Lakers just not good enough...right now

[duncan228]

Lakers just not good enough...right now (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/angeles-242549-good-lakers.html)
By Jeff Miller
The Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES – On yet another day when the Lakers answered nothing, least of all the challenge of the injury depleted Spurs, Derek Fisher talked about his team’s playoff future, at least while it still has one.

“It won’t be about any other team,” Fisher assured. “It’s about us. Where is our mentality? Where is our focus? Where is our direction?”

And, most curious of all the past two games, where is their star?

Nearly a full regular season into the defense of their title, the Lakers remain a nagging mystery.

This much, however, is certain:

If Kobe Bryant is still playing this way two weeks from now, they aren’t going to have to worry about winning at least one game in Cleveland during the 2009-10 NBA Finals.

Of course, knowing Bryant, he’ll probably go to Denver later this week and score 50 points, banking in the game-winning, buzzer-beating shot off Carmelo Anthony’s forehead.

But as for his latest efforts, how does 13 for 47 sound? That’s Bryant’s shooting accuracy the past eight quarters.

The performance Sunday sounded like disconcerting silence, Staples Center rocking like a cemetery as the home team curled up at San Antonio’s feet and accepted a 100-81 defeat.

If you aren’t concerned about the Lakers’ current state, you should be. Bryant is, speaking of disconcerting things.

“I’m always concerned,” he said. “We all should be right now. This is an important stretch we’re coming down.”

There are too many chapters in Bryant’s highlight history to be preoccupied with what he’ll bring in the playoffs. He is still as sure a thing as exists in today’s NBA.

Concerned? Sure. But panicked? Please, these are the Lakers, who simply wad up any panic they might feel and smother it with their been-there, done-that arrogance that is both admirable and maddening at the same time.

“I just missed a lot of opportunities, and I can live with that,” Bryant said after a game in which he missed nine consecutive shots in one stretch. “I’m going to get those looks in the playoffs, and I’ll take my chances there.”

The truth, though, is Bryant will be required to take the rest of the Lakers with him into those playoffs and, right now, this team just isn’t good enough.

Isn’t good enough to win on the road in the Finals.

Isn’t good enough to beat the best in the East.

Isn’t good enough to defend its championship.

The Lakers, with one starting center tied behind their backs, suddenly look remarkably thin. Andrew Bynum should return from his Achilles strain at some point and should have a significant impact at some point, too.

But that alone won’t be enough.

On Sunday, with Bryant struggling and only Pau Gasol sniffing any success, the rest of the Lakers slipped into a haze.

Ron Artest insisted on launching nine three-point attempts, making two of them. Lamar Odom found only eight field goal tries in nearly 40 minutes. The bench managed two baskets total, needing 15 shots to make those.

Asked about his team’s recent performance, Phil Jackson said it best.

“It doesn’t,” the coach announced Sunday, “bode well for (the) playoffs.”

The Lakers had a chance to clinch the best record in the Western Conference and instead awarded the best record overall to the Cavaliers.

They had a chance to let the Spurs know what could be awaiting them in the opening round and instead were outworked by Manu Ginobili.

They had a chance to take advantage of San Antonio missing Tony Parker and instead let Matt Bonner beat them.

“Worried?” Gasol said afterward, repeating a question. “This is the kind of game where you gotta take the positives from it.”

He then continued talking for more than a minute, never once mentioning anything positive from the game.

Think about this: A team that features Bryant and had Gasol going for 32 still produced only 16 points in a 16-minute stretch starting late in the first quarter and ending early in the third.

“You want to be playing better than this,” Bryant said. “It just hasn’t happened, simple as that.”

Do we really think the Lakers will lose to San Antonio or Portland or Oklahoma City in round one? No.

Do we really think Bryant will get pushed around by the likes of Keith Bogans in the postseason? No.

Do we really think the rest of the Lakers will play this poorly when their existence is on the line? No.

But do we really believe the Lakers aren’t good enough to win it all right now? Absolutely.

