Even a Lakers win doesn't look good.

[WayOutWest]

The Kings gave the Lakers all they could handle, I don't know how much of it was the Kings and how much was the Lakers but based on the Kings record I think it has to do more with the lack of Lakers defense and problematic matchups for the Lakers.  The biggest problem IMO is that teams have figured out that if you pull Bynum away from the paint it's a layup drill for teams because the Lakers can not stop dribble penetration and sharp cuts to the basket.  The Lakers also have a horrible time with their rotations.  How many wide open 3's can teams get off a drive and kick or a simple skip pass over to the weak side.

After every Lakers home game the fans behind the after game announcers keep chanting "Boston sucks", well talk about clueless or that river in Africa...the Celtics and Cavs are head and shoulders above the Lakers right now.  The effort those two teams put on both ends of the court is terrific and either one of those teams would burry the Lakers at this point in time.  I hope the Lakers figure out how to fix the problems they are having.  Despite the Lakers record they do not look good enough to win the WC let alone an NBA title.  Right now IMO the Spurs could take the Lakers in 6 and the Celtics or Cavs would take the Lakers in 5. 

[westkoast]

I missed the game AGAIN due to traveling.  Now I know how you felt at the start of the season W.O.W

With as well as the Cavs and Celtics are playing the phrase 'A Win Is A Win' just does not apply.  Someone needs to walk into the Laker locker room and remind them that they are still the underdogs.  The Celtics are the favorite to win because they still hold the trophy and are killing teams.  They've got about 4  games to get their act together before they see the Celtics on X-Mas.

[jemagee]

I missed the game AGAIN due to traveling.  Now I know how you felt at the start of the season W.O.W

It sounds like you need to look into a sling box.

[westkoast]

I missed the game AGAIN due to traveling.  Now I know how you felt at the start of the season W.O.W

It sounds like you need to look into a sling box.

Yup or at the very least Sirius.

[WayOutWest]

Another very unimpressive win last night vs the TWolves....I'm starting to think I should have picked big Al ahead of Gasol like I had pre-ranked but the "homer" in my had me switch picks at the last second.

The Lakers just do not seem interested in the game, especially on defense.  IMO they are going to get SLAUGHTERED by the Celtics on XMas the way they are playing right now.  I'm going to be very sad if the Lakers don't step it up by the time they face the Celtics. 

I'm starting to wonder how they were able to beat some of the better teams durring their early run but I'm starting to think they caught those teams early enough that they were not ready to compete at the level the Lakers started with from the begining of the season.  The problem now is that the other teams have raised their level of play as the season has progressed but the Lakers have not.  That opening season level was ok for the Lakers but it will not cut it anymore, as evident by the ability of mediocre teams being able to stay in games vs the Lakers right down to the closing minutes.  The Lakers should still be beating these teams by 20+ points, let alone losing to a dweller sucker like the Kings, rather than having to pull it out in the last 3 minutes of the 4th quarter.

Despite their record, this sucks..........the Lakers are not at the same level as the Cavs/Celtics right now. 

[Joe Vancil]

Don't know that I agree.

The Lakers are about as deep a team as there is in the league.  Adding Bynum back into the mix changes the roles for Gasol and Odom, and there's got to be some time to work that out - especially on the defensive end.  Also, folks like Trevor Ariza are playing bigger roles, and that means a little bit of seasoning is going to take place.

There's nothing wrong with the Lakers that a game that determines playoff position won't fix.

[westkoast]

Don't know that I agree.

The Lakers are about as deep a team as there is in the league.  Adding Bynum back into the mix changes the roles for Gasol and Odom, and there's got to be some time to work that out - especially on the defensive end.  Also, folks like Trevor Ariza are playing bigger roles, and that means a little bit of seasoning is going to take place.

There's nothing wrong with the Lakers that a game that determines playoff position won't fix.

I think you have a good point.  Maybe us LA fans on the board here are demanding too much and seem to take for granted having a great record.  We forget it wasn't too long ago (3 years ago actually) that a 5 game winning streak would have made us flip over cop cars and burn mail boxes.

  At the same time the Lakers major focus needs to be on keeping up with the Celtics.  I'll even say they need to exceed what the Celtics do.  That is of course if they would like to actually win the title this year.  Right now the gap between the Lakers and the Celtics defense looks just as big as it did last year when Bynum and Ariza were both injured.

[WayOutWest]

I think you have a good point.  Maybe us LA fans on the board here are demanding too much and seem to take for granted having a great record.  We forget it wasn't too long ago (3 years ago actually) that a 5 game winning streak would have made us flip over cop cars and burn mail boxes.

This is not 3 years ago, the expectations this year is a championship.  Not only are the Lakers expected to win a title this year but they are expected to win it over the Celtics.  With the Lakers at 100% healthy the expectation is they have all the answers for the problems the Celtics created last year.  The simple fact is the Lakers got "punk'd" by the Celtics front line.  They were getting "punk'd" by the Jazz front line as well but they were able to come out on top despite getting owned on the boards.  Odom was just too small to hold his own against Perkins, Odom IMO did a much better job on the boards than Gasol.  Gasol is the definition of "soft", he has problems rebounding in traffic and that is where Odom saved the Lakers butts.  Odom really scraped for those contested rebounds but he's not a true 4 let alone a banger 5.  I really thought Bynum would be the answer to the rebounding problems the Lakers had last year and that Ariza would be the answer to the problem of gaurding bigger 2's and the better 3's in the league.  So far only Ariza has come through.

