you guys just proved that you all have you heads up kobe's behind. I haven't heard one person criticize kobe or anyone else for that matter. get some basketball sense.

Team intensity wasn't there. They seemed to play down to the Bucks level. We needed this because Boston is next. Get some rest, eat turkey and bring your A GAME on Friday or else...things will get nasty.

Do lose your CONFIDENCE.

Colorado loves the Lakers!

We got to hand it over to the Bucks tonight...they had that 11-2 run on the 4th that started everything. Although we did have some good defense tonight, it just that we can't buy a basket when it counts.

Most disappointing tonight was indeed Lamar. There was a drive in the 2nd that he drive to the middle from the box and was the only one in the air but hesitated when he saw Bogut finishing with a weak pass to Luke for a turnover. That and a couple of plays showed how hesitant he was tonight...or should I say for a most night now. All of us would remember how he was forcing the issue from the top of the key and doing one on one drives that looks weak.

How can you give someone like him a vote for AllStar with so sooo many inconsistent performances. Atleast Luke was smarter on his plays than what LO did tonight. Even Mamba was caught up but atleast he was just fighting to keep us in the game.

Just a night where everyone looks just frustrated on the offense side that trickled down on how we did on the last 7-6mins of the game.

Wolf,

First of all I agree with you that it was a team loss, however you can't miss some obvious things tonight. You mentioned that Kobe shot over a million times, when he only shot 18 times. We definitely need much more from LO than what he's been doing the last three games. Anyone can see that LO's outside shot is not falling, so he should attack the rim more and stop committing stupid offensive fouls. Bogut did not shoot all over Bynum(so he made two shots, big deal). Andrew still outplayed him and should've been sent into the game earlier. Mihm has nooooooooo defense whatsoever. The Bucks were scoring in the paint at will when he was in there. I didn't see Mihm alter any shots or grab any boards. Farmar did not attack the basket at all tonight, he must have been tired or something because he just wasn't there tonight. When our team attacked the hoop, they were rewarded at the free throw line. If they had kept attacking, they would've had many more dump passes to Andrew and would've killed the Bucks. The Lakers just went cold in the fourth and the Bucks got fired up. The Bucks aren't that good at all and we should've won, but we'll get them in L.A. The Lakers will be fine. Go Lakers!!!

i'd love to criticize Kobe for his 2-8 from the three, but the fact remains that he was 7-18, and 11-11 from the line with 27 pts 1 steal, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. He had a so-so game for his standards, but had Lamar put together something like that, i'm more than certain that we'll praise him for his efforts.

Lamar, on the other hand, shot 3-11 from the field, only 2-4 from the line, 2-5 from downtown... he did have 7 rebounds 4 assists and 2 steals, but 8 points is not going to cut it. Fisher outscored him, walton outscored him playing less than half his minutes, and even Vlad outscored him!

We were guarding Redd pretty well, i think he was like 0-5 in the first quarter, but what happened afterwards? he was 8/13 after that with 7 assists!

Utz,

Big call with the Imo's. You from the Lou?

AK

wow,

i know LO played like garbage, i seen the game. you people are quick to hrow the hatchet at the guy when them team got owned in the fourth. i not expecting too much from the guy and neither should you or anyone else. PJ should have intergrated him more from the bench cuz it looks like LO is losing major energy out there. yet no one metions this. kobe jacked up more shots than anyone in the fourth and no one says jack. the whole team couldnt keep anyone in front of them NO D-E-F-E-N-S-E!!

the Wolf,

You might not beleive this, but not everything that goes wrong on the basketball court, or in your life for that matter, is Kobe's fault. Stop the hate.

peace

It's back to back games guys, the Lakers lost gas in the 4th. Don't worry, just put all the efforts by Friday everything compensates for itself. Beat those Celts and have a tea party in Boston.

Some of the players were playing too long on the floor, they need sub. The effect of the trade losing two men and Kwame not playing, Odom and Mihm still nursing injuries and not 100%, we're lucky to win 4-in-a-row. You can't win them all the road but the mere fact that they shared the lead for three quarters is much you can say with the Lakers this year.

kobe played well. he did his job...up until the fourth. like i said, he as well as everyone else sucked in the fourth. call it on everyone. dont tell me about redd. kobe is a lock down defender, remember? (redd 26pts.)

