LAKERS -at- MAVS - 5/6 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Last Stand...

"The coach is always a jockey. He is riding a wonderful horse and his players carry him down the race track." -- Phil Jackson, May 7, 1996.

Nearly 15 years to the date of that quote, Phil never looked more like a jockey on his final stretch run than he did tonight.

With Ron Artest suspended, he started his four horses -- Kobe, Pau, Lamar and Drew. He whipped them throughout the game, Pau taking the majority of it, but it was the Mavericks who ran wild in the final moments to claim victory, 98-92.

"They finished better than we did and deserved to win," Phil said.

The Lakers were out-scored 32-20 in the fourth, losing a lead once again in crunch time with poor defense and lack of purpose offensively. They failed to rotate to shooters and didn't exploit the Mavs weaknesses on the other end. An 8-point fourth-quarter lead was turned into a 6-point loss.

"Just down the stretch of the game, we made some of the dumbest defensive mistakes I've seen us make all year," Kobe said.

Asked if the big lineup was an issue, Kobe replied, "No. It's just effing up at the wrong time. That's all it is."

Phil repeatedly got in Pau's face tonight, even hitting him in the chest once trying to get his All Star power forward to play like an All Star this post season. That has yet to happen.

And the Lakers are now one game from elimination.

Phil dubbed this season "The Last Stand." Every remaining game the rest of this series will be just that.


Kobe -- -- Strapped with a couple of early first quarter fouls, Kobe had to play a more measured game in the first half. That clipped his wings a little, though it won't show in the stat sheet. He worked the screen-roll a number of times setting up teammates or making the hockey assist. Those foul issues probably limited his ability to get to the rim again. But he has yet to really establish that part of his game in this series with the Mavs collapsing all over him. Still, for three quarters he orchestrated a healthy, well-balanced attack. He played very controlled," Phil said. "I think he played very well." Kobe led the team with 6 assists (his best total since the 8 assists in a New Orleans loss). In the fourth, the Laker ball movement and focus seemed to stop once again. The offensive orchestration faltered. They settled too much instead of battling in the paint or going after the Mavs weaknesses effectively. Worse, however, was the inability to get one-and-out defensive stands. Kobe was irked with the horrible defensive execution down the stretch. "Just mental lapses and wide open looks," he said. "For the most of the night they were taking contested shots." They didn't rotate to shooters during this key stretch. This was possibly some of the "trust" Bynum was talking about. Kobe, too, gave up an open three on one late switch that he was involved (pretty much caught the bigs by surprise as Kobe stood in no man's land and Terry hit an open three...that one is on him). The improvements the team has made left him positive. "I still think we're going to win this series. I might be nuts," Kobe said. The problems, however, like not executing down the stretch have been and on-again-off-again battle for the team for a long time. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 8-16 shooting (0-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He sank a face-up jumper on the weakside (all bigs on the other side) for his first score. He hit Lamar on the screen-roll for a layup. He picked up his second foul, a touch foul challenging Dirk, and he had to sit early in the first. He sank an elbow turnaround. He kicked out to Blake for a three. Working the Pau screen-roll, he drew an illegal D and made the tech. Screen-roll again led to a Laker three on a kickout. He forced Dirk into an airball when he switched on him. He sank a short turnaround out of a timeout. He faced up, blew past Kidd and scored the layup (more please). He was called for a travel on an up and under (very weak). He had 9 points on 4-4 shooting and 2 assists. Second Half: He swished a long wing jumper coming off a screen on the first possession. He set up Pau off the screen-roll. He worked the screen-roll with Drew and hit Fish for the open three (nice moment between those two when the timeout came off that one). He missed a layup on a drive. He missed a fading turnaround. He was mugged in traffic with no call and missed badly. He hit Pau with a pass on the screen-roll for a layup. Nice help D on Marion to get a travel call. He swished a tough baseline fallaway with the shotclock low (grin for Cuban on that one). He missed a long jumper, but Shannon tipped it in at the end of the quarter. He iso'd and hit a wing pull-up over Kidd. He sank another wing jumper over Kidd. He fouled Kidd at midcourt on a reach to give up FTs (these fouls have killed the Lakers, literally). He missed a tough fading jumper when the offense fell apart. No rotation and Terry hit an open three (Kobe was closest and Bynum was battling with his man under the hoop expecting Kobe to close out). He missed a heave from three. He missed a one-handed three on the run at the end of the game.

