The Power Has Been Usupred...now I have the conch, the thread-changing conch!!!!!

MULTI RE-POST:

Good morning Blog-O-Maniacs, looks like this team likes to win a few than lose two so far this year. Prediction: We win the next game.

@mamba24 - Your battling on the stairs rapier-like today, interweb swashbuckler that you are, fending off thrusts, parrying slashes and counter-attacking where an opening presents itself. I tip my cap to you, sir.

@JAMF - RE: the Archives. They are dangerous to delve into. First off you have to bring enough torches, 50 feet of rope and a water skin to last you long enough to find what you're looking for. Secondly, perception is everything in re-reading and re-hashing what was said about a topic x-number of years ago. Lastly, it's too dusty.

Musical Bloggers...thank you for most excellent jams...not gonna smash the glass on my PANIC button today, I'm just gonna ramble

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJJCQ4dtAlw

I did just get back from the Bay Area after all (most chilly up yonder, I must say).

@justanothermambafan...this for your most excellent comment!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ0VMDmGdx0

Observation/Query: When Shannon Brown struggles the bench has faltered, coincidence?

Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.

Tough loss.. That's what happens when lakers fall asleep at the wheel. Shame shame shame but today is a new day

About odom.. For such a great underrated rebounder he gave up 2 very costly and HUGE offensive boards in the closing minutes to mcroberts

About dfish.. I still can't believe we signed this guy to 3 freakin years? The silver lining is human civilization may not last that long anyways

About luke.. Why does he continuously get a crack at the rotation?? I've never seen a more useless 2 minutes in my life

About pau... Another opposing center lights him up.. Its becoming a nightly routine. Apparently he has decided to pick n choose which games he will show up to play. Not what I expected to start the year

About pau... Another opposing center lights him up.. Its becoming a nightly routine. Apparently he has decided to pick n choose which games he will show up to play. Not what I expected to start the year

Posted by: yellofever | November 29, 2010 at 09:06 AM

-
sup yello, I think Pau is not enjoying the center thing. I don't blame him, center sucks. Too much contact, hehe...While Bynum plays videogames, Pau amd LO has to do all the dirty work...no fun.

So as soon as we can have our PF back (that means our center back too), he will be fine.

Cheers.

*________________________________________________________*
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISLAND PRIEST - BANDWAGON
*________________________________________________________*
(01) MAMBA24 - OWNER - Happy Birthday Priest my brother. May
the day and years to come bring you all you hope and wish for...You are
wishing for a Laker 3-peat as one of your Birthday wishes I hope.
(02)KOBEMVP888 - DRIVER - Happy Birthday Island Priest!

*_____________________________________________________________*
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISLAND PRIEST - BANDWAGON
*_____________________________________________________________*
(01) MAMBA24 - OWNER - Happy Birthday Priest my brother. May
the day and years to come bring you all you hope and wish for...You are
wishing for a Laker 3-peat as one of your Birthday wishes I hope.
(02)KOBEMVP888 - DRIVER - Happy Birthday Island Priest!
(03)MAGIC PHIL - RIDING SHOTGUN - Happy BDay, Island Priest. Hope you
have a "holli-day"

Hi back Family!

Honestly, in so many ways it was better for me to start writing back after Jefe's profile.

Somehow it slowed down the rush of my thoughts after this break (small note... Thanxgivin time AND Black Friday in NY was siiiiiiiiick!!! Absolutely amazing!!! I never ate that much in my whole life... word!!), because never ever I'd thought I would have got to comment one good victory AND TWO LOSSES IN ROW... again.

After Utah's one I was really really sure we would have set up ourselves back on... it was a shock the way we played the Pacers to me.

I landed in Milan this morning, and first two things I saw from Twitter and my emails were these:

Leslie Nielsen is dead;

Lakers Defense is dead.

I opened the NBA page of the Lakers and saw the mere numbers and mumbled... but it was only after actually watching the game, thanx to the pass, that I came quite... numb.

It doesn't happen often to me, you know, and I sure don't wanna be dramatic cos season just started and we well know what is that is pushing us a bit over the chords right now (MM excellently covered it up in the previous post).

But one thing truly sets me off, and it's the second time I felt this way this year (the other was against Denver): I didn't feel we were ready to win the clutch.

Man.

It feels weird and I don't know why I feel so.

I have been amazed by Kobe's will yesterday and some of his incredible tricks but it has been a while this year I haven't felt in us the clutching power.

It will get back, I'm sure (truly I don't feel that low nor I think we should worry... my confidence in this team, especially when we will be all available, is untouched and it's made of stone), but at the moment it isn't there.

Much like our defense isn't.

I also feel for Ron.

It's clear there's something stopping him and it's different than it was last year, when we were just aware that he was struggling getting triangle working.

