Lakers tend to drop a game for every 5 they win.

I don't think we need home court against the Cavs (if we both make it) in the Finals, especially if Bynum is 75% in shape or better.
Against the C's and Magic we will need home court which I'm sure we will have.
I'd be more for resting Kobe and Gasol than worrying about getting home court against the Cavs unless they lose a couple real soon.

Not a surprising loss. What with the bench stinking lately & Kobe's banged up ankle & foul trouble & stomach problems.

From ESPN.com's game recap. . .

"Bryant had just 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting. He missed the morning meal and film session because of an upset stomach, then had his second straight subpar game.

"My stomach's OK now," said Bryant, coming off a 14-point performance at New Jersey. "When my medicine wears off, it's going to be interesting."

Hope the bench can rediscover its mojo soon.

Go Lakers!!!

PS. Poor Kobe probably has an ulcer from dealing with those nanny related items in the press last week.

I was listening to the first half on the radio and Spero kept talking about how Gasol seemed super mad at Farmar for not getting him the ball. I understand why Pau would be frustrated because Farmar has been awful lately and Gasol has been incredible but Spero made it seem like Gasol was overly ticked at Farmar which can't be a good thing.

There was also a post game interview in the past month (can't remember the exact game) where Pau pretty much called out the bench for not playing well. While the bench has been sucky and inconsistent this year it seems like Gasol has been overly critical and has been acting like he is superior to everyone minus Kobe.

Don't get me wrong. Pau is the man, he has played at a crazy high level this year and we would be sunk with Bynum's injury and no Gasol. However, this just rubs me the wrong way, kind of like when Garnet kissed the ugly leprechaun after winning the title last year like he's been a Celtic his whole career.

This is Kobe, Lamar, and Fish's team. Kobe and Fish have seen it all and Lamar has been with the team through the thick and thin since the Shaq trade. I look for those three to be the leaders of the squad, not Gasol who has only been with the team a year. Just because you are good doesn't mean you can be a prick. And while I understand why Pau is upset with Farmar in the bench he should go about it in a less blatant way.

I feel bad for the Bobcats. Even though they usually play us tough, we're going to destroy them on Tuesday.

Lamar = Finals MVP

GO LAKERS

Posted by: Rick Friedman | March 28, 2009 at 07:33 PM

Hey Rick,

The only Lakers on twitter so far are Fisha dn Sasha and I've never seen either of them tweet during a game.
There's also an official lakers.com and a d-fenders twitter stream. Forum Blue & Gold are on there too.

Anna

Seriously,

Smush Farmar, Sasha Vujbiatch, and Puke Walton need to go.

This team is going to break some hearts in the playoffs. They simply have no idea of what it means to be a championship team. No heart at all.

I don't see anybody on this team (aside from Kobe) who shows any passion or any pride. Pau is consistent, and that is great, but he is also prone to going weak to the basket and looking to officials to bail him out (which they rarely do).

Home court in the NBA finals is a BIG deal. To be so cavalier (pardon the pun) about their race with Cleveland shows that these guys just don't get it. By "guys", I include the coaching staff as well. How many sideline shots did we see of a smiling Phil Jackson today? What in Hell did this guy have to smile about today? How does he let this team consistently ignore fundamental basketball (like going inside)?

Lame.

Farmas and Vujacic are killing the Lakers, period! Absolutely bonehead plays by Farmar who remains clueless and have no idea how to play the PG position. At this rate, we will get kill in Cleveland (If we survived Portland and Utah in the Western Conference Final).

OUR BENCH ARE BEYOND SUCKS! GIVE SUN A CHANCE TO PLAY!

Is it just me or does Kobe have like the weakest immune system known to man?

Dude can bypass surgery for a torn finger, but heaven almighty don't sneeze on him, he'll catch a cold!

passionate lakers fan-

That one loss at home was to...US. We are more experienced and with Bynum and Pau they will have no answer. I'm still not worried come playoff time. We're still 4-1 on the road trip, that's pretty good.

Oh yea, and the Cavs play in the East. Three of the four top teams play in the East but after that there is a HUGE drop off. East is still way easier overall then the west.

And Lamar has his best game/quarter of the year against the Cavs.

