9:34- Kobe breaks down Greg Buckner (literally- he fell down), and draws a foul on Josh Howard.  Keep an eye on how successful the Lakers are in getting penetration, either by passing or off the dribble.  Kobe's gotten inside a couple times, Smush as as well. PJ talked before the game about how much he respects Dallas' ability to prevent that, so it's worth paying attention to.  They have to be able to get the ball inside if they're going to get any flow at all offensively. 

8:29- That's exactly what they need. Kobe gets the ball in the post, Cook cuts along the baseline and gets the pass as he passes for an easy reverse layup. Inside baskets, guys moving without the ball, all that good stuff you see in fundamentals videos and basketball camps.  If they settle into a jump shot contest, it's going to get ugly.

8:07- Offensive foul on Smush.  Good call- he definitely hooked the defender.  But at least they were going the right direction (that would be towards the basket).  And then he gets T'd up from the bench.  That won't engender any love from fans, I wouldn't guess.   

6:29-Devean in for the Mavs. I guess that part about him not playing in the scouting report was a little off.  Oh well.  Can't win 'em all, right?

4:54- Kwame with the acrobatics on the low post!  Getting shoved to the ground, he still makes the shot off the glass.  Of course, a cynic would point out that ball had more arc on it than his normal shots do.  But I won't do that.  He's working hard.  Again, good things happen when they get the ball down low.  On the next posession, Kobe drives, and the Lakers get a whistle as Diop fouls Kwame setting a screen.  Again, good things happening off penetration.

3:59- Timeout on the floor, 16-13 Lakers.  Nobody's shooting particularly well.  Lakers 42%, Dallas 31%.  Some of that's Laker D, more of it is the Mavs missing some open looks.  But since the shot selection thus far has been pretty good, the Mavs haven't had a chance to get out on the break, like every other team in creation has done over the last month or so.  Let's see if it holds.  It's an example of offense influencing defense.

1:35- Shammond hits a jumper.  I'm interested, in the wake of Smush's quick fouls and T from the bench, if PJ gives Shammond a little more run tonight.  Josh Howard goes down to the other end, and totally bodies down Kobe for a bucket.  Then Dirk hits a jumper (over Shammond) and all of a sudden, Dallas has a two point lead.  In fairness, I don't think you want Shammond covering Dirk.  Not fair.

END OF THE FIRST: A big Dallas run at the end of the quarter gives them a 28-24 lead.  Basically, a solid first 11 minutes went sour in the last minute or so.  Can't breathe against Dallas, or they'll make you pay.  That's what good teams do- when they turn it on, if you're not ready they'll rip off some serious points.  AK will bring the next twelve minutes.

Second Quarter

11:23 - two quick turnovers for the Lakers.  They need to get settled down.  Can't make mistakes like this against a team of Dallas' caliber.  I can see (before the time out was called) that Aaron McKie is about to check in.  My guess is his insertion is in part to help cut down on such nonsense via vet presence.

Actually, as it turns out, my guess was wrong.  McKie's in to give Kobe a breather.  And him being in definitely didn't cut down on the dumb turnovers.  The most recent was by Smush, who threw a lazy bounce pass to Kwame that got picked off by Josh Howard.  Smush is fuming.  And so are the fans, who are beginning to give Smush some razzin'.  Were I William Henry, I'd get my head in the game quick.  I don't think he's in immediate danger of losing his starting gig (if for no other reason than he tends to play his best ball during the first quarter), but he's in...

(9:28) ... Okay, that was weird.  As I was typing the above sentence, Smush got fouled and lost the ball.  As I saw Parker talking to the ref, I literally looked at BK and said, "Smush is gonna get T'ed."  And right on cue, Smush gets T'ed and promptly tossed.  Granted, Smush was absolutely correct that he should have drawn a whistle, but the dude has gotta remember that he's already got one T in his pocket.  Bite your tongue until it bleeds.  Not a good game for Smush, and certainly not the right time for him to get ejected, with Shammond playing better and eating into his minutes as it is. 

6:14 - Nice move by Cook inside off a good entry by Kobe.  Dampier had a hand in his face and may have even gotten a piece of the rock.  But Cook kept with it and got the bucket.

3:33 - I know Jordan Farmar must be stoked about getting into a game during the first hald, but he's gotta make sure the enthusiasm doesn't get the best of him.  He dipped his shoulder so low into Devin Harris on that charge call, I thought he was trying to rush for yardage.

