# Game #7 (11/10): Detroit Pistons @ Los Angeles Lakers



## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)




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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Well, I'm sure Im not the only one.... But I have a bad feeling about this one. After the Portland game this team has shown us that the one thing from last year that has remained the same is a lack of consistencey. They will either look better than they should against the pistons, or they will get killed by the pistons.. Which lakers team will show up today?


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## Brian34Cook (Mar 26, 2003)

On the positive side, the Lakers are 4-0 when I dont make a GT 

OTOH, I dont think they win this.. but they are at home..


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

Ooooooh. I like this game thread. 

How about some animated 3D pictures? Maybe one where Kobe is dunking the ball and actually comes out of my laptop screen.. That would be a real game thread...


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

Maybe I can do that in the year 3000. 

If anyone would like something added to this game thread and future ones... let me know. It has to be a "realistic" addon . Not 3D pictures flying around.


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## Ghiman (May 19, 2003)

Hey i like this game thread!!! Is it possible to insert an animated gif converted from a movie clip and insert into the .png file you have?

Something similar to this?


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

I think the Lakers can beat any team in the NBA. I also dont think the Pistons are all that great right now. Lakers have to stick to what helps them win games and this should be a good one.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

Ghiman said:


> Hey i like this game thread!!! Is it possible to insert an animated gif converted from a movie clip and insert into the .png file you have?
> 
> Something similar to this?


It's not possible to insert that into a PNG. GIF are nice, but they lag up the boards especially for people w/o broadband.


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## SoCalfan21 (Jul 19, 2004)

Well this will show if we are a real contender or pretender with that 4-2 record....i hope we win...im just not to sure with this game


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

Yeah I have a not so good feeling about this one, but you never know. We are at home, and we have looked pretty good so far this year at home.


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## ceejaynj (Oct 9, 2005)

Yeah...this game worries me too. Although they no longer have Ben Wallace controlling the boards for them, their guards always eat us up. Hopefully our A-Team will show up!!!


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## Unique (Apr 13, 2005)

Bartholomew Hunt said:


> Ooooooh. I like this game thread.
> 
> How about some animated 3D pictures? Maybe one where Kobe is dunking the ball and actually comes out of my laptop screen.. That would be a real game thread...



lMAO

I love my fellow laker mods. 

Group hug

:ghug:


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## ElMarroAfamado (Nov 1, 2005)

daamn, niiiice game thread :cheers: 

the Lakers have looked good at home all season....i say they take this one ... :cheers:


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

Unique said:


> lMAO
> 
> I love my fellow laker mods.
> 
> ...


Yeah BH always cracks me up. :laugh:


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## Hibachi! (Sep 18, 2003)

Nice *** game thread...


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

Unique said:


> lMAO
> 
> I love my fellow laker mods.
> 
> ...


 I'm the yellow one.


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## Ych (Feb 25, 2006)

I think our chances on winning this one is slim.

But we still have a shot if we play good teamball with the lack of turnovers + none of the stupid lineups. 

Odom needs to step up this game and be aggressive. Otherwise, I think we are going to drop down to 4-3 which is something i don't want to see .


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

btw, who does tayshaun defend.. lamar or kobe? im guessing lamar, since rip doesn't have the length.

interesting situation, we're playing against a pretty good point guard who isn't super fast like some of the others guys we've played. i expect farmar to get limited minutes, with him being undersized and not as bulky as smush/vujacic.

is kwame returning tonight too?


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

afobisme said:


> btw, who does tayshaun defend.. lamar or kobe? im guessing lamar, since rip doesn't have the length.
> 
> interesting situation, we're playing against a pretty good point guard who isn't super fast like some of the others guys we've played. i expect farmar to get limited minutes, with him being undersized and not as bulky as smush/vujacic.
> 
> is kwame returning tonight too?


 Nazr ---> Bynum
Sheed -----> Odom
Tayshaun -----> Kobe
Rip -----> Luke
Billups -----> Smush


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## CaliCool (Nov 5, 2004)

Again, lots of props to the game thread. I haven't been here for a long time, but this is one of the best looking game threads I've ever stumbled upon. Nice work.


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

Lakers need somebody to guard Rasheed Wallace. Hopefully Kwame Brown will be that guy.


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## Unique (Apr 13, 2005)

Bartholomew Hunt said:


> I'm the yellow one.


Im the blue one.


Cris can be the pinko :biggrin:


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## Shaