into wimps. Doc is a strong personality and did a great job of steering the Celtics to glory, but the pulse of this team lives and dies with the intensity KG provides. It will be a shame if his knee remains angrier than he is.

While we're in the Eastern Conference, it's appropriate to mention the Atlanta Hawks, whose personality is a bit tricky to define. The ranking star player is low-key Joe Johnson and Coach Mike Woodson never has been credited with being a sound-bite king. Quiet efficiency may be what is being attempted by those two in Atlanta, but with relatively brash Josh Smith stuffing the stat sheet like few players in the league, the Hawks look dangerous if not easily cast.

Checking in as a major on-court threat to the Lakers out West are the Denver Nuggets, who are all over the personality map.

We can start with Coach George Karl, a strong character currently battling cancer and his team's history of emotional instability. The talented Nuggets obviously have an emotional anchor in point guard Chauncey Billups, but the lead dog, in terms of on-court productivity, is Carmelo Anthony. With a less-than-mature past, 'Melo truly has come a long way in conducting himself as a leader and franchise rock.

With this upgrade in focus, Anthony has joined Billups in attempting to keep the otherwise silly Nuggets marching along the same path. But even though interim bench boss Adrian Dantley has been fine in Karl's absence, missing George during any stretch of a the postseason puts the Nuggets in the crosshairs of a big slip.

"That's a tight rope George has to walk," our coach said. "Believe me, if he tried to do things like he truly wants at all times, some of the guys he has wouldn't be able to flourish. Coaches often have to adjust their programs to their personnel ... and it's not just on the court. I think George does a real good job at that."

Standing right there with the Nuggets are the Dallas Mavericks, whose personality has trotted along with that of owner Mark Cuban even with Cuban providing fewer opportunities for scrutiny than he has in the past. Dirk Nowitzki is by far the team's greatest player, but until he's able to pull the Mavs into a title run, the personality variable remains a mystery.

The San Antonio Spurs may not be in position to make a big run in the Western Conference this season (hey, don't sleep on the Spurs!), but still offer a group personality that warrants inspection. The professionalism originally was cemented by David Robinson, embraced by another businesslike pro in Tim Duncan and held in place by the no-nonsense efforts of Coach Gregg Popovich.

Even though it may not lead to success this season, the Spurs' tortoise-and-the-hare approach to the regular season and playoffs has been effective in the past. But due to injury and age, Pop and the Spurs probably couldn't have done things any other way.

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