Lamar = Finals MVP

GO LAKERS

There's no way we'll finish a better record than the Cav, but don't lose too many games the rest of the season, in case we'll meet the Celtics or Orlando in the final and we don't have the home court advantage ( if we make it to the final ), the C and the O can catch you up if we're in a losing streak which is possible with the crappy bench playing so poorly.

DNPs for Shannon and Adam. We traded for these players, we should use them, and see how they fit the system. It changed the chemistry of our bench when Mitch made that trade, we had good chemistry! Why change it? Is'nt that how Dr Jekyl became Mr Hyde.

It was a weak effort. As tired as they may be, it was a WEAK effort.

Maybe something good will come from this.

GO LAKERS

It's really how you see it.

This could be the end of the world or it could be a bump in the road. Again perception.

For my money, I think we look within ourselves and find that there needs to be changes. And they need to happen soon. We can only coast with the starters for so long, after a while we end up jeopardizing our post-season chances because they'll be too tired and losses will pile up.

There comes a point where the experiments need to stop. PJ teams have always gone on a run at this point in time, while we're still looking for consistent motivation.

That said, with this team, they're just crazy enough to get back on track right around the corner. They are mentally consistent in that they play up to the competition and down on others...If anything if I have one worry it's that 1st round matchup. I'm not stressin about home court. Frankly I think today is the start of "rest Pau, Kobe, Fish" movement.

It's not that the 1st unit is giving up the games, they can only do so much. But the 2nd unit. Until they stop relaxing and getting away from the main goal...we will continue to mentally check out of games and of leads. Scary in the first round because of the "weak" competition.

Get back to playing defense, and run the offense through Pau and all this worry will magically disappear. We're certainly not unfixable, nor is this something I'd panic about. It's up to the players and the coaches to recognize and react as needed. Today.

OUR BENCH IS DYSFUNCTIONAL & INEPT!! LAKERS WILL NOT WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH ALMOST ZERO PRODUCTION FROM THE BENCH. DID YOU GUYS SEE KOBE"S ANGRY LOOK AT FARMAR ON ONE OF THE LAKERS' TIMEOUT BEFORE PHIL YANKED HIM OUT OF THE GAME IN THE FOURTH QUARTER? NOT A PRETTY SIGHT.

I AGREE THAT WE SHOULD INSERT SHANNON AS A BACKUP PG. I CAN"T STAND FARMAR, THE DUMBEST PG IN THE LEAGUE.

On Kobe's immune system: I believe it is the result of stress, much/most of which is generated internally. (Consider how hard he pushes himself. Can you imagine what it is like to feel that way? Or what causes a person to act that way?) When external stressors are added (such as the nanny story this week), that puts him down.

Mrbarneydangles: I couldn't disagree more about Pau. When you are naturally superior, that gives you the right to act superior to those around you who suck and yet don't respect your superiority.

Faith,

I agree with you about the "rest" movement. At the very least, I think it's on the not so distant horizon.

BK and I were just talking about that today. The only bright side to a loss is that each one lessens the odds of getting homecourt throughout the playoffs, which lessens the need to chase it. The West race is done and I'm of the opinion that homecourt isn't as important to the Lakers as the Cavs. They should look to stay ahead of Boston or, if it happened to shake out that way, Orlando, especially since they don't have the tiebreaker against the Magic.

But assuming they remain ahead of those teams, I would love to some rest for Fish, LO and especially Pau and Kobe. In particular, I think Kobe is feeling ragged. It's a much bigger deal that everyone is fresh and ready to rock come playoff time than wrapping up a certain amount of wins.

Having said that, if the bench doesn't get their act together, it truly becomes irrelevant. The Lakers could play EVERY game at Staples and if the second unit continues their current level of play, it could be a short run.

AK

Rob and dave m,

what I think is going on is that he's being poisoned!!! How is it that he only gets sick on the road? Do you remember him getting gastroenteritis after eating a room service burger in Sac Town???

He got the flu in Boston this year. What I think happened there was that the people working at the hotel he was staying in rubbed their snots on the towels he was given.

With this more recent episode, it was probably a little toilet water in his burger again maybe in NJ or possibly even Detroit since it takes a few days for stuff like this to come out. Actually, it was probably NJ because all their water is toilet water.

