OMG the Lakers lost to CLE?

Okay...I'm in a bit of a shock...WHAT THE %#$# !
Now I'm certain of it...They don't give a damn about winning the Conference at this point.
It's only about the playoffs...

lacelt

Dude trust me this aint the same team. They got problems.

Spotted this in one of the post-game articles in the LA paper and cracked up:


"Lakers fans will be apoplectic with the last few losses, but it could be worse. Talk-radio host and Lakers sideline reporter John Ireland said over the airwaves last week he would walk home from Cleveland if the Lakers lost to the Cavaliers.

It's a 2,300-mile trek. He'll be home by the end of the playoffs. Maybe."


And the article also included this tidbit about Artest who was yanked after 17 minutes of uninspired play (1 point, 0 rebounds):



"Then there's the curious case of Artest.

A few minutes after the loss to Charlotte, he irritated the upper reaches of the Lakers by jokingly spraying a TV reporter with Odom's new line of cologne.

He won't endear himself to the franchise with his post-game activities Wednesday, either, using his Twitter feed shortly after the loss to request feedback on a new musical mix tape he had been compiling.

Tsk, tsk.

The trade deadline is next Thursday. Maybe something will happen. Maybe not."

jeb,

Trust me, CLE ain't the same team either. I know most people will laugh at that statement, but overcoming 60 points isn't all LAL coasting to the All-Star Break.

MW coming back has provided a spark. Just like the one we're looking for starting Wednesday next week when Shaq and Delonte are slated to return.

For those who think LAL is in trouble, think again. Whatever their situation is, don't trust Phil or Kobe any further than you can throw them. LAL is fine. I'm not going to jump on the proverbial bandwagon of their impending doom until I see them lose 4 games in a playoff series, any round will do.

Phil losing control of Ron Artest? Come on! Ron Artest is child's play compared to Dennis Rodman's ego and personality. Phil lives for this! Phil's made his career on taming these ridiculously huge egos. Now if Phil is losing it, that's a whole different story. We see you, Phil...hiding in the weeds.

P.S. Like the word of the week...apoplectic. Never heard that one. Going to look it up! I'm going to guess some type of combo of contriteness, smarting and lamenting, hoping for a better tomorrow.

hey d brown

i aint on any bandwagon either, but i do know team without ganas when i see one and i grow increasingly clear the Spurs have a better team THIS year.

The Lakers better hope they CAN just turn it on when it's important. Bad Seasonal habits are hard to break.

Hey, it's a medical term for hemmoraging or pertaining to a stroke. Normal definition is extremely angry. Oh well, so much for deriving a word from its context.

sorry dbrown Lakers have alot of problems,Rodman never went through a bad stretch his whole career like the way Artest is playing right NOW.If Lamar Odom is not on they have no bench.....Kobe is not same player

Rodman came to play every night. Phil didn't care about his off-the-court antics. Artest's 'tude seems to have crept onto the court. He came to LA to get a ring, he got it (and then promptly auctioned it off), he's accomplished his goal.

LA is a game and a half ahead of OKC (3 more wins in hand) and is 3 games behind Dallas. I don't think they're afraid of OKC, although maybe they should be, but I'm surprised they're not doing what it takes to catch Dallas. This could result in 2 playoff series without homecourt advantage for them and that's not helpful.

I'm still not worried about the Lakers, if I were a Lakers fan, but I would be irked by their nonchalance.

bob

.

I take the unpopular opinion on a regular basis this year that the Lakers will essentially be the team to beat in the playoffs...Okay, I hear the gaffaws...I know... they seem to be a team that will, more likely than not, end up in the morgue this year.... but until I see the dead body, laid out on the slab, I'm not buying it.

It's very possible for the attitude of a single player to infect an entire team. I think it happened with the Celtics last year. Sheed struck me as a frontrunner who would exert effort when things were going well but became too disinterested to go through more than the motions in a counterpunching effort when things were not going well. I wouldn't be shocked if that description fit Artest quite well.

The Celtics somehow managed to rise above that dead weight and even inspire Sheed to perform reasonably well in the playoffs. The same thing could happen in the case of the Lakers. Or not. Or they could make a move. Who knows?

Sam

Watched the end of the game. Kobe went nuts when Fisher commited a foul in the backcourt after they had trapped the cleveland player along the sideline. Obviously Kobe wanted the game.......Gasol put up numbers but appeared to play zilch for defense near the end too. And your starting point with 2 assists?

yeah I know they are the Lakers...........but I sorta agree with Jeb, they are not the same team and if Bynum doesn't appear to be moving well either.
Problems just seem to be mounting with um.

beat