Lakers Lost to Bobcats in Double Overtime

The Charlotte Bobcats continued their surprising recent domination of the Lakers by beating them in double-overtime 117-110 on Tuesday night. The Lakers lost for the fifth time in the last seven and fell to 4-5 all-time against the Bobcats. They also suffered their fourth loss at home this season.

Kobe Bryant had 38 points, eight rebounds and five assists before fouling out for the first time this season in the final minute of the first overtime. It was the first time Bryant has fouled out of a game since doing so in a loss at New Orleans on March 14, 2008, and just the 21st time he has fouled out in 1,061 career games.

Andrew Bynum had 24 points and 14 rebounds and Derek Fisher scored 14 for the Lakers. Sasha Vujajic contributed 10 points off-the-bench.

Pau Gasol scored just 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds. "Pau probably had the worst night he's had as a Laker," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Boris Diaw had 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Raymond Felton played for 53 minutes and had 21 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Emeka Okafor had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Raja Bell contributed 17 points while reserve Shannon Brown scored five of his 14 points in the second overtime.

"That was a heck of a win, it was a heck of a performance," Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. "Shannon had to play when Gerald [Wallace] got hurt, and he played great."

Wallace, who scored 15 points before leaving with 2:08 left in the fourth quarter after a flagrant foul by Bynum knocked him to the floor. He suffered a broken rib and partially collapsed left-lung and was taken to the hospital.

"I just think it was a terrific performance against a great team," Brown said. "I really don't know how to explain it because they are playing at such a high level."

"It's always stops," Bryant said regarding the late-game difference. "We've just got to learn from our mistakes and not let it happen again."

"It was one of those games where Kobe had kind of taken over for them," Bell said. "So when you lose that engine, I think it was more of the fact that they just didn't have that go-to guy down the stretch. It definitely didn't hurt that Kobe wasn't around. But more than anything, we continued to do what we did."

"We didn't get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. We just kept plugging away. We gave it away for a while and them we were really resilient at times. So we just stayed the course."

The game was the Lakers' first overtime contest of the season, leaving New Orleans as the only team that hasn't gone into overtime

Lakers Can't Beat Orlando

Inspite of a spectacular night from Kobe Bryant, the LA Lakers lost to the Orlando Magic 109-103 Friday night. Bryant had a triple-double performance -- the 15th of his career and first since April 2005 -- scoring 28 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing 11 assists in 41 minutes.

With the Magic leading by three, Bryant missed a 27-foot three-pointer from the right wing that could have tied the game with 8.9 seconds left in the game. Jameer Nelson, who got the offensive rebound, was quickly fouled by Pau Gasol. He made both free throws to increase the lead to five.

Bryant again tried and missed a three-point shot with 4.9 seconds to go but no effort could have saved the game with only few seconds remaining in the game and the Lakers suffered its second consecutive losses this season.

But the Lakers didn't lose the game on that last two shots of Bryant. They lost it in the third quarter where they were outscored by Orlando 30-21.

The Lakers entered the third period leading by eight points. Andrew Bynum scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the first half helping lift the Lakers to a 52-44 lead over the Magic at halftime. But he went 1-of-4 in the second half and finished with 14 points with just 3 rebounds.

In the Lakers' loss in Orlando last December, Bynum scored just three points on 1-of-4 shooting and had just a single rebound. He's a non-factor again in the second-half this time.

Pau Gasol, who scored just 11 points and seven rebounds in their previous game in Orlando, only scored 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting with 9 rebounds in 33 minutes. Their two 7-footers combined for just 27 points and 12 rebounds, 7 on the offensive end.

In contrast, Orlando's Dwight Howard scored 25 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, 8 on the offensive end, and blocked three shots. Howard had his fourth 20-20 game this season in a game against the Lakers' Twin Tower! If you're the Lakers' GM, would you trade 7-footers Gasol and Bynum for 6'11" Howard? I would...

Also, for the first time in Orlando's franchise history, the Magic sweep their season series with the Lakers. The Magic wasn't able to do that when the Lakers had a 6'11" Kwame Brown as their starting center going against Howard.

Maybe the Lakers should hire Brown as special consultant to teach the Lakers big men how to play "defense" against the likes of Howard. Too bad he's still warming the bench in Detroit!