What he should do is have someone anonymous pick up his food for him.

Passionate LF,

You are not only passionate but also a cardiologist par excellence when you said: " Pau will eventually die of a heart attack" (too many minutes).

After all our disagreements good to see we agree on something lol.

RE: the bench getting their act together. At this point, if we're resting Pau, Kobe, Fish that is...it's a win-win to play the bench imo.

With increased playing time they could very well bust out of their slumps. They certainly grumble about it. And since we're on the road (a place they traditionally haven't played well), they'll learn some valuable lessons as well.

Whatever it is that we decide (by we, I of course mean PJ lol), it needs to happen soon. And we need to be firm about it.

I should add that Bynum isn't necessarily a quick fix for the bench troubles. While he helps tremendously coz some players that are logging so many minutes won't be, and some combinations that don't work will be fixed, he can't by himself help Sasha make his shots or Jordan stop turning the ball over. Esp considering in most of those situations it's unforced and wide open. That has to come from within.

Tom,

Thank you for joining me in calling out Smush Farmar. I also call out other people like Lamar Odumb, Lamar Odumber, and Lamar Odumbest.

Seriously, I think the Staples crowd is on the verge of booing Smush Farmar. Thus, they will be deservingly giving him the Kwame treatment.

javaris crittenton had 19 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds while shooting 8-14. Sure, he played 43 minutes, but I know Farmar wouldn't get anywhere close to those numbers if he was given the same amount of playing time.

Jordan Farmar is Smush Parker.

Posted by: never | March 29, 2009 at 06:56 PM

============================
I agree and was as I said many times sad to see Critt included in that trade. I said he was our future pg and JF was going to be a very good back up. Today JF made 5 turn overs on bad passes and weak passes.

I also now for a couple of seasons said the Lakers needed a very good pg. Now the blog is catching up.

I think we can still win this in spite of PJ as remember last year we struggled near the end of the season by PJ over use of starters and still got to finals.

He is doing the same but we miss Vlade but many won't admit this. He is shortening Kobe's carreer and playing the 3 that needs the most rest.

Fisher by age needs to be preserved for playoffs. Kobe and Pau have played in Olympics and All Star game and are still playing heavy minutes.

Sure big leads are given up but dang call time out to stop the runs so starters don't need to over extend themselves in catching up.

Today the Lakers looked tired and the reason is obvious, they are getting burned out again. Try to use s Brown and let him make his learning errors in season rather than not and making him useless for playoffs where he can be used.

The PJ worshipers will say 9 rings etc but he has failed miserably sincehe was re hired. He should be almost 12 rings with the teams he has had and failed to win the championship.

On LeBron I watched the Dallas game waiting for Laker game and he made many out side shots when he was wide open so big deal. He was also guarded many times by Jason Kidd who was too small to guard the crab.

I noticed never once said it was a mismatch in LeCrabs favor. He was just given props for being great player and this years hands down MVP. Kobe has 2-3 people guarding him but does not get his dues.

Sad but true.

Sometimes I think people make too much out of a regular season loss. Look at the Spurs and the Celtics. They'd rather rest their older players than burn them out in trying to get home court advantage. In the playoffs the Lakers will have more rest between games, their rotation may be shorter (or at least less minutes) and with a fresh Bynum they will have a defensive presence. I can't see them losing 4 games of out 7 to anyone (if they are healthy). If the Lakers can avoid Portland, Utah and Houston in their side of the playoff bracket they may be able to sweep Dallas, beat Denver or New Orleans in 5 and beat whoever in 6 in the WCF. Cleveland, Boston or Orlando will have a much tougher time.

LTLF,

>>> The Lakers won 5 of their last 6, and 8 of their last 10.

Sorry, but as Tex Winter said a few weeks ago, this team is not as good as its record. My crystal clear vision of the victory parade down Figueroa has suddenly disappeared behind a very dark cloud.

Did you watch any of the Mavs-Cavs game? Lebron and company are having the time of their lives. Did you see their great team chemistry? They are firing on all cylinders.

In his pre-game interview, when John Ireland asked Pau Gasol why the Lakers are a very good road team, the word "chemistry" was conspicuous by its absence. In fact, I can't remember the last time I heard "Lakers" and "chemistry" in the same sentence. The Lakers have become a group of individuals who just grind it out, trying to achieve the Holy Grail.

There's been little evidence that this team is even listening to any of the coaches. I wonder whether PJ has been here so long, the players just tune him out. For the fans, the sport of criticizing the bench has become like shooting ducks in a pond. As angry as this blog has been at Jordan and Sasha, their level of play was far superior last season. Either the coaching staff is failing to address their needs, or like the rest of the roster the bench has tuned out. The regression of Jordan and Sasha is 50% on them and 50% on the coaching staff.

The failure of the entire team to consistently get the ball to Pau is mystifying. Sure the opponent teams work hard to defend against him. But seriously...

Another sign the team has tuned out the coaching staff is the constant failure to win rebounds and the utter lack of Defense. Phil talks about the importance of Defense in every interview, but it seems a mantra that he alone buys into.

Meanwhile, the Playoffs are two weeks away and we're grinding down Pau, Kobe, and Fish with too many minutes because the bench has been so ineffective. Does this in any way look like a team ready to wear the Championship mantle? I don't see it. Do I still hope for it? Of course. But I can't ignore the warning signs.

And I'm not ignoring the Bynum factor. With each passing day, it appears his return will be too little, too late. I'd much prefer to be GHF. But GHE looks much more like the real thing right now. Time is running out. If this team is going to get its mojo back, Tuesday night in Charlotte is the place to start. Go Lakers!

It's pretty ironic all the hate thrown at Farmar. The guy was only
on the floor for 11 minutes, but by the way everybody's ranting
you'd think he single handedly lost the game for the Lakers.

Jordan was 1 for 2 (he, Pau, Mbenga and Luke were the only Lakers
who shot better than 50%). The rest of the team shot 25%.
Why aren't you all ranting about Ariza's 3 for 11 or Odom's
3 for 14 or Fish's 3 for 11 or Kobe's 7 for 19? If any of the
starters other than Pau could shoot the ball straight today,
the Lakers would have won going away.

Jordan has the supreme disadvantage of spending most of his
court time with Powell (0 for 4 today) and Sasha (0 for 4).
You can't get assists if the people you pass it to don't make
shots. And it also didn't help that when Jordan was on the
floor Trevor turned it over once, Lamar turned it over once,
Powell turned it over one, and Kobe turned it over twice.

So summing that all up, in the 11 minutes that Jordan was on
the floor, he made 1 of 2 shots, got 1 assist, had 1 turnover,
1 steal, and 1 foul. His TEAMmates during that time made 2 for 12 shots and turned the ball over 5 times! For you to
blame Farmar for the bad play of his teammates when he was
on the floor is ludicrous.

First to blame for this loss are all starters except Pau. If Kobe's
not healthy enough to play WELL, he should have rested and
let Sasha and Luke and Jordan and Shannon Brown pick up
his minutes. Ariza should not be jacking lots of 3's. 1 or 2
a game I don't mind, but he doesn't hit them consistently enough
to shoot lots of them. Lamar is Lamar some days you get Filet
Mignon, other days you get fish guts. And Fish is a streaky
shooter as well.

Behind those guys, the most blame goes to Powell and Sasha
with their matching 0-for-4 performances.

I know there will be some people who will get all whiny and
try to respond that Farmar's defense isn't very good and all
that, but you know what. You could be the lockdown defender
of the century, but if all your teammates are shooting bricks and
turning the ball over every other possession, you're not going
to win games.

I'll also throw in that Phil gets a little bit of blame for this one.
He should have learned by now that he can't put more than
two of the bench mob on the floor at the same time and expect
to play even with the opponent. When you get Farmar,
Sasha, Powell, and Luke on the floor at the same time,
sometimes they'll come through and do fine (maybe even
gain a lead or extend a lead). But sometimes they'll give up
a big spurt of points in a very short time.

Ugly, ugly, ugly.

Honestly, the Lakers look plain bored. What I'd love to see, though, is a bored Lakers team toying with their opponent, figuring out different ways to put them to rest, relying on different guys to get the job done. Today was one of those days when NO ONE could get it done. Maybe Phil should think about resting Kobe and Pau for the rest of the roadie, and make the second unit play some serious minutes. Time to get back to the basics of basketball, boys.