Gasol -- -- Where is the Spaniard? The one who helped put those two rings on everyone's fingers the past two season? I've never seen Phil do what he did with a player tonight, especially a star. And it was deserved. Phil wasn't going to let Pau make him and the team look like pushovers if he could help it. After Pau gave up a couple three's getting lost on D, just leaving Dirk wide open, Phil went after him on the sideline. It ended with a pound on his chest from Phil. Later, as Pau walked to the bench on another timeout, Phil met him on the court, screaming at him all the way to the bench. Phil was irked with the lack of fundamentals on the perimeter when he allowed a guard to easily take it away from him when not paying attention. The Lakers can't survive the 13 points a game that Pau is giving them this post season. That's 5 less points per game in the playoffs than the regular season. Worse, however, he's been a major key to the Lakers success and that's not a void easily filled. You can't just remove that and expect success to come from other places. They aren't the same team without that. Pau simply needed to man up and hasn't at all. The aggressive attacks were few and far between. Several times in this game, he got the ball to go to work and either gave it up or settled for a bad shot. The next offensive foul he gets for attacking the hoop or the post will be the first one. Defensively, some of those sequences of standing around lost were inexcusable. It's going to be a long summer for him because he's let the team down. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-13 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 8 boards (5 offensive), 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 40 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He airballed a turnaround from the post and wanted FTs. He cleaned up a missed jumphook by Lamar. Didn't cover Dirk on two straight screens, giving up wide open threes (Phil got on him in the timeout, slapping him on the chest). He tipped out a missed FT and it led to FTs for Drew. He missed a jumphook too far from the hoop. He threw a pass away out of a double and wanted the foul. Finally a strong attack from the elbow and he scored an And-1 on Chandler (who picked up his second), he made the FT. No challenge on Terry as the help man in the screen-roll D. He drew Bynum's man, then fed him for a dunk on the interior feed. He settled for a jumper instead of attacking when left alone. He had 5 points on 2-6 shooting and 4 boards. Second Half: He stopped the ball, decided not to attack and kicked it out to Kobe, shotclock violation. He attacked off the screen-roll and scored a layup. He lost the ball and instead of hitting Kobe who was open, he hoisted up a long fallaway from the elbow. Lazy perimeter play and it led to a breakaway dunk for the Mavs as he coughed it up (Phil was ticked off at this one, too). He missed a baseline jumper. Phil was in Pau's face again at a timeout, yelling at him all the way to the bench. He scored a layup off the screen-roll with Kobe. He hit a tough, fading turnaround jumper in the paint (then gave up a three to Dirk, wide open again, guarding no one...killing me, Pau). He drew a charge on Dirk guessing the right way on a drive and going down. He fumbled the ball then missed a long jumper. Tee ball hit him in the back of the head when he went to the rim expecting Kobe to shoot when a pass came. He was fouled twice on a putback attempt before drawing FTs finally, he made one.

Bynum -- -- Hell of a game from Drew. "Tonight we was very special," Phil said. Got to give the kid...excuse me...the man some props not just for this game but these playoffs, because he's played with fire in his belly. He came out and imposed his will early and often. The Lakers didn't trust to get him the ball down the stretch, however. Nothing knew here. Drew also needed to battle for low position during that stretch. Either he was tired or just knew the offense was going elsewhere (I tend to think the latter). Play one way to get the lead, play another way to lose it. Just not smart ball and the offense stalled in the fourth. Very disappointing. Bynum was carrying the team for three quarters. Phil even switched him on Dirk for a couple of sequences in the first half. Bynum ended up stealing a pass and taking it the distance for a breakaway slam on one of those. Play of the game. Sure is fun watching him play when he's healthy. "He's probably the best center in the league right now that we have," Dirk said of Bynum. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 9-16 shooting (3-3 from the line) to go with 10 boards (4 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He missed a jumphook on the first possession, not low enough position. Nice job running the court for low position and he scored a short jumphook when Lamar found him. He was rooted on a post move, but they didn't give him FTs, Lakers went back to him and he reversed past Chandler. He missed a baseline jumper, but Lamar slammed it back in. Good position out of a timeout and he banked the jumphook easily. He was fouled while fighting for position, he made both. Low position, he faked middle and banked the jumphook going the other way (this has to be Drew's bread and butter shot). Chandler flopped off ball and drew Bynum's second foul in the first quarter, very weak. He came up short on a turnaround and yelled for the foul. He missed a tip at the rim. He threw down a slam off the Pau interior feed. He jumped a passing lane on the perimeter while covering Dirk, swiped the ball and took it the distance for the slam. He had 14 points on 6-10 shooting and 4 boards in 15 minutes. Second Half: He was called for an offensive foul away from the ball under the hoop early. He missed a turanround. Chandler tried flopping again on Drew and Bynum scored the layup in the post. He was called for a weak travel call getting hammered as he tried to power up, wow (totally bogus...Phil was irked at this). He set the pick for Fish, cut and scored the layup off the feed. He didn't roll to the hoop and missed an open FT jumper (I think he was trying to give Shannon room, but should have rolled anyway). He scored an And-1 putback off a Lamar missed three, he made the FT.