LO needs to be on the bench for now, but if he goes there, the forwards become a defensive liability. pick your poison.

laker "truth"

what are you talking about? im saying the team lost and you talk about nonsense. way to contribute to this forum. now let the adults talk. good nite, little man.

by the way its "believe"

It is always dissapointing when you lose a game that you should have won. Yes it was the 2nd night of a back to back but it was for the Bucks as well.

Kobe and Lamar both had their worst game of the year on the same night. They shot 2 for 11 from the 3 and that probably lost the game for us.. On nights like this we really have to pound it more inside. Andrew had an off shooting night but thats still 50% for him. We should have made more of an effort to get him the ball. Hope we can find some post help with Kwame out because it is clear that Cris just isnt back to form yet. I hope he and Lamar can play their way back into shape soon. Cant wait for Ariza either. He may have been able to play shut down D in the 4th when really needed it.

I really think the combination of Kwames injury, Ronny trying to get back and the trade has killed our rythem . Hopefully we can make the adjustments to get back into a flow.

In a way Its almost fortuate that we are playing Boston. We just seem to get up for the really good teams.

MH

Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't the Bucks going to Bogut in the 4th quarter no matter who was on him? Of course I mean before he fouled out.

mike

Second game of two on back to back to back nights after overnight travel and the guys lose a close one. Everybody is a critic. To win two out of three on a trip like this is an accomplishment. One night everyone here thinks these guys are the best thing going, the next night the sky is falling. We gotta chill out. Let them play. The best thing is that these guys are going to get better as the year goes on.

The whole Laker team played poor not just Lamar. But for every great game Lamar has, he will then disappear for a game or two. He has done this for years. He is due for a good game in Boston and will probably play great. But then stink it up next week.

Posted by: 33StraightWins | November 21, 2007 at 08:19 PM

-bench him. play him off the second team until he find some consistancy. im all for that. but at least you admit that the team lost this game, so you automatically have more credibility than some of these fairweather fans.

its easy for us to not criticize Kobe.
When he has a bad scoring game, he always plays a great defense. AND team can still win.
If Lamar had a bad game, its usually both in offense and defense. AND its very very hard for this team to be successfully without LO giving it 100%.

Posted by: tim | November 21, 2007 at 08:17 PM

-exactly (except for the kobe part). i hope he finds it right away. if not we're
lost.

Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | November 21, 2007 at 08:14 PM

-im talking about the FOURTH when it mattered, not any other time period.
-you are absolutely correct that LO should have been driving ALL GAME. good for you.
-i agree that the team will be fine. well put! good post!

Posted by: Peter | November 21, 2007 at 08:02 PM

-he needs to pull his weight for sure. good point.

The usual stuff -- looking for easy answers and scapegoats.

1) The game was really lost at the beginning of the 4th qtr, where the Lakers stopped driving and started 1-on-1 ball against a zone.
2) Lamar is, and has been, an overpaid player, but he is what he is - a number three player on the squad who facilitates the offense for others, but does have mental brain farts occasionally in most games. This is not a new thing so get over it.
3) The back-to-back on the road is a new pressure for this group of players and they are basically young. They have to go through it once to learn anything. Let's see how they do next time. It may be a blessing in disguise.
4) The coach has to take responsibility for managing his players. Phil knows Lamar and should have pulled him after the 1st 3pt attempt. This is Lamar's MO so the coaching staff should have planned for this type situation.

AK/BK or anyone
For the next couple games, chart down plus and minuses when Chris Mihm is in the game. I know there are other players on the floor, but I did this two years ago just to show my friend how much Mihm hurts the team when he is on the floor and the numbers were pretty interesting (proved my point correct).

Vujacic needs to find a seat on the bench and stay there.