All in all, though, I didn't take this loss too hard. But I'll agree: The Cavs are definitely playing their best basketball of the season right now. Too bad they're peaking too early. We'll be peaking at just the right time.

Go Lake Show!

The bench is young and they will be inconsistent, but its getting to the point of irritating to me. I think PJ trusts them too much in their 3rd/4th quarter stint. They either go on a run or blow leads, and this year they've been too up and down for my liking. Jordan and Sasha had breakout years last year, but I think that Crit and Von Wafer will turn out to be better pros than them. I'd like to see some solid, if unspectacular, vets added on the bench this offseason if thats possible.

About Kobe's immune system: I remember some interview where he said on days where he has to pick training or more sleep, he picks training everytime, so thats a minus for his immune system, but its what makes him Kobe.

How many people do you come in contact every day? How
many running up to you wanting to shake your hand?

Multiply that number by 1000 and that's how many Kobe encounters
every day. Virus transmission is a matter of statistics. If you
are a loner who never interacts with anyone, then you won't
get viruses. If you are an exceedingly popular public figure
with thousands of people fawning over you all the time, then
every virus in every town is heading your way.

Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | March 29, 2009 at 08:06 PM

Relax, man. It was a joke.

i know this is not good. but i think we need to let the starters get some rest... let the bench play more and redeem themselves, let them find their rhythms so that they'll be ready on playoffs..

I dont care if the cavs get the homecourt advantage. we can still beat them on Finals, but if we fight against Boston or Orlando, we better have the home advantage against them..

GO LAKERS!!!!

I love this comment by mikefloss - "When is PJ going to start playing Shannon and Morrison?
HE'S NOT!!" It's soooo true. This is the time of year that the rotation gets tighter, not deeper. One of those guys (Sun will be the other) won't even be on the active list for the playoffs.

We DON'T NEED home court against Clev.... we CAN BEAT THEM anywhere... even if we played 7 games in their home we'd still win it.. Just REST KOBE and PAU.. we need both of them FRESH when playoff time..

2009 NBA CHAMP : ur Los Angels LAKERS

relax guys we're on the 5th game of 7 road games.. they're tired..and kobe got some problems..

we'll be just fine when playoff come.. just give kobe and pau some rest and we'll be rockin the playoff. and when drew get back (i hope he'll be back soon, it will be a nightmare if it turns out to be like last year) we're gona bet any team in the final (I MEAN ANY TEAM)

you know what interests me is the fact that kobe and phil do not seem that worried. i understand phil is the zen master and kobe is probably keeping it all inside but still.

it's like they know something that we all don't know. maybe kobe is seriously conserving his energy for playoffs phil has said this about mj and kobe. they are two players capable of doing that.

i think phil has some secret plan that is going to make the lakers unstoppable.

personally, i just want kobe, fish, and gasol to get some rest.

>>>LTLF: If you're the point guard, and you're on the court
>>>with three stiffs and Pau Gasol, your job is to get the ball
>>>to Pau Gasol. If you fail to do this, you are a failure.

The first time that Farmar was on the floor with Gasol, Lamar
and Trevor Ariza were also on the floor. They're not stiffs, so
I assume in your great wisdom he could pass the ball to them
as well, and he did. Results: one missed shot by Pau, two missed
shots by Ariza, turnover by Ariza, two turnovers by Odom.

If there are three good players on the floor, a point guard should
try to get ALL of them involved, not just one. It's not Farmar's
fault if Ariza and Odom played like absolute poo whether Jordan
was on the floor or not.

The second time Jordan was on the floor with Pau, it was
late in the third and Kobe was also on the floor. Would your
majesty allow that maybe Jordan could pass to Kobe as well?
Result: Kobe shoots 1 for 2 and turns the ball over twice,
Gasol misses the one shot he takes, Josh Powell turns the
ball over once.

I don't remember if Jordan passed the ball to Powell, but if
he did, then that would be the one play where he would
deserve your criticism.

>>>The whole team is performing poorly except Gasol and Ariza.

Huh?