This year so far it's more a physical struggle and this, of course, can't make me feel any good.

It will get solved as well, but by now it's a concern for sure.

In all this, both Utah and the Pacers are clearly good teams; good teams that we shall ALWAYS prevail onto in a playoff series (no doubt there)... so all in all these losses have to be taken just as Kobe said: with perspective and foresight.

Still...
I'm bummed because the last thing I did expect was this gloomy Monday.

As soon as the game ended, this melody in this song started play in my head (don't ask... it happens to me all the time... I live with a sort of mind soundtrack in my own self... ), so this is the song for today:

The Connells, "74/75":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmp-aGq2SqM

I have to read yet many of the past posts so it will take me a lot, but I wanted to just write soon to say "Hi Back".
Missed you all a lot.

Can't wait for next chat and hopefully this will bring back some consistency on our behalf, because this way we're not gonna be preserved very often.

Oh... I won't put blame on any player: to me the defensive job is a collective thing, and it also is the offense but really, Kobe said it.
We win with D and D is a collective job more than anything else for us; so no one to blame, but everyone to blame as well.

Not as a condemn: it's a work of self-checking, that I am sure everybody's being submitting himself to.

I can't wait for Bynum to be back (not rush though: healthy for the whole season is what we need and no rush would equal that) because I am sure many things would have got solved yesterday especially if we had TWO bigs they had to guard and moreover our rebounding situation would have been just completely different.

Still wearing my Purple & Gold Pride.
Not because I will think of what others are doing, which I don't care for, but only because I am well aware and assured of what WE ARE CAPABLE OF.

Today and Always: Three-Peat is a Certainty.
This is just a Long and someday Winding Road.

Chin Up, Laker Nation. ;)

LLL, Z. :)

I wasn't very happy with the focus with the team last night. Everyone except Kobe seemed like they were sleepwalking, expecting things to happen instead of making things happen.

While last night's game means nothing in the big picture, the Lakers need to snap out of it. Because every team in the NBA would have beaten the Lakers the way they played as a team last night.

Another thing that I noticed is that Kobe's will isn't enough anymore. It's not about Kobe anymore. It's about the whole team especially Pau Gasol, who played a terrible game last night in my opinion.

Go Lakers!

@Island - Have a great bday!

@Jamie - That's what I call a good ramble!

*_____________________________________________________________*
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISLAND PRIEST - BANDWAGON
*_____________________________________________________________*
(01) MAMBA24 - OWNER - Happy Birthday Priest my brother. May
the day and years to come bring you all you hope and wish for...You are
wishing for a Laker 3-peat as one of your Birthday wishes I hope.
(02)KOBEMVP888 - DRIVER - Happy Birthday Island Priest!
(03)MAGIC PHIL - RIDING SHOTGUN - Happy BDay, Island Priest. Hope you
have a "holli-day"
(04) LROB - SECURITY/DJ - @Island - Have a great bday!

hey mannno . yesterday was terrible n the bossman is in the lead... i just checked. n check this too. http://sportscomplainer.com/nba its like the drudges thing but for sports. alright.

Posted by: dodgetown | November 29, 2010 at 09:56 AM

Who let these weirdos in the building, let alone past the velvet rope? Where's security when you need them? Sweet Jesus!!

*in my best MAMBA24 voice*

Island Priest

Happy Birthday! You insights are appreciated by this blogger. Enjoy you day.

What's up, Lakerville. I'm with Phil on this one - they were lethargic... no hustle. More often than not, they lose games where they are outrebounded. Also, I noticed that Pau has trouble with players taller and/or heavier than him. It could be that he's tired from banging with all the centers. Anyway, for some strange reason, I felt that it was better for them to lose rather than eke out a win. Winning a badly played game has the tendency to make them overconfident. I hope they learned something from this ugly game. *sigh*

*_____________________________________________________________*
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISLAND PRIEST - BANDWAGON
*_____________________________________________________________*
(01)KOBEMVP888 - OWNER - Island Priest Happy Birthday! Your insights are
appreciated by this blogger. Enjoy you day.
(02) MAMBA24 - DRIVER - Happy Birthday Priest my brother. May the day and
years to come bring you all you hope and wish for...You are wishing for a Laker
3-peat as one of your Birthday wishes I hope.
(03)MAGIC PHIL - RIDING SHOTGUN - Happy BDay, Island Priest. Hope you
have a "holli-day"
(04) LROB - SECURITY/DJ - @Island - Have a great bday!
(05) LAKERTOM - ISLAND PRIEST... Happy Birthday, Bro. Been loving your
strings of posts. Good stuff.