The good news for them is they have five more games to get pointed in the right direction. They’re going to need their star, but they’re going to need everyone else even more.

Fisher’s right. Ultimately, this will be about the Lakers, particularly the ones not named Kobe Bryant.

It will be about those guys and whether or not they can solve themselves.

[duhoh]

i think LA will cruise on until they get to a game 7 and suddenly try to wake up.

[duncan228]

Lakers find another way to dial up fans' anxiety (http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-heisler-lakers-20100405,0,6988330,full.column)
The Spurs' 100-81 victory over the Lakers shows that one win in L.A. over the Jazz is no cure-all.
Mark Heisler
LA Times

OK, that's enough humility.

Little as any Laker wanted to talk about it, that was a shocking 100-81 loss they suffered to San Antonio, the old rival they'd beaten in 10 of the last 15 meetings before Sunday when the Spurs turned the mismatch around.

In the really bad news for the Lakers, they approached it like a big game, as they have recently ... while losing four of six ... as they, quote, gear up for the playoffs.

This raises a question:

What happens if you dial it up, and you're even worse than when you lacked urgency?

"Well, it doesn't bode well for the playoffs or building momentum, but we can't seem to put together a good game from one opponent to the next," said Coach Phil Jackson.

"Maybe if we have one single opponent for seven games, we'll be able to do that."

Entertaining as Jackson is, there aren't a lot of adherents to his Don't Worry, Be Happy Theory left.

Actually, from the language Jackson used in the dressing room before coming out to reassure the media, I don't think he's so happy, or unworried, either.

Friday's solid victory over Utah seemed to end the latest "crisis" that had prompted owner Jerry Buss to make a rare visit to practice, General Manager Mitch Kupchak to pronounce himself "very concerned," and Jeanie Buss to plead for calm on talk radio.

Sunday was supposed to be the Lakers' second step back against the gallant but recently overmatched Spurs, with a win locking up No. 1 in the West.

Before the game, Gregg Popovich, the free-wheeling Phil of San Antonio, acknowledged looking at the standings and wondering who they might play ... like the Lakers in the first round if they fall to No. 8.

That, of course, made him the first coach ever to admit it.

"They're full of it," said Popovich, laughing.

"They're the ones that say, 'We don't care who we play.' They're full of baloney too, because we're all trying to hide from the Lakers in the first round.

"I mean, really, who do you want to play in the first round? 'Oh, the Lakers.'

"What an idiot you'd have to be."

To that point, things seemed normal, with the Spurs acknowledging their underdog status.

Then the game started and they kicked the daylights out of the Lakers.

Suddenly, it wasn't one-sided at all.

The Lakers had Pau Gasol. The Spurs had Tim Duncan.

The Lakers had Kobe Bryant. The Spurs had the Argentine Kobe Bryant, Manu Ginobili.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, their Kobe was still cold ( eight for 24 from the floor Sunday, 13 for 47 over two games).

The Argentine Kobe, meanwhile, was still on fire. After a 43-point breakout Friday in San Antonio's win over Orlando, Ginobili scored the Lakers' Kobe on Sunday, 32-22.

If Lakers fans want to worry, there's a long list of stuff, starting with Bryant's finger, which he says is fine. Of course, if Kobe had the finger amputated, he'd say it was fine.

In another muted postgame interview, Bryant said they just missed a lot of shots.

It's true, you have to shoot well if you let the other team score 100, while shooting nearly 49% and going seven for 18 on three-point shots.

This isn't rocket science. If you want to know what's wrong with the Lakers, it has something to do with opponents scoring 108-109-100 in their last three losses.

Before that, the Lakers held Oklahoma City to 91. Unfortunately, the Thunder held them to 75.

The Lakers' defense is designed to drive opponents into the L.A. shot-blockers, one of whom, Andrew Bynum, is missing, in case you haven't heard.

"Someone's got to take the charge," Jackson said. "Still, you funnel players there and somebody's got to be in position and is supposed to be ready."