Let's review some of the games previous to this loss...

Exhibit 1: The Lakers won 5 straight games prior to the loss.

Exhibit 2: vs Atlanta, Trevor shot 3-for-11. Only Pau, Farmar, MBenga, and Farmar shot 50% or better.
They held the Hawks to 39% shooting. It's just that the only people hitting shots for the Lakers (other than
Pau) were only on the floor for short minutes and they passed the ball to their teammates more than
they shot it. If Walton and Farmar had shot the ball more and passed less, the result might have been
different.

Exhibit 3: vs New Jersey, Lamar shot 5-for-9, had 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. In that game, Fish
shot 8-for-12 and had 4 assists. Luke also hit 2 of 3 of his shots.

Exhibit 4: vs Detroit, Ariza, Odom, Kobe, and Walton all shot 50% or better. They held Detroit to 39% shooting.
Bad night for bench comparisons, as Will Bynum had a career game (vs Lakers starters OR bench). But Kobe
had his one good offensive night of the road trip, Pau and Lamar had nearly matching double doubles, and
Fish was hitting his 3's, and that was enough to carry the team.

Exhibit 5: vs OKC, Ariza, Odom, Fish, Farmar, Walton, and Shannon Brown all shot 50% or better. They held
the Thunder to 41%. I thought Farmar played better than Russell Westbrook in this game, and the +/- when
they were on the floor against each other bears that out.

Exhibit 6: vs Chicago, Ariza, Odom, Farmar, Walton, Sasha, and MBenga shot 50% or better. Defense wasn't
as good, giving up 50% shooting. Bad night for Fish, but Jordan stepped up with 5-10 shooting, 3 assists and
3 steals. Bench mob ourscored the opposing bench 27 to 19.

Exhibit 7: vs Golden State, Ariza, Odom, Fish, Sahsa, and Luke all shot 50% or better and they held GS to 46%,
which is about average. Luke Walton was 4 for 6 and Sasha was the Machine, at 4-for-4, including 2 3-pointers.

Exhibit 8: vs Philadelphia, Ariza, Odom, Powell, and Sasha shot 50% or better, and they held Philly to 44% shooting.
It was the 18 turnovers (5 by Kobe, 3 by Pau, 2 by Powell, 2 by Fish) that really killed them. And the stupid non-foul
by Ariza at the end. This was the only game recently that was close enough to be won or lost on a last second
play, and Ariza (who you credit with not playing poorly) played it poorly.

Exhibit 9: I could go on longer, but hopefully you get the point.

If you look at the recent stretch of games, then saying that everyone but Pau and Ariza are playing poorly is patently
false.

If you want to state that Kobe has played poorly recently, then I'd agree with you there. I think his combined injuries
are wearing him down a bit and he doesn't want to let the team down by sitting out and resting.

If you want to say that Pau is the only Laker who has consistently played well lately, then I'd buy into that. Consistently
being the key word here. If they win a championship playing like they're playing now, then Pau would get the MVP,
not Kobe.

But as for the rest of the team, they've been kinda up and down. Ariza, Odom, and Luke have played well most games
lately, but have had bad games (and one very bad end-of-game for Ariza). Sasha, Powell and Farmar have played
poorly in some games lately, but very well in others. Fish has been about 50-50 lately.

Most nights they've come through on defense. The two most recent losses can be chalked up to a bad shooting night
vs Atlanta and a bad turnover night vs Philadelphia.

While it's true that not every Laker is going to play well every game, they don't need to do that to win a championship.
What they need is for enough players to play well on any given night, and most nights this season, that has been
the case. More often than not, it's Kobe or Pau or Lamar or Fish or Bynum or Ariza that have been the major
contributors, and that's why they're starting. But there have been nights when one or more of the starters have
had a bad night and one or more bench mob players have stepped up and picked up the slack.

So here's the truth.

Kobe will get well.
Bynum will return.
The bench mob will get their swagger back.
The Lakers will win the championship, with or without home court advantage.

Count on it.