Lamar -- -- Lamar slid into the starting lineup at the SF and got after it. Not an easy switch to make with how little they've done this. But as I've said for a few years, there's no reason you can't run him here just a couple minutes a game. You aren't going to get burned doing that and you'll get more impact minutes on the floor. Instead, we had to go to it on the fly, cold turkey, for a major chunk of this game. The concerns on this lineup shouldn't be the three shooting (we've survived poor three shooters at the SF before...and Lamar is actually a better shooter than some of those). He's also a better cutter and finisher working off the ball. The concern is the defensive match ups. With Marion and Peja, that's not a problem...unless you let it be one. "Peja did a great job on Odom the past six or seven minutes," the Mavs coach said. No, the Lakers played braindead ball. Only finally going after Peja after the lead was lost. They were able to hide him on Shannon some, too, during that stretch. Lamar also should have gotten the ball more against Marion in the second half. Regardless, Lamar stepped up to the plate and did a pretty good job of filling Ron's spot. Just wish the team played with more purpose down the stretch. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-16 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 42 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He pushed up a board and hit Drew for a score. He missed a short bank in the post over Marion. His double on Dirk forced a turnover. He scored a layup off the screen-roll with Kobe. He got a switch on his man working the two-man with Kobe, then missed the jumphook (but drew all kinds of help) and Pau cleaned it up. He slammed back in a Bynum missed jumper. He scored an And-1 layup, missed the FT, but Pau tipped it out and we regained possession. He threw a pass away (too early) at the end of the first quarter and was lucky the Mavs missed a jumper at the buzzer. He handed off to Shannon for the slam along the baseline. He missed a step-back jumper from the left wing. He got tapped on a jumphook with low position. He hit a jumphook off the post entry from Blake with the D scrambled. He attacked with speed and reversed, looking for an And-1 call. He had 10 points on 5-9 shooting, 3 boards and 3 assists. Second Half: He overpowered Marion easily in the post for a score. He picked up his second and third fouls (went over the back on one). He called his own number and attacked Marion for a layup. He missed an elbow jumper. He probed and drew FTs on a drive, he made both. He missed a three. He missed a jumper. He backed down Peja and hit over him in the post. Bad shot trying to iso on Peja, wasn't close enough when he shot and the offense should have set him up instead of Lamar having to get himself into scoring position. He couldn't handle a tough inbounds from Fish down 4, turnover.

Fisher -- -- A couple of anti-clutch plays in the final minute by Fish. Like Pau in Game 1, Fish was whistled for a perimeter foul to give up two killer FTs. Out of a timeout, he and Lamar teamed up for a turnover on the inbounds pass. Those were pretty much the nails in the coffin. Not being able to sustain the decent lead with 4 minutes left was a bigger problem. But when you get into that kind of situation, once again the margin for error is slim. Fish and Kobe led the team with a combined 11 assists. A lot of screen-roll action in this game, Fish even got in on it. The Stats: He didn't score on 3-8 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He pushed out a rebound and drew FTs for the Lakers first score, he made both. He missed an elbow pull-up jumper in transition. He hit a jumper behind a Bynum screen from the wing. He missed a baseline jumper. He gave up penetration to Terry and a foul on his bigs. He gave up another drive to Terry and a cheap foul for Pau. He missed a long wing three on a kickout. He had 4 points on 1-4 shooting. Second Half: Great challenge to erase a lob to Marion. He swished a wing three off the Kobe screen-roll with Drew. He didn't hit rim trying to draw a foul in transition as he went down on the drive, no call. He hit Drew on the screen-roll for a layup. He banked a short one coming off the high screen with Bynum out of a timeout. Perimeter foul on Terry trying to close on him with 17 seconds left to give up FTs. Out of a timeout, he and Lamar coughed the ball up on an inbounds play with 17 seconds left down 4.