Just offhand, how many charges can you remember any Laker other than Derek Fisher taking lately, or ever?

The Lakers could still be fine if they get Bynum back healthy before the playoffs.

They'll have to hold together until then, as they head out on the road again for their next game ... in Denver.

In other words, the big turnaround may not be immediately at hand, assuming there is one.

If the last trip raised the alert level in Lakerdom to Defcon 2, check your handheld for updates.

[weebo]

The lakers role players just plain suck. That will be their downfall.

[mogrovejo]

The Lakers have been playing the same way and showing the same flaws the entire season. T

It's possible for them to win it all as it always was, but they need to be lucky with the seeding and go through a hot patch during the playoffs.

[bostonguy]

I still see the Lakers winning the west despite their flaws.

[mytespurs]

I still see the Lakers winning the west despite their flaws.

I agree. They'll clinch ther #1 seed in the West by the end of the season. I don't understand why it was made a mini big deal that they didn't clinch the #1 seed and Cleveland clinched homefield throughout.....no surprise from that aspect. And Lakers are still at least 5-6 games ahead of any WC team.
Clinching #1 seed in the west for them is semantics at this point.

[ChrisRichards]

The lakers role players just plain suck. That will be their downfall.
I think the starters will get their shit together so I agree with this one. They have no depth. After Odom, the drop off in talent is pretty steep.

[ulosturedge]

Indeed the Lakers are still favorites, but this whole thing about being bored and being able to turn on "the switch" on a whim is bullshit. I have yet to see that switch flipped and the more that switch isn't flipped the more doubt it creates for them. Where eventually you flip the switch and nothing happens then what? That's exactly the situation the Lakers want to avoid.

If it does indeed happen as advertised then the Lakers are headed to the Finals as forecasted, if not they are going to be in serious trouble in the playoffs.

[D-Wade #3]

LOL Laker fans beating to the tune of Artest's dick after they got him, and got lit up by Ginobli. Actually, anyone with above average speed makes Artest look like he has feet of stone. But that's ok Lakerfans, he's an elite defender in your eyes, and that's all that matters :lol

[DJ Mbenga]

LOL Laker fans beating to the tune of Artest's dick after they got him, and got lit up by Ginobli. Actually, anyone with above average speed makes Artest look like he has feet of stone. But that's ok Lakerfans, he's an elite defender in your eyes, and that's all that matters :lol

does miamiheat really need 3 troll accounts?

[Ghazi]

cROFL 21 Blessings "flipped the switch"

[Baseline]

All this talk about how good the Lakers were last year is laughable.

Garnett was out last year. Ginobili was out last year. Jameer Nelson, an all-star PG, was just coming back from a 6-week injury.

The Lakers weren't the best team last year - they were the healthiest at the emd of the year. that's why they won.

Noboby wants to adnit it, but this year, they're simply being exposed as a team that isn't really that good.

Only when the long-in-the-tooth Spurs beat them down in emabarassing fashion does the lightbulb go on for Laker fans.

[D-Wade #3]

All this talk about how good the Lakers were last year is laughable.

Garnett was out last year. Ginobili was out last year. Jameer Nelson, an all-star PG, was just coming back from a 6-week injury.

The Lakers weren't the best team last year - they were the healthiest at the emd of the year. that's why they won.

Noboby wants to adnit it, but this year, they're simply being exposed as a team that isn't really that good.

Only when the long-in-the-tooth Spurs beat them down in emabarassing fashion does the lightbulb go on for Laker fans.

Careful son, even though its the truth, Laker fans about to cramp up and unflow like their time of the month

[ezau]

Artest doesn't have the foot speed that once had. I know it's tough to guard Manu, but Gino simply blew past him all game long. On the other hand, I love it when the Staples Center gets that quiet against the Spurs

[Chillen]

I'm not buying any of this crap, Lakers are the team to beat, not the Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Mavs, Suns, Spurs. They won it all in 2009 and until somebody goes in and beats them in a 7-game series despite some recent poor play, again they have to be unseated first and teams usually step it up in the playoffs, at least the really good teams do.