Regarding Pau & his "supposed" leadership -- I have to commend him on calling out players when necessary regardless if he just joined the team a little over a year ago because he performs on the court, shows up on the court, he's not perfect, but HE is consistent and a warrior. (Remember, he played for his OLYMPIC team) Leadership is not always about who's been around the longest, but it exudes when you go about your business (in Pau's case, probably quietly but def noticeably) and of course, conduct that business accordingly...That's just my opinion of course, as I don't have a problem with Pau adding his two cents regarding the team, him not getting touches and our sorry ass bench as currently constructed..

Go Lakers

First of all, I just saw Steve Wozniak riding down La Brea on his Segway.

Second of all, at the All-Star Break I posted that the Lakers could only lose 4 more games and retain the best record in the NBA. They've lost 5. Everyone else was saying 6. For that matter, the number might've be 3.

Earlier in the year, Kobe said that one trait he loved about this current team was, if the opposition got up by 10 the Lakers would fight back. They'd never let it get to 15 or 20. They always had a response.

The three players that should have fatigue issues are Kobe, Pau and Fisher. Though Kobe and Pau more so due to playing in the finals then the Olympics; still they have been our go to guys.

We can't just blame Farmar and or Vujacic. Powell has been a bit inconsistent, and Luke's shot has been suspect too.

Even "slow and steady wins the race" Derek Fisher has had lapses.

Personally, I like demanding for the ball. That's what he should do.

Prepare yourselves for a blog full of input-quake post's if we even lose to the Bobcats.

Right now, time to move on to Tuesday's game.

I dont understand how "tired" is an excuse on the road..Its not like they are playing back to back every night..What, they are not tired when they travel home?

Hey Chicken Little, what are you doing here?

THE SKY IS FALLING (repeat)

I'd like to go on record with a "Whoa doggies, that was ugly" first comment. Gotta get the doggies involved.

I think that there are three HUGE issues that the Coaches might want to address before the Playoffs:

1) Kobe's health. He needs to get right. That means some treatment for his ankle. Serious treatment. I'd rather he not play the rest of the year and be a rested and healthy for the Playoffs. I know his hand won't get better withour surgery, but if he has no lift on his jumper and lacks the mobility to get to the rack, than we can expect this type of shooting for the rest of the season and however far we make it into the Playoffs.

2) Let the bench hang in the wind. Our starters (especially Pau and Kobe) need to play a bit less heading into the First Round. Remeber, the first two rounds have an UNGODLY amount of time between games, so we don't need to get drastric in minute reduction (and honestly, the same thing could be accomplished by cancelling practices and shoot-a-rounds) but I'd like for our First 5 to be fresh and funky. Also, the bench can only turn this ship around ON THE COURT. No amount of additional amount practices or pep talks can cure what ails them except getting into a groove on the hardwood, in front of fans. The bench as a whole hasn't executed well on offense since the All-Star break (except for the occaisional break-out game). Sasha has shot poorly, Powell has suddenly re-created himself as Magic Johnson, Farmar looks ever-increasingly lost (or uninterested) in playing defence. Luke has been the guy to give 100% as either a starter or Bench Mobber. But he is only one man. With 9 games left in the regular season, we have to hope that the second unit regains some pep in their step and some vim and vigor.

3) Establish wether or not Bynum will be added to the Bench Mob, or return to the First 5. I think, in fairness to Lamar, he should come off the bench. He'll be on limited minutes and the Frist unit is playing well as it is currently structured. I'd be more in favor of sending Ariza back to the Bench Mob and moving either Walton or Vujacic into the Starting Line-Up for the Playoffs than having Bynum try to find his way back against opposing starting centers. Our potential 1st round opponent is Dallas and they have a banger in Dampier who would like nothing better than to beat up on young Bynum. If you bring Bynum off the bench, it allows Kobe and Gasol to get equal rest and allows Lamar to stay on the court with Bynum and possibly Powell by sliding him over to the 3. That's some rebounding and defense. When Lamar sits, you can either bring in Gasol, or use Luke as a 4, depending on the match-ups. In any case, I think that knowing how things are going to shake out when Bynum comes back will help settle some nerves on our precious Mob.