I have a question and I'm not hating just curious.Does anyone really watch the whole video on this latest YouTube link fad? or do peeps just click just to see what the title is, then click back to the blog. Posted by: Magia32 | November 29, 2010 at 10:15 AM
*
A little bit of both Magia32. Even on my own links! LOL!

This is how much I care about the Laker games played, when they're not against

Boston, Miami, Orlando, San Antonio, Portland and now Utah.

I can't quite figure this mini-losing streak. But I have an odd urge to blame it on Del Harris.........

Walt was too...how do I say this without being too offensive... Cold War 50s Dad for me. Posted by: Jamie Sweet | November 29, 2010 at 10:36 AM
*
Come on Jamie you can say it! He was a Freakin Nazi!! Wait, wait! Why are all these kids with these mouse ear hats looking at me like that for. Jamie why didn't you warn me?
HELLLLLLP!!!!!

*_____________________________________________________________*
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISLAND PRIEST - BANDWAGON
*_____________________________________________________________*
(01)KOBEMVP888 - OWNER - Island Priest Happy Birthday! Your insights are
appreciated by this blogger. Enjoy you day.
(02) MAMBA24 - DRIVER - Happy Birthday Priest my brother. May the day and
years to come bring you all you hope and wish for...You are wishing for a Laker
3-peat as one of your Birthday wishes I hope.
(03)MAGIC PHIL - RIDING SHOTGUN - Happy BDay, Island Priest. Hope you
have a "holli-day"
(04) LROB - SECURITY/DJ - @Island - Have a great bday!
(05) LAKERTOM - ISLAND PRIEST... Happy Birthday, Bro. Been loving your
strings of posts. Good stuff.
(06) JAMIE SWEET - Happy Birthday, Island Priest, remember it's not the
years, it's the miles.

Is it time to take bets on the ousting of Spoelstra by Riles?
Posted by: mclyne | November 29, 2010 at 10:41 AM
*
3 More losses and that's it!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs25ML9Ap9I @Magia32- If it's funky, I listen. If it isn't groovy, I just read the title... Posted by: Magic Phil | November 29, 2010 at 10:43 AM
*
Wow, great line Magic Phil and great song too! And yes this one I'm listening too as I post!!

Lakers loose again.

Kobe is shooting great. But that is not what makes the Lakers dominant. Kobe should focus playing defense, facilitating, creating shots for others and finding the open man. This is Kobe's greatest talent even in the shaq era, making his teammates better, so they too can have great games. When Kobe is getting 30 to 40 points, Lakers are loosing, when Kobe scores 22 to 26 points and his teammates are playing well, Lakers are winning. Gasol and Odom needs to be motivated by Kobe playing the right way, like the first 8 games of the season. You can tell Gasol and Odom are not playing interested basketball, basically their just showing up and letting Kobe do what ever he wants.

Kobe wants to be Michael Jordan, and in some ways he is but it also makes him a bad teammate when the negative part is the result, but he also has so much of Scottie Pippen and Magic Johnson in him, it is what makes him truly great, he should used it more often and less MJ. Be more MJ in last 4 minutes of the ball game and playing above Superstar level in NBA Finals.

"What I've come to see is that Kobe starts out facilitating early on. If he feels like his teammates aren't bringing their A game for whatever reason, he feels the need to take the offense into his own hands. We all saw last night how poorly the rest of the team was playing, so Kobe felt that he had to save them.

Posted by: mclyne | November 29, 2010 at 11:04 AM

"

Kobe wasn't facilitating early on, he was taking almost every shot at the beginning of the game. Is that what you mean?

*________________________________________________________*
MATT BARNES THE LAKER NATION SENDS THEIR PRAYERS AT THE
LOSS OF YOUR MOM TO CANCER - BANDWAGON
*________________________________________________________*
(01) NEWMEXICOLL - OWNER - Just wanted to give a shout out to
Matt Barnes who lost his mother to Cancer
(02) MAMAB24 - DRIVER - Matt Barnes my deepest sympathy and
prayers go out to you & your family for the loss of your Mom.
(03)

Matt Barnes,
-
I'm terribly sorry about the death of your mother. My condolences.
-
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!
-
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
-
GO LAKERS!!!!

I am not a Kobe hater as he is one of my favorite players but when Kobe dominate the ball early by shooting everytime he touches the ball, he takes his teammates out of the game. They just seem to stand around and watch him shoot. Kobe didn't have a great game against Indiana because he took more than thirty shots to score forty one points. The ball seems to always stop moving when Kobe gets it and his teammates stop playing because they know that he is going to shoot it. I fully agree with some of the other posts that when Kobe takes that many shots, it affects the play of his teammates. That also helps the opposing teams because when Kobe dominate the ball like he did against Indiana, teams double him and force him to take bad shots which brings the overall shooting percentage of the team down.