Great win by the Spurs, Lakers look beatable these upcoming playoffs but some team has to go in there and give them a smackdown for the knockout.

[ElNono]

Lakerfan won't admit it, but Ariza was a much better fit for this team than Artest. Trevor was the quicker defender, who could also shoot the three much more consistently and could finish at the rim.
And the 2nd article is dead on. The defense is not what it used to be at this point last season for LA.

[alchemist]

Beating these guys 4 times will be a pain in the dickhole....good luck to the team that catches them first.

[Dex]

The Lakers are still the most dominating team in the West, especially if they get healthy. No opposing team should want to play them in the first round.

But they look flawed this year; there seems to be chinks in the armor. They don't seem to just be marching to the Finals like they were last year.

[j.dizzle]

LOL no surprises here, heard the same shit last year when that midget houston team blew them out twice & took them to game 7. I dont really like the mentality but when a game is a must win, they will usually take it.

[duncan228]

Kobe & Co. seeking consistency before playoffs (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-upanddownlakers)
By Beth Harris

It’s the Los Angeles Lakers’ goal to be playing their best basketball heading into the postseason. So far, they’ve hardly looked convincing.

Despite their 55-22 record and top spot in the Western Conference, Kobe Bryant & Co. continue to show an inconsistency that has plagued them this season. And now Bryant isn’t bailing them out all the time.

He was 8 of 24 from the floor in a 100-81 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday that snapped the Lakers’ seven-game home winning streak. Two days earlier, he went 5 of 23 in a win over the Utah Jazz hours after signing a three-year contract extension worth nearly $90 million. Bryant says his mangled right index finger isn’t bothering him any more than usual.

“I’m going to get those looks in the playoffs and I’ll take my chances there,” he said.

Fans voiced their displeasure, booing the Lakers off the floor Sunday after they failed to clinch the No. 1 seed in the West and home-court advantage through the conference finals. They’ve lost four of their last seven.

“I’m always concerned, now more than ever. We should be,” Bryant said. “This is an important stretch coming down, it’s going to be a huge playoff battle.”

The Lakers took a day off Monday. They return to practice for two days ahead of their final back-to-back of the season starting Thursday at Denver, which is in a tight race for the No. 2 seed. The Lakers are at last-place Minnesota the next night.

Their final three games are against Portland, currently eighth in the standings and a potential first-round playoff opponent; and non-playoff teams Sacramento and the Clippers.

“We execute our offense and we play better defense, that’s when we become that team that’s near impossible to beat in a seven-game series,” reserve Luke Walton said. “It’s just getting it to click that needs to happen. It’s there, now we just have to all do it together consistently and we’ll be fine.”

After owning the NBA’s best record earlier in the season, the Lakers have lost that to Cleveland. They need to win their five final games to have consecutive 60-win seasons for the first time since they did it four straight seasons from 1984-85 to 1987-88.

“They’re not playing as well and they’ve lost a couple of games, but they’re a solid team,” the Spurs’ Manu Ginobili said. “They have so many weapons. They’re going to keep fighting and keep playing. They hustle and they play hard defense, too.”

The Lakers’ 106-92 win over the Jazz was their first double-digit victory since beating Indiana 122-99 on March 2.

They went 9-6 last month, with a series of close wins that paled in comparison to their early season dominance. They were a combined 36-10 in November, December and January, when the schedule favored them with a glut of home games.

“We should be just aware, aware of what the possibilities are when we don’t play as well, when we have a couple mistakes that we shouldn’t have,” Pau Gasol said. “We want to end these last five games on a good note so we feel good about ourselves going into the playoffs, which is important.”

They’ll head into the playoffs with a rash of injuries, Bryant’s broken finger being the best known.