Lastly...I think Phil should seriously consider benching Farmar for a game. Let Vujacic play the point, use Shannon Brown at the 2 and you'll have a more defensive minded back court than we have now. I wouldn't use this in the Playoffs, but I would do so to send a message. Defense wins championships, that and using you post players effectively. I think Farmar has a lot of talent, is supremely confident in his game, and has no idea why things don't work out for him. He is not the sole source of any bad Laker play, but he is letting his team down on the defensive end and he seems to run the ball away from Sasha and Pau going to the strong side of the defense with Ariza and Powell too often.

This isn't the nd, home court advantage is important, but as many teams have shown, it doesn't guarantee anything. Just ask Dirk Nowitzki.

GO LAKERS!!!!!

THE SKY IS “NOT” FALLING…

Just a few quotes from the few posters willing to brave the blog after a Lakers loss. As for the rest of you Fair Weather fans, hope you trip and fall trying to jump back on next week. I’m embarrassed for the lack of confidence shown by many normally loyal Lakers fans. Hang your head in shame, you Fair Weather Fans. Will you even show up for the parade?

JMNSHBO!
DNFTT!

>>>

“So summing that all up, in the 11 minutes that Jordan was on
the floor, he made 1 of 2 shots, got 1 assist, had 1 turnover,
1 steal, and 1 foul. His TEAMmates during that time made 2 for
12 shots and turned the ball over 5 times! For you to
blame Farmar for the bad play of his teammates when he was
on the floor is ludicrous.” – Long Time Laker Fan

>>>

“Man, when the Laker's lose a game, this blog turns into a bunch of petulant
children. Farmar sucks, Sasha sucks, play Brown and Morrison, blah blah blah.

It's one stinking game people. We won 4 before, we'll probably win the next 2,
is 6-1 a bad road trip? Grow up you basketball novices, this is the NBA, you
don't win them all. (Even though Lamar thinks you can. lol)

Finally. Stop focusing on the negative!!”– mikefloss

>>>

“We still have a great record, we're a great team when we play the right way, we have some issues that need to be cleaned up before the playoffs for sure, but I like my team and I like our chances. It's one horrible game, we'll be better Tuesday. I hope." And if we're not, it is Charlotte so who gives a frick?” – olf

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“We DON'T NEED home court against Clev.... we CAN BEAT THEM anywhere... even if we played 7 games in their home we'd still win it.. Just REST KOBE and PAU.. we need both of them FRESH when playoff time.
relax guys we're on the 5th game of 7 road games.. they're tired..and kobe got some problems..” –kobe.4.mvp
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“What is more likely to happen between now and the playoffs - that Vujacic and Farmar will start playing better, or that (the very raw, in general inexperienced, very unfamiliar with the triangle, and no playoff games) Brown and Morrison will be able to contribute at a higher level than what Farmar and Vujacic can do?

I think it's much more likely that Farmar and Vujacic will pick up the level of their play.” –ex

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“We have #1 seed locked in the West. W's and L's become meaningless. Having the homecourt advantage could become meaningless, if we are not healthy. The severity of a loss at this point in the season has no "ill" effect on the Lakers(as far as seeding goes). Rest the starters!” –ChicNStu (By the way, I just “GOT” the name. Pretty funny.

>>>

“Okay - new day. I have had time to sleep off the negativity.” –PsychedLakerGirl

>>>

“This isn't the nd, home court advantage is important, but as many teams have shown, it doesn't guarantee anything. Just ask Dirk Nowitzki.” –Jamie Sweet

>>>

“Lakers will be fine and trust me coaching staff knows what they are doing and are closest to truth than fans.” –Rocket Science.

>>>

Tom

while Atlanta did play good D, we also did a lot of stupid things.

Fish let himself get run off of the 3 point line instead of spot up shooting. Pau tried to beat guys off the dribble. We didn't pass to Pau in the post nearly enough. Odom settled for lame jumpers. Sasha continued to rush his shot. On a fast break, Kobe didn't even touch the ball.

If we'd just played a little smarter or made some free throws we could have won.

Let's face it though. It was unreasonable all along to expect the Lakers to win every game of this road trip and the last one that was 6 games.

So far we've dropped 1 game in 10 of those road games. We still have the best road record in the league. We've got time to right the ship.

Yah I noticed are two super subs not playing together about Portland time. Maybe if Phil would wake-up and smell the road apples and talk to these guys we can get back to normal play.