Blake -- -- Much better game from Blake. Hard not to play better, but he and Shannon both stepped up tonight in a tough environment. Terry got a couple scores on him this game, which is more than he's been able to previously get when those two have matched up head to head. The 38 points from Peja and Terry off the bench killed them. Our bench guards, however, played some solid ball when they were out there. Dirk mentioned Blake after the game disrupting some of the Mavs offense. The Laker bench was able to sustain the lead. They didn't lose it or expand it. They forced the Mavs into a timeout after a few minutes into the fourth when they had stretched it to 8 points. You wished, however, that we continued to pound it in the paint in the fourth. Blake ran a couple of two-man game sequences that helped orchestrate some points, but we couldn't get that inside-out consistent ball to stretch things out. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steals and 1 foul in 15 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He drained a three when his man left him for Kobe. He hit Lamar for a jumphook when the D was scrambled. He swiped an inbounds when Terry tripped, pushed it up and hit Shannon with 0.9 for two FTs. Second Half: He drew an offensive foul on Dirk getting run over on the baseline off the ball. He missed a wing jumper working off the screens. He worked the two-man game and hit a jumper from 18 feet.

Barnes -- -- Had Matt been healthier, you might have seen him slide into the starting lineup. He hasn't been the same player since his return. Only flashes of it every now and then. The Lakers kept his minutes limited. They also kept Luke firmly planted on the bench with Artest out. Not a lot of action for him, but he actually led the team with a +4 in his limited time. He missed both threes he took. He had one moment of cutting off ball then fumbled the pass to blow that opportunity. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting to go with 1 board and 2 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a three at the top of the key. He played just 8 minutes. Second Half: He drew a moving screen foul on Haywood. He fumbled the ball on a cut, got it back and missed a three from the corner.

Brown -- -- Scrappy game from Shannon. One of his better ones, really. I'll fess up to having one of those "no, no, no...yes" moments with Shannon on one iso play in the offense in the fourth. He broke his man down off the dribble and scored a layup off it. Shannon was able to manufacture some points on his own, out of the offense and in garbage situations crashing the glass or getting out on the break. That's what he was doing so well early this season before getting lost. The bench needed that lift today with Artest gone. The Lakers kept Barea from going off, too, in this one. Unfortunately, they bled from other areas. There was a stretch where the Mavs hid Peja on Shannon defensively. Not what you want to happen with any of your SGs. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting (1-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards (2 offensive), 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He missed an open corner three. He cut strong off the Lamar post, took the handoff and threw down a reverse jam. He swished a sideline three off the swing pass. He missed a wing three, but hustled to get it right back. He stepped out of bounds taking contact on a baseline drive with no call. He choked a point-blank layup, no excuse (irked, Phil benched him on that). He busted out off the steal from Blake and was fouled with 0.9 left, he made just one FT (come on Shannon, knock those down). He had 6 points on 2-5 shooting. Second Half: Great job crashing the glass to tip in a Kobe miss at the end of the quarter. He iso'd, crossed over and scored a layup at the rim. He gambled for a steal on a pass to Dirk and it led to a Barea layup. He missed a three out of a timeout, can't be what they set up.