2:26 - McKie picks off a pass from Dirk and Bynum swats the living crap out of a shot by Josh Howard.  Neither leads to a Laker basket, but that type of defensive intensity and awareness is what the Doctor (Buss or otherwise) ordered to try and cut down on the 19 point deficit currently on display.

.33 - Farmar attempts a hail Mary to a streaking Mo Evans, leading to a Laker turnover.  Kid is trying to hard for the home run, which is in part what I think got him bench-locked in the first place.  The next possession, Kobe's pass to Mo also gets picked.  It's the 8th turnover of the half.

The half concludes with a 59-35 Dallas lead.  To say the Lakers went ice cold in the second half (3-15) would be an insult to frozen water.  Then again, it didn't really matter if they were shooting at a reasonable clip, since they coughed up the ball like it was made outta Crisco and wet soap.   A better second half feels like a given, since it's impossible to play worse.  But we shall see.  BK will guide the action.

THIRD QUARTER-

Rally caps!

9:12- Shammond starts the half for the ejected Smush, and Kwame starts for Drew.  I have a feeling this will be the beginning of his starting gig.  He would have had it tonight, had punctuality (or a lack of it) not interfered.  I was talking in the media room to someone who would know, and he reiterated to me that the team had been talking to Smush about his attitude.  I know it's something that has been brought up before, so it's not surprising to hear it again.  But tonight won't exactly help his image.

6:00- Not a lot of whistles thus far in the quarter.  I guess the refs want to go home, too.  Ugly as tonight is, though, there isn't much reason to have expected differently.  The talent gap between the two teams right now is kind of ridiculous.  The Lakers started four guys who would be at best rotation players with the Mavs, in Evans, Cook, Bynum and Parker.  That doesn't even get to the bench.  So take comfort in the notion that this really isn't the team that is supposed to beat  anyone.  Which is good, since they're not.

3:15- At what point do they do a running clock?  Somewhere on the bench, Pops Mensah-Bonsu is psyched, because he might get a little run.

2:08- Honestly, I'm not sure what I should be writing.  They've been horrible tonight, but I can't figure out why they'd be anything else against a team like Dallas.  But the gap between six and seven is tightening (Denver won tonight) and if they don't win Thursday in Denver, it'll be down to a game.  I know I wrote on Saturday that from a schedule standpoint, the Lakers should make the playoffs, but they're going to have to win a game here or there.

End of the Third:  The Lakers prevent the Mavs from getting a shot off to end the quarter.  That could be huge.  Okay, not really.  But hey, a little positive news is welcome at this point.  At this point, the most exciting thing left is to see who totally and inappropriately mugs down on Kiss Cam.  AK will bring the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

10:53 - Bk looks at me and says, "this is not going to end well."  He's probably right.

10:06 - Sasha picks up a blocking foul and busts out the "Sasha Face" while on the ground.  I'll give the guy credit for having mastered his craft.  He does "the face" as proficiently on his ass as he does while on his feet.

8:04 - Kobe sinks two at the line.  By now, the crowd has grown so disheartened that the MVP chants are barely audible and sound like they're coming from about 6 people.

6:14 - Cook throws an absolutely terrible bounce pass, leading to a Devin Harris lay up.  It's probably the 5th or so bounce pass turnover of the game.  Aside from the myriad of plainly obvious reasons, this team could really use LO and Luke back, if for no other reason than to provide more cats who can actually toss a bouncer without it landing in the other team's hand.

4:54 - The Carl's Jr. Star of the Game is revealed.  For reasons I don't quite understand, Smush walked away emptyhanded.  I guess like most things, it's all political.

3:51 - How bad has it gotten for the Lakers.  The Mavs just put some 3'5" guy named Jose Barea into the game.  I can honestly say I've never heard of this cat.  For all I know, he's the equipment manager.  Even worse, he'd probably crack the Laker rotation right now for heavy minutes.

.59 - Pops Mensah-Bonsu is at the line for some garbage time freebies.  As anyone who reads this blog might guess, I'm giving that guy's name about 11 thumbs up.

And as the final ticks go down, Jordan Farmar's last minute trey can't prevent this 108-72 shellacking from being the worst loss at home since the Lakers began calling L.A. home.  The boo birds are in full effect (among those who bothered sticking around).  As my man Latka Graves used to say, "Hard to get happy after that one."

But we appreciate your patronage, as always.  Thanks for stopping by.

AK