Derek Fisher also struggled with his shots missing eight of his 11 attempts for just 9 points. In their last game, he scored 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

Sasha Vujacic returned after missing two games with back spasms, but he didn't score in his 13 minutes on the court. Trevor Ariza added just 7 points off-the-bench.

On the positive note, Lamar Odom had a decent game this time. He had 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grabbed 9 boards. In their last meeting, Odom was also a non-factor on offense with only four points on 1-of-7 shooting, although he matched the total rebounding contributions of their Twin Tower with 8 boards.

Vladimir Radmanovic added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Jameer Nelson top-scored for Orlando with 28 points with 8 assists. Rashard Lewis scored 16 points with 4 steals and Hedo Turgoklu contributed 13 points. Courtney Lee added 12 points with 7 rebounds.

Spurs beat Lakers 112-111 on Mason's 3-point play

The first meeting between the Western Conference finalists last season was almost a repeat of the Lakers' win the other night in Houston. The Lakers rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter, taking a two-point lead when Kobe Bryant hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.

But Roger Mason hit a jumper with 10 seconds left and made a free throw after being fouled by Derek Fisher. The Lakers had a chance to win the game, with the Spurs just leading by a point, but Trevor Ariza was called for traveling on their last possession with 0.8 seconds left in the game, and the Spurs beat the Lakers 112-111 on Wednesday night.

Kobe Bryant had a very efficient game with 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting with 10 rebounds and seven assists in 42 minutes. Pau Gasol, rebounding from two previous ineffective games, played well offensively in this game, scoring 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting but had only five rebounds and an assist in 32 minutes.

Andrew Bynum had 18 points and just three rebounds in 35 minutes. Derek Fisher added 16 points in 36 minutes.

Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom and Josh Powell contributed 10, 9, and 6 points, respectively, off-the-bench.

Manu Ginobilli topscored for the Spurs with 27 points. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker both contributed 20 points. Roger Mason scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Already playing without their backup point guard, Jordan Farmar, the Lakers had a brief scare when Derek Fisher left with longtime trainer Garry Vitti to the locker room after a collision with San Antonio's George Hill on a drive. He missed almost 4 1/2 minutes of actual game time but emerge back with 3:37 left in the fourth quarter.

With Sasha Vujacic day-to-day because of back spasms, the Lakers were forced to use Kobe Bryant at point guard until Fisher returned.

The Spurs and Lakers have been rivals over the last 10 years. The Spurs have won four NBA championships during that span while the Lakers have won three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002.

The two teams have met in the playoffs six times in the last 10 years, with the Lakers having won the series four times, including a 4-1 series win over the Spurs in last season's Western Conference finals.

Lakers lost to the Magic, 103-106

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered its first 2-game losing streak of the season. After losing to the Miami Heat the night before, the Lakers lost to the surging Orlando Magic 103-106--both losses on the road. Sasha Vujacic, who was 0-5 in the field and scored just 1 point, had a chance to win the game but his 3-point shot attempt bounced out of the basket leaving the Lakers behind 104-103, with three seconds left. Dwight Howard got the rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws for the final margin. Kobe Bryant missed a three-pointer as the clock wound down, sending the Lakers to their second consecutive defeat on this four-game trip.

Bryant had a spectacular night scoring 41 points with 8 rebounds and just 1 turnover in the losing effort. Derek Fisher added 27 points. Pau Gasol, who attempted only 9 field goals, contributed just 11 points. For two nights straight, Andrew Bynum played limited minutes and scored just 3 points, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, and 5 personal fouls.

Jameer Nelson topscored for the Magic with 27 points. Rashard Lewis scored 22 points. Dwight Howard added 18 points with 12 rebounds.

It should be obvious by now that the Twin Tower Experiment of Phil Jackson is not working. It worked in November because their opponents haven't figured out yet how to score with two 7-footers patrolling the paint. But after their first loss against Detroit, their weakness have been exposed and teams are exploiting that--just move your Bigs outside and have your best slasher drive to the basket. Phil should really consider having Bynum come off the bench and move back Odom to the starting lineup. You may want to read my previous post for what I thought would be the "keys to this game."

Bynum doesn't have the versatility of Odom. Not yet, anyway. Sure he's able to provide some defense against big body post players like Howard but their opposing guards are killing them--in this case, Rashard Lewis--by his inability to provide help defense without committing fouls.

