The "unbeatable" consensus # 1 in all the "power ratings" Lakers lose 3 inna row

The Lakers looked rather old and normal tonight dropping their 3rd game in a row to the Warriors tonight.

Which is good cause they were lookin nigh on unstoppable.

It will be interesting to watch all the coatail riders and apologist make excuses for them over at espn and such.

ANyway I watched two of the 3 games and it was a blast. More importantly we are still in it to have a better record than the Lakers which I feel is HUGE...

LET'S WIN OUT AND MAKE A POINT TO ALL THE HOLLINGER GEEKS!

Jeb

Gasol looked a little gimpy in the Lakers defense. I think he tweaked his knee a bit. Boy Bynum is really rebounding the ball. Kobe went into ball hog mode agin the warriors and that was all she wrote.

Wonder if Phil will just rest his starters now or will he try to beat dallas's record?

JeB

Coming from the guy who keeps pointing out (ad nauseum) that the Lakers are the team to beat...
It was a good day today...The Lakers lost, Miami lost and Hope Springs Eternal for all Celtic fans.

LA had a real nice run. They were do for a little slump. They are still the team to beat out west

Dboss

I don't remember anyone saying the Lakers are "unbeatable".

Bound to happen. No B2B's in March? I could win 17 out of 18 games, and I'm grossly out of shape. Just goes to show there are six teams (SAS, LAL, DAL(?), BOS, MIA, CHI. Maybe OKC. Sorry ORL) that have a legitimate shot at the title separated by very, very little. What will be the difference? It's not going to be rebounding, defense, offense, points in the paint, assists, good/bad refereeing, shooting slumps, shooting streaks, bulk in the middle or turnovers.

It will all come down to strange unmeasurable things in the intangibles arena like elite pin-point coaching, health, mental preparedness, having the ability to slow the game down to a snail's pace in one's mind while in reality the game is moving at break-neck speed. And last but not least, the most important intangible...luck!

I left out heart and desire after one of Doc's halftime speeches. Nobody wants to win a championship anymore than anyone else. At least not at this level.

So what will it take for us to win it all this year? (Not rhetorical)

BTW, while it appears MIA and LAL helped us last night , and they did, we still have CHI and MIA on the road left as well as two B2B's which normally equate to 0-2 on the second game for us. So unless we figure out how to win B2B's on these last two, don't hold your breath for potential 2nd or 1st. I would like to see Boston eff it up for all the naysayers, win out and have CHI begin their inevitable slump starting tonight. Losing tonight for us will more than likely wrap up 3rd for us. I know we're not big on seedings here, but to have gone through all the bs we've been through this season and wind up in 3rd behind CHI and MIA just doesn't sit right with me. I still want 1st. We've earned it certainly more than high flying CHI or MIA. But I'll take 3rd if it equates to B18 in June.

As far as Hollinger goes, loses or losing streaks don't figure into his calculations for LAL and MIA. If there was a place higher than 1st, the Lakers and MIA would be there this week. (Yes, that was sarcastic!)

The Lakers have been on an absolute tear since the all-star game. Everybody has a slump, sooner or later. This one is later.

The Gasol injury should be worrisome to Laker fans. As far as I'm concerned, he's their MVP. My Laker friends tell me I'm nuts (on a variety of topics) and say it's "Kobe, Kobe, Kobe!!!", but I say without Gasol they lack the depth in the frontcourt to go far. Bynum is rebounding very well, but he needs Gasol to draw attention away from him and you can't play Bynum 40 minutes, his knees will implode.

There's still 5 games or so left. This loss, with the Spurs win, pretty much put the kibosh on any ideas of catching the Spurs. The Mavs loss last night still keeps them 2 behind the Lakers for the #2 spot. If I was Phil, I'd sit Gasol down for a couple of games. He can afford to.

It'll be interesting to see, over the next 5 games how many minutes Pau plays.

bob

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bob,

Kobe attracts so much attention which mean Gasol is almost never double teamed.
Kobe is way more valuable to LA. If Gasol was out Odom would play 40 minutes at PF. Not a huge drop off in production.
If Kobe was out Shannon Brown would play 40 minutes at SG. That is a HUGE drop off.
LA wins the tie breaker with Dallas so they should stay ahead of them. I am hoping Dallas stays ahead of OKC.
LA has a tough final 4 games so I don't see Pau or the starters sitting for any significant time. They won't play 40 minutes but they won't take games off.
Besides Dallas, I am sure LA wants to stay ahead of Boston and Miami.

Most subjective rankings I've seen have had the Lakers at the top, and they deserve to be there based on their play since the all-star break. Rankings are typically done weekly on Sunday or Monday, so they'll likely take a fall next week when their losing streak is considered.

Hollinger's stat-based system is bogus, and I don't know anyone here who considers it anything more than smoke and mirrors, with the smoke coming from burning cow pies. If it gets you all riled up, enjoy.

It's all just to fill the time until the playoffs anyway. The only ranking that matters is who gets to four wins in each series.

Regarding home-court advantage, catching the Spurs may have been tantalizing to the Lakers for a brief time after San Antonio's losing streak, but it wasn't realistic considering that it essentially required San Antonio to lose some more (not likely) or the Lakers to win the rest of their games (even less likely).