Posted by: Michael Teniente | November 21, 2007 at 08:24 PM

- this is why mike gets many reactions to his posts. HE ACTUALLY KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT (except when it come to kwame). boguts kept bynum from rebounding as well on a few occasions, and the paint was compromised. i only pointing out the fourth. he had a good game overall.

Posted by: Tim-4-Show | November 21, 2007 at 08:27 PM

- your absolutely right about the team loss. i still believe LO shortcomings is due to his slow start. this offensive setup is the best for him since miami so im giving him the benefit of the doubt, UNTIL HE GETS IN SHAPE. i gave until mid december. then im done.

Posted by: Edwin Gueco | November 21, 2007 at 08:26 PM

-as always well done edwin. just what i expect from you.

Easy guys....calm down try to hold on your temper. Try to postpone in posting when you're angry and gather first your bearings then express your frustration on the next thread. Don't get into heated exchange for nothing, it destroy your congenial relationship with other bloggers and the blog camaraderie.

this has been the trend in the blog, when Lakers lose there is a blame game.

When they win...there is too much euphoria, it's 82 games folks we win some, we lose some NBA season designed by David Stearns to all coaches, referees and players. We are the suckers who believed in them. haha!

Lastly, do you know the temperature in Milwaukee tonite? It's 32 degrees and if you add the windchill factor, it's 21 degrees, what is the effect on the game? Nothing really but on a back-to-back game, it makes your muscles stiff and tired on 40th minute of running and jumping. Give that as home advantage of the Bucks. When they get to LA, they're not use to good weather and traffic so we get them there. On Friday, those musle will be full of turkey power, either it will make them active or sleepy due to over eating on Thursday.

Cheer up and may you all have a Happy Thanksgiving.

O' Jackie! I really like your style. Especially when you smile.

miike

Tim-4-show,

With regards to your question on Farmar's shooting this summer viz-a-viz with LO.

-we have to consider the long respite due to injury. a labrum injury could not go on shooting practices

-we have to consider the Summer Pro League for Farmar wherein he was able to play in the tournament.

-let's give time for Lamar until January, we all don't know how it feels to be injured with shoulder twice, a twinky finger still aching, we always assume that they all look healthy because he scored 18 points against the T'wolves and only 8 points against the Bucks.

-this is not giving an exduse for Lamar's playing but if you play again the game, he defended well, helped in rebound but it's buck's nights, all their shots were falling in and well rested, while Lakers are not perfect yet with their offense, they falters in some plays sometimes the selflessness leads to turnovers.

-give it some more time and Lamar will prove his worth.

Aloha Edwin

You are absolutely right. Lets wait and see how Lamar rounds into shape. It was the same thing on the blog last year and through the summer. For some reason some people cant grasp the fact that injuries affect ones performance. And poor Lamar never gets any slack here. Kobe scored 23 points but it was a poor 23 points and his play was every bit as responsible for this loss as Lamar but for some reason he gets the break not Lamar. This new up tempo offense is perfect for Lamars game, lets give him time. And one last thing this loss ended a 4 game winning streak so its not exactly the end of the world.

MH

Mike- are you really that obsessed with 4 points by Bogut, Spud Webb would be calling for the ball if he was posted up 2 feet from the basket, it has nothing to do with Bynums defensive presence or lack thereof. Bynum blocks plenty of shots and alters several others, thats something Kwame doesnt do consistently, which is why u see him trying to take charges. What other 7 footer is consistently trying to take charges instead of blocking shots?

stop making excuses for Lamar- injury timing, this is what you get from odom some great games some not so great

If injuries were an issue 9 rings wouldnt be playing him 40 minutes on the 2nd game of a back to back on the road.

its the same thing I said last year, he shouldnt shoot outside and never 3s, get into the post and use his size. He looks totally uncomfotable on the perimeter yet where was he on offense most of the 4th?

The only one who played way below par was Lamar. That's why he's being singled out.

Lamar has got to find consistency in his offensive game, otherwise it would be much better to have a player who scores 12 points a game and plays serviceable defense than an up and down guy like LO. Now, I will go to the trade machine and find such player. David West comes to mind, but I doubt New Orleans will let him go.