Moreover, Gasol's scoring opportunities are being limited by Bynum's presence. The night after taking only 10 shots in their loss in Miami, Pau attempted one fewer shots today. Was he worried about his shooting percentage or he's just not getting enough touches? Bynum-Gasol teamup is not like the old Twin Tower of the Spurs, Robinson-Duncan. Bynum passing ability is still a work in progress. How many assists he had this game? Let me check...zero? Oh, how I miss Shaq!

And how about Odom? He seems to be very confused on offense although he's still decent on defense. He made only 1 field goal in 7 attempts with 2 free throws for 4 points. Well, at least he matched Bryant's 8 rebounds and had 3 steals in 36 minutes on the floor. I think his inability to be a factor on offense is not because of his waning talent. He was an All-Star material just last year and he's on his contract year so he should be very serious about being a very effective contributor on his team.

Watching the team play, it's pretty obvious that they are not running a lot of Odom-Gasol sets that was so effective last year. I could still remember how unstoppable they were during the first half of Game 4 Finals against the Celtics. Of course, they lost that game when the "unstoppable Pau and Lamar" disappeared in the second half of the game. That game cost them the Finals, right? But at least they run unbelievable highlight plays for one quarter.

And look at how effective Lamar was in their game against the Knicks--the only time he started the game in place of Gasol who was sick. He elevated his game because he knew he had to. He didn't have Pau Gasol to defer to. He's like a Manu Ginobilli on the Spurs team with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. He's perfect when he's the third best player in his team--one of the three options. You make him the 4th option and he'd be the worst performer on the Lakers team.

So, what should the Lakers do? I hate to keep on repeating myself but I'll do it anyway. Put Odom back to the starting lineup!

Please...

Lakers lost to the Heat was a coaching mistake

How can the Lakers with two 7-footers and a 6'8" forward in its starting frontcourt lose to a Miami Heat team featuring a 6'9" center and forwards barely reaching 6'8" in height in its starting lineup? The Lakers bigs should have dominated their undersized counterparts and scored 100 points, right? Wrong! Here's what happened:

• 7' Andrew Bynum had 4 points and 4 fouls with only 6 rebounds in 27 minutes


• 7' Pau Gasol only took 10 shots and made 5 with 3-6 free throws for 13 points (although he had 11 rebounds)


• 6'8" Luke Walton was a non-factor with 2 points on 1-4 shooting


• 6'10" Lamar Odom took 6 shots and made 1 and 1-4 free throws for 3 points with 4 rebounds


• 6'8" Trevor Ariza had 7 points on 3-5 shooting

Their total score? Twenty-nine! Just 1 more than Kobe Bryant's 28 points but less than the 30 points their 'undersized' counterparts in the Miami heat roster scored.

• 6'7" Marion had 12 points and matched the 7' Gasol's total boards at 11


• 6'9" Anthony had 8 rebounds 3 steals and 2 blocked shots


• 6'8" Haslem also had 3 steals and 2 blocks


• 6'10" Beasly and 6'11" Magloire had limited minutes but still scored 6 and 2 points respectively

The result: Miami 89, LA Lakers 87. And everybody blames Kobe for not hitting the game-tying shot and their team's lack of defense. It's not their defense folks! It's their offense! They were able to limit their opponent to 89 points but at the same time, they we're held to 87 points--season lowest for the team that just 2 weeks ago, was being regarded as the offensive juggernaut in the NBA.

How can Phil Jackson let this happen? They lost on a night Kobe Bryant is having a fairly solid game and wasn't struggling on his shots. He made 12-24 shots and scored his usual 28 points (although he had 5 turnovers). I really believe it's about time that Phil revamp his starting lineup. He should put Odom back to their starting unit and have Bynum come off the bench.

Here are some additional arguments for my recommended starting unit of Fisher-Bryant-Ariza-Odom-Gasol:

• Bynum takes away scoring opportunities for Gasol early in the game. He only took 10 shots in a game where his defender is much smaller. He should have been the leading scorer in this game if he was given more opportunities


• Bynum is slower than Odom in providing help defense. Notice how Dwyane Wade keeps on attacking the basket and Bynum can't cover him when he get past his primary defender


• Odom plays well when he starts the game as evident in the Lakers game against the Knicks just 2 days ago. And he plays a lot better with Gasol as his frontcourt partner (see his performance last year)

I really hope that Jackson considers this line up.