Smith -- -- He got some run to cover Dirk for Lamar to start the second quarter when our bigs had foul issues to deal with. The Mavs put him in the screen-roll and attacked. The Lakers sustained things decently. Offensively, you could see the triangle start to sputter as Smith was in the post and the players looked to swing it away. Kind of stalled things a little. Still, the Lakers stole 3 minutes rest for Lamar without taking a hit. If you were to do something crazy like start Lamar again in the next game, this is a situation where you might see Phil put Artest as a backup PF. Phil actually ran Barnes briefly in the second half at backup PF on one final offensive sequence to get some rest for his bigs. It's more likely, however, you will see the Lakers go back to their usual lineup, perhaps, stealing a few minutes for Lamar at the SF in the next one. The Stats: He didn't shoot or score and had 1 foul in 3 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He fouled on the screen-roll D. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Phil -- -- Phil was as animated as you will ever see him in this game. He's not going down without swinging -- literally. He lit into Pau trying to get his head in the game, even hit him on the chest. "I thought we were spending too much energy on disappointments instead of just playing the game," Phil would say later. That's "shut up and fight like a man" in Phil speak... and He slid Lamar Odom into the starting lineup. We've seen only glimpses of this but never extended run... The Lakers pulled out to a 14-10 lead midway through the quarter. They were feeding the post (Lamar, Drew, Pau in that order) consistently. Defensively, their length was disruptive and they had some very nice help sequences to start... Kobe picked up a touch foul on Dirk for an And-1, his second foul with 5:33 left and Phil sat him for Shannon... The screen-roll D then gave up two wide open threes to Dirk with Pau switching off him and no one covering. Phil had to call a timeout. He yelled at Pau and Bynum and slapped Pau on the chest for leaving Dirk... They led 22-20 when Dirk and Pau sat. Phil brought in Barnes... Bynum picked up a second foul on a flop by Chandler and had to sit. This would hurt as Drew was dominating. It would also put a hitch in the big lineup plans until late in the second quarter... The Lakers trailed 29-27 after the first, surviving the Kobe and Bynum foul issues for the moment. Phil harped on the six 3-point plays they gave up... Phil started a Pau, Smith, Kobe, Brown, Blake unit... He got 3 minutes out of Smith and brought Lamar back in without damage... He benched Shannon for Fish when he choked a layup, and he brought back Drew for Pau down 1 with 6 minutes left... He went with Kobe at SF and the Drew/Lamar combo... With 3:51 left down 5, he went to the starters again. At some point, he'll have to consider whether to sit Kobe, Pau or Drew with their fouls... He'd sit them in the final seconds and avoid picking up their third fouls... The Lakers led 51-47 at the half. The Lakers shot 52.5 percent (21-40, 2-6 from three, 7-9 shooting). The Mavs shot 46 percent (17-37, 5-11 from three, 8-11 from the line). Dirk had 18 points but no one else had more than 5... The Lakers pulled out to a 58-51 lead forcing an early Mav timeout... The Lakers gave up that lead and Phil benched Pau, yelling at him all the way to the bench for another bit of stupidity (a careless turnover). With the score tied 62-62 with 3 minutes left, he brought in Barnes for Pau again... He sat Bynum for Pau a minute later... He went with Barnes at PF for an offensive possession to rest a big at the end of the quarter... The Lakers led 72-66 heading into the fourth... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... The Mavs called a timeout with the Lakers pushing it to a 79-71 lead after the first 2:31 of the quarter... The offense started to stall and Phil ended up sitting Lamar for Pau and Barnes for Kobe (more than 5 minutes rest for Kobe). They weren't getting it into the post in that stretch... Starting five were all in with more than 5 to go... They coughed up the lead when the offense stopped going into the post and struggled to produce. No trust or purpose offensively here. Defensively, they were giving up wide open threes. Post players need to man up and get in the paint (and teammates need to get them the ball). A timeout came with the Lakers trailing 88-87... They got an easy score from Fish off the high screen drive, then Lamar over Peja, but no one-and-out possessions on the defensive end... Down 4 with 18.7 left after a bad foul by Fish, Phil called a timeout. Turnover... Phil was upset with some of the "irrational" double teams of Dirk in the final couple minutes. There wasn't a lot of logic on either end... The Lakers were actually out-rebounded in this game 39-37. The Mavs got those Terry FTs that killed the Lakers when the Lakers couldn't get a rebound. Everything fell apart...

[10scott10]

Man, this team just can't seem to get that Drew is good and can almost score at will. If we had gone to him, instead of Pau, during the fourth quarter, we might be looking at a 2-1 series instead.

I like Pau and don't want him traded. But I can't stand watching a guy that good playing that poorly and stupidly on defense. He just kept leaving Dirk wide-open for threes

[Sister Golden Hair]

Pau's is the most bewildering decline in a player's performance I've ever witnessed. Unprecedented.

[richsmith]

Emblematic of Pau's night was his inability to corral the rebound on the Mavs' miss with about 30 seconds left. Once Dallas got the resulting offensive board, the writing was on the wall. Everyone had their role to play in the loss tonight, but Gasol was truly shocking.