Andrew Bynum could be out a while longer with an Achilles’ strain, forcing Lamar Odom to start in his place. That’s kept Odom from anchoring the bench and it’s clearly not as good without him. The Lakers’ reserves were outscored 20-4 by the Spurs.

Ron Artest has been playing with a bruised left heel and a sprained left thumb, while Shannon Brown is playing with a sprained right thumb and Sasha Vujacic has a sprained right shoulder. Walton just returned after missing nearly a month with a pinched nerve in his back.

Never one to panic, Bryant remembers the teams he’s been on that entered the playoffs with momentum only to end up facing elimination in a seven-game series. So he doesn’t dwell on the particular ups-and-downs of the moment.

“We want to just get better,” he said. “You want to try to minimize the menu of things you have to correct going into the playoffs.”

[daslicer]

I'm not buying any of this crap, Lakers are the team to beat, not the Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Mavs, Suns, Spurs. They won it all in 2009 and until somebody goes in and beats them in a 7-game series despite some recent poor play, again they have to be unseated first and teams usually step it up in the playoffs, at least the really good teams do.

Great win by the Spurs, Lakers look beatable these upcoming playoffs but some team has to go in there and give them a smackdown for the knockout.

You are somwhat right but I think it comes down to how difficult their bracket is. If they end up with a bracket of OKC first round followed by Denver and then Dallas then there is a 50-50 chance of them getting out of the west. Say they get out of this difficult bracket and have to play the Cavs then I would say they are going down for sure. I just can't see them doing well in that scenario. If they do end up with a bracket of blazers,suns,jazz followed by Orlando I would say that would be their most favoreable bracket in which they have a 60 percent chance to win in the finals. I'm hoping this year they get dicked over with a hard bracket unlike last year where they lucked out.

[gaKNOW!blee]

With Gasol leading them, they cannot fail!

He will carry that team...with probably the best role player of all time in Kobe Bryant, the Lakers seem impossible to beat in a 7 game series.

[DazedAndConfused]

I don't worry about the Lakers so long as Bynum can come back.

Beating the Lakers four times is going to be tough to do no matter how bad they look right now.

[FkLA]

You people were blind and bought into the ESPN hype early in the season. The Lakers were never the unbeatable machine they were made out to be...they have consistantly gotten raped by elite teams throughout the season and not just as of late (Cavs, healthy Thuggets, Magic, Mavs post-trade although I dont know if these Mavs deserve to be considered elite anymore, etc). They have also been pretty pathetic against +.500 teams on the road. Playing their first 20 games at home helped them get out of the gate strong nothing more...thats the only reason they seperated themselves from the rest of the West and not because theyre clearly better. The West is wide open.

I remember when I saying this shit throughout the season and faggots like theMachine and Andrew Crynum screamed out 'hater'...LOL.

[TheManFromAcme]

Lakerfan won't admit it, but Ariza was a much better fit for this team than Artest. Trevor was the quicker defender, who could also shoot the three much more consistently and could finish at the rim.
And the 2nd article is dead on. The defense is not what it used to be at this point last season for LA.

Trust me Nono,

I still miss Trevor. I support Ron but letting Trevor go may come back to haunt us. Regardless of his lack of or bettter skills, Trevor fit the system like a glove. That's all Phil looks for. Role players who can do what is asked of them. Ron, at times, just appears not to be on the same page.

[djohn2oo8]

Trust me Nono,

I still miss Trevor. I support Ron but letting Trevor go may come back to haunt us. Regardless of his lack of or bettter skills, Trevor fit the system like a glove. That's all Phil looks for. Role players who can do what is asked of them. Ron, at times, just appears not to be on the same page.

I said that when you guys signed him, and of course Lakaluva called me a hater for it. But yeah, even though Trevor was exposed in Houston, he was a better fit in L.A.

[TheManFromAcme]

I said that when you guys signed him, and of course Lakaluva called me a hater for it. But yeah, even though Trevor was exposed in Houston, he was a better fit in L.A.

You'll get no argument from me. :toast