At the same time the Lakers major focus needs to be on keeping up with the Celtics.  I'll even say they need to exceed what the Celtics do.  That is of course if they would like to actually win the title this year.  Right now the gap between the Lakers and the Celtics defense looks just as big as it did last year when Bynum and Ariza were both injured.

I really don't know what the Lakers focus is this year because you are exactly right in that the Lakers need to have the "fire" of losing the Finals in dramatic fashion.  The Lakers should be playing with a "chip" on their shoulders and destroying the league 10X worse than the Celtics.  Typically a team will come out of tough Finals loss in one of two ways, either they come out with a fire in their belly or they come out like a scared mugging victim.  The Lakers have come out with neither, they started out with a fire but it's cooled off but not to the point of them looking timid.  So I have no idea what to think of the Lakers right now.....

[jemagee]

If the lakers 'main focus' is keeping up with the celtics, than they won't win a title anyway - any teams main focus during the regular season has to be playing the best they can and fixing whatever is wrong with their team, especially if other team is in the other conference so you wouldn't have to worry about them until the championship.

[WayOutWest]

If the lakers 'main focus' is keeping up with the celtics, than they won't win a title anyway - any teams main focus during the regular season has to be playing the best they can and fixing whatever is wrong with their team, especially if other team is in the other conference so you wouldn't have to worry about them until the championship.

How old are you?  How long have you been watching b-ball?  This is a Lakers/Celtics tradition.

Back in the 80's the arrogant Lakers and Celtics would really only pay attention to each other, they didn't really worry too much about their conference competition.  They would make moves and change styles based on what the other guy did, and 9 out of 10 times the side that came up short would look at the winning team to see what they needed to do or adjust to come out on top next year.  The Lakers got pushed around by the Celtics one year and loaded up on brutes like Kupchak and Lucas to try and counter the Celtics.  The only time I saw the Lakers make a move with no regard to the Celtics was in 87 when they went 100% Showtime fast break basketball by dumping their bruisers and going with big speed guys like AC Green.

[JoMal]

Hey, dude, are you coming up this way today or not?

[JoMal]

Don't know that I agree.

The Lakers are about as deep a team as there is in the league.  Adding Bynum back into the mix changes the roles for Gasol and Odom, and there's got to be some time to work that out - especially on the defensive end.  Also, folks like Trevor Ariza are playing bigger roles, and that means a little bit of seasoning is going to take place.

There's nothing wrong with the Lakers that a game that determines playoff position won't fix.

I think you have a good point.  Maybe us LA fans on the board here are demanding too much and seem to take for granted having a great record.  We forget it wasn't too long ago (3 years ago actually) that a 5 game winning streak would have made us flip over cop cars and burn mail boxes.

  At the same time the Lakers major focus needs to be on keeping up with the Celtics.  I'll even say they need to exceed what the Celtics do.  That is of course if they would like to actually win the title this year.  Right now the gap between the Lakers and the Celtics defense looks just as big as it did last year when Bynum and Ariza were both injured.

The quality of the League being what it is this season, the Lakers are playing just about how they should be. Little in the way of major challenges, so getting by but still mostly winning should hold them over until the BIG games start up. Listen to Joey V., here. 

[WayOutWest]

Hey, dude, are you coming up this way today or not?

It's tommorow.  I'll be landing around around 3:30 p.m.  You still game?

[jemagee]

How old are you?  How long have you been watching b-ball?  This is a Lakers/Celtics tradition.

Back in the 80's the arrogant Lakers and Celtics would really only pay attention to each other, they didn't really worry too much about their conference competition.  They would make moves and change styles based on what the other guy did, and 9 out of 10 times the side that came up short would look at the winning team to see what they needed to do or adjust to come out on top next year.  The Lakers got pushed around by the Celtics one year and loaded up on brutes like Kupchak and Lucas to try and counter the Celtics.  The only time I saw the Lakers make a move with no regard to the Celtics was in 87 when they went 100% Showtime fast break basketball by dumping their bruisers and going with big speed guys like AC Green.

It ain't the 80s - there are other teams - the league has changed and if the lakers are so busy watching the celtics and not paying attention to their own issues they will lose in the wester conference playoffs to someone else because they aren't paying attention - increased money - salary caps - etc...it ain't the same

[WayOutWest]

It ain't the 80s - there are other teams - the league has changed and if the lakers are so busy watching the celtics and not paying attention to their own issues they will lose in the wester conference playoffs to someone else because they aren't paying attention - increased money - salary caps - etc...it ain't the same

Tell me somethind I don't know but I'm just trying to convey some possible reasons behind the mentality.  IMO the biggest threat to the Lakers (AGAIN) are the Spurs.  The series could have gone the other way if the Spurs were healthy, this year they are not only healthy but they are somewhat younger.  The Spurs problem might be lack of size in the front court and a lack of experience on their bench.

But you must admit right now the title is a three horse race and since the Lakers only have to worry about meeting one of the two EC horses in the Finals it makes perfect sense to keep and eye on the Celtics.