[Sister Golden Hair]

As to the irrational double teams PJ speaks up ... that's been maddening to watch. People keep saying, "well the lakers are old, they lack athleticism." BS. Those are mental mistakes that are killing this team. The Mavs are shooting wide open jumpers. Of course the;r numbers will be high. I don't even think Dirks been that unstoppable when 9-12 points each night come off of , repeat after me: wide open threes.

Pj's teams have often look completely flummoxed by the Pick and Roll, but they usually find a way to learn as they go within a series, until they finally shut it down. I thought they had turned the corner somewhat through three-quarters tonite, but then came the fourth and they regressed horribly.

Unreal.

Maybe PJ should have them practice a bit of the old defensive scheme.

But it wasn't just irrational doubling, it was also an irrational abandonment of Bynum. They needed to keep pressuring Dallas's middle with body shots, but instead kept going for haymakers that swung and missed via contested jumpers.

The guards were better this game but in the fourth they resorted to stupidity on both ends.

I thought LO was asleep on several key rotations as well. LO has not been as bad as Pau -- no one could be. But LO's lapses have been, in some ways, just as debilitating.

SGH

[Siguy]

Great recap for a terrible game.

[Arbitrary]

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB. That had to be painful.
I appreciate the effort you put in all season long.

[PLATNUM]

[NoHarmNoFoul]

Thanks DB for everything you do.

It's not over yet......I still believe.

DFish or his brother Marc has to talk some sense into Pau -- no excuses, no explanations, just get your (bleep) together.

[A Mad Chinaman]

As Shaq has often stated, Feed the Big Dog!

Pau has a turnover

Pau pouts

Pau gets lost on defense

Pau gives up an open shot

Pau doesn't run the court to get position

Pau is a couple feet out of the paint

Pau tries to one-on-one against Dirk and loses the ball

Pau allows the Mavs to have a fastbreak

Pau doesn't run run to play defense

Pau pouts

Pau gets punched by Phil



Since Pau ain't happening, place Pau at the 3pt line and let Drew go to work while drawing Dirk away from the basket

[SweetP]

[coop-a-loop]

Pau is just out of it mentally. More than physical, he just looks mentally fatigued. Very tentative basketball from him.

This team can still do it because they have the talent to beat Dallas, but they can't afford any mistakes.

I liked what I saw until that sequence 5 minutes left in the 4th when we played one-on-one basketball (instead of establishing the inside game or running the Kobe-Pau pick and roll) AND our defensive rotations just went out the window.

[A Mad Chinaman]

[babyskyhook]

[composite]

[heatseeker08]

[LamarOdom]

im so sad..i just cant believe it that we are facing already elimination in the 2nd round..i mean come on..we are the los angeles lakers and look at our statstics over the last years

but i just cant stand pau gasols execution of play right now..he plays so poorly and just doesnt influence our game of basketball..what is WRONG WITH HIM???????????????????????????

if we are going 2 go in2 the summer tomorrow night then something will and has 2 happen in summer with the team

[babyskyhook]

[tw-lakbfan]

[tw-lakbfan]

[8750]

thanks, DB
i deeply hope that our next coach will teach this team that leaving the opponents shooters wide open is not a good defensive strategy. with our coach's formula, we lose a playoff series against phoenix , we lose against boston in the finals, and we are losing now... and gasol on nowitzki is the dumbest defensive idea i saw in these years.. this team looks so old also because our coach's mind is very old...

[Sister Golden Hair]

[LamarOdom]

what sucks for me the most is that not only i live in germany no its the german press..they are reporting about the nba now just because dirk has much success with his mavs..but when they lose and when they have problems and i dont know what nobody mentions the mavs...and this is extactly the point: in a finals match i only can imagine myself that LA can beat the heat or bulls..i dont see the mavs in a position of holding lebron and wade under 20 points!!

im still upset about our lakers moreover i am accepting the term of that we going to be finished tomorrow evening at about 6 or 7 eastern time (us) ...its sooooooooooooooooo unimaginery to come back and win 4 in a row..this is soooooooooooooooooooooooo far away...

its over guys ..im so pissed

[lakerboy]

thanks db

what the hell happend with our ability to close out games? i just can't understand it. it's still the same group out there but they act completely different. it's perplexing