WMC 12/13: Mercy kill. (0-4)

KB24 wrote:This team flat out sucks on defense.

Battle Tested20 wrote:

KB24 wrote:This team flat out sucks on defense.

We don't suck, we're just not always consistent at it. If you look solely at the Rocket's FG% tonight (37.6%) you would have thought we won. But Defensive rebound and our D late in the ball game was not good enough.

“@LakersReporter: The Lakers are 1-7 when Kobe scores at least 30 points, & 7-3 when he scores less than 30. They're 5-1 when he has 6+ assists.”

Battle Tested20 wrote:^ You don't make any sense: "I don't care about this team anymore, they are done for me...........I will watch games only because I am a big laker fan"


You might want to find out what a fan really is and go from there. Your either with us or against us as far as I'm concerned.

themasterphil wrote:We need to rest players vs OKC, send them back to LA bc there is no chance they can win that game, accept 250k fine for resting players and thats it.... if we make that decision they will have 4 days to rest and see what they can do about this idiotic performances....Starting five vs OKC: Duhon, Meeks, Ebanks, Clark, Hill

XXIV wrote:

themasterphil wrote:We need to rest players vs OKC, send them back to LA bc there is no chance they can win that game, accept 250k fine for resting players and thats it.... if we make that decision they will have 4 days to rest and see what they can do about this idiotic performances....Starting five vs OKC: Duhon, Meeks, Ebanks, Clark, Hill

God that would be such an ugly game.

ramsay13 wrote:KOBE^^^

puffyusaf#2 wrote:

ramsay13 wrote:KOBE^^^

Hell yea. I am glad someone has the balls to say what everyone should be saying, this team is losing because of Kobe. If he was a better leader we would not have given up nearly 30 offensive rebounds. We wouldn't have missed a million in a half freethrows. Kobe shot 31 shots which was just disgusting. He should of dumped it in to Dwight and let him dominate the paint or get the foul calls. If Kobe doesn't stop costing us games Mitch needs to ship his arse out. To bad all the fans that love Kobe first won't stand up and agree with what you and I see so easily.

themasterphil wrote:

puffyusaf#2 wrote:

ramsay13 wrote:KOBE^^^

Hell yea. I am glad someone has the balls to say what everyone should be saying, this team is losing because of Kobe. If he was a better leader we would not have given up nearly 30 offensive rebounds. We wouldn't have missed a million in a half freethrows. Kobe shot 31 shots which was just disgusting. He should of dumped it in to Dwight and let him dominate the paint or get the foul calls. If Kobe doesn't stop costing us games Mitch needs to ship his arse out. To bad all the fans that love Kobe first won't stand up and agree with what you and I see so easily.

wtf are you talking about...

Most FT misses in 4Q this season: Dwight Howard, 42. Next-highest? Tyler Hansbrough, 10.

Punk-101 wrote:I didn't get to watch the game last night, so can someone clue me in on a few things?

1. What was the main cause of the lead going from 17 to 7?
2. When did Kobe go into "mamba-mode"?

With about 7:20 left to play in the fourth quarter, Chris Duhon got into the lane and fed Jordan Hill, who threw down a dunk to extend the Lakers lead to 11 points. The Lakers next two possession ended with a missed Duhon three pointer and a Duhon turnover. Toney Douglass followed those possessions with a layup and a three pointer — cutting the Lakers lead to seven points.

Kobe and Dwight check in for Jodie Meeks and Jordan Hill. Still, the Lakers offense can’t get anything going. Antawn Jamison turns the ball over that leads to a Greg Smith layup and a foul. He hits the free throw to cut the Lakers lead down to four. Kobe hits a jumper, extending the lead back up to six, but on the ensuing possession, James Harden — who was having an awful game — find a way to get behind the Lakers defense unnoticed and is given the ball at the rim for an easy bucket. Lead back down to four.

On the Lakers next possession, Ron throws the ball away and Duhon fouls Harden on the other end. Harden makes one of two and cuts the Lakers lead down to three points. Over the next few possessions, Kobe misses a long two, gets to the line and makes one of two free throws, and makes a sweeping layup in transition, pushing the Lakers lead back up to six. The Rockets’ Smith gets back to the free throw line, knocks down both, and then the Hack-a-Howard strategy ensues.

The Lakers next five possessions saw Dwight Howard at the free throw line. In those five possessions, the Lakers yielded five points and gave up seven to the Rockets — then immediately gave up a Smith layup on the Rockets very next possession, completely eliminating the Lakers 11-point lead in just over five minutes of play.

The rest of the game saw Kobe taking shot-after-shot and the Rockets making free throw after free throw. Kobe hit a three with the Lakers down four, but his efforts down the stretch — and really for the whole game — were futile as the Rockets would hold on to a two-point margin.

Despite outplaying the Rockets for 3.5 quarters, the Lakers lose their fifth game in their last seven contests. Furthermore, the Lakers have now given up 73 points in the fourth quarter of their last two costing them wins in two games they could have easily have won with better execution down the stretch. Unlike the game against Orlando, turnovers and defensive rebounding were a huge problem tonight. The Lakers gave up 21 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over, which is essentially 40 extra possessions for the Rockets.