While Phil may be able to rest his guys and keep hold of the second spot in the West, things are tight with potential finals opponents in the East. With an eye on the loss column and four games to play, the Lakers are currently three behind Chicago (that snowball is melting fast), tied with Boston, and one ahead of Miami. I'd say it behooves the Lakers to win as many as possible the rest of the way to increase the odds of playing game 7 at home.

Outside

Outside wrote:Most subjective rankings I've seen have had the Lakers at the top, and they deserve to be there based on their play since the all-star break. Rankings are typically done weekly on Sunday or Monday, so they'll likely take a fall next week when their losing streak is considered.

Hollinger's stat-based system is bogus, and I don't know anyone here who considers it anything more than smoke and mirrors, with the smoke coming from burning cow pies. If it gets you all riled up, enjoy.

It's all just to fill the time until the playoffs anyway. The only ranking that matters is who gets to four wins in each series.

Regarding home-court advantage, catching the Spurs may have been tantalizing to the Lakers for a brief time after San Antonio's losing streak, but it wasn't realistic considering that it essentially required San Antonio to lose some more (not likely) or the Lakers to win the rest of their games (even less likely).

While Phil may be able to rest his guys and keep hold of the second spot in the West, things are tight with potential finals opponents in the East. With an eye on the loss column and four games to play, the Lakers are currently three behind Chicago (that snowball is melting fast), tied with Boston, and one ahead of Miami. I'd say it behooves the Lakers to win as many as possible the rest of the way to increase the odds of playing game 7 at home.

Outside

outside,

Bingo!

bob

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tjmakz wrote:I don't remember anyone saying the Lakers are "unbeatable".

Well maybe not but they damn sure seemed unbeatable and most everyone was picking them (after bashing them all year of course) to easily win it all.

Hell hoss the media is fickle and has gotta drive you crazy as much as it does us.

JeB

I wouldn't be surprised if Boston finishes the regular season real strong and LA sleep walks through game #82.
Some in the media wrote off LA and Kobe during the season as too old and that their window was just about closed.
Boston has had to face not just the duldrums of a long regular season but injuries and the transitioning of many new players into the rotation.
Boston and LA are the teams to beat in each conference even if they are 2 or 3 seeds.
Even if Chicago blows out Boston tonight, there is no way I can pick them in a 7 game series over Boston. Miami has not shown this year that they are mentally up for the challenge of beating Boston.

I concur. The old guys dont rattle. I am looking forward to tonights game. But the Bulls dont worry me near as much as the Lakers.

Couple of mean tough old sawed off teams.

JEb

Make it four. The Blazers put it to 'em tonight. Even with Marcus Camby not playing.

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2011/04/canzano_lakers_wont_admit_it_b.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/nba/index.ssf/2011/04/in_potential_playoff_preview_l.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2011/04/portland_93_la_lakers_86_lamar.html

tj

what the hell is goin on? The lakes lost again...what gives? Thats 4 inna row, they just bored and ready for the playoffs like the celts?

jEb

I was in Cocoa Beach for the weekend and didn't see any of the Lakers game or the highlights yet. Phil seems pretty pissed at their lack of energy/focus.
Big game tonight against OKC.

Oklahoma City just put up 36 first quarter points against the Lakers in LA. I guess it takes more than a four game losing streak for LA to get their defensive intensity up.

Should be a fun one.

17-2 run by OKC in the last three minutes to win 120-106. What an avalanche of scoring. Can't believe Artest fouled Durant with 1.6 seconds to go with the Lakers down 12. Just to get his hack in. That's bull.

Now it's five.

Damn. 5 inna row. Now that is freaky. It aint like the damn celts are exactly tearin it up either. Puzzling times.

JeB

Geeze just looked at the espn "power" ratings and the lakers are number two in spite of losing 5 in a row. What a joke.

jeb wrote:
Geeze just looked at the espn "power" ratings and the lakers are number two in spite of losing 5 in a row. What a joke.

Once it became apparent the Lakers were not catching San Antonio these games don't really matter to LA. They are virtually locked into the #2 slot in the West because of owning the tie-breaker over both Dallas and Oklahoma City. Even if the Lakers lose their sixth in a row tomorrow to the Spurs they can nail down #2 just by beating the putrid Kings on Wednesday (and does anyone think they won't win that one if they need to?), no matter what Dallas or OKC do in their remaining games.

I'm givin' em some slack in this winless streak for that reason.

Steve 33

Me too. I dont think the lakers care but espn is sposed to be without bias and render a decent well thought opionon. NO team should only slip one spot after losing 5 inna row.

jeb wrote:
Geeze just looked at the espn "power" ratings and the lakers are number two in spite of losing 5 in a row. What a joke.

jeb,

The ESPN Power Rankings are based on just one person's opinion. (Mark Stein).
If it was from everyone on ESPN who covers the NBA then that would be very odd.

Hollinger's Power Ranking has LA at 4 behind Chicago, Denver and Miami.

Why do you even listen to those jerks! I am shocked they haven't moved Miami to the head of the list. They just stink so much. Thank God I am from Boston and can listen to our own announcers and radio people. Sickening.

Why do we look OLD and LA is just coasting????

tj

i know it's steins deal but damn yall have lost 5 in a row! he does not even pretend to hide his laker love. If we lost 5 in a row we'd be out of his top 15.

Rosie i know i shouldnt but i cant work and got soooo much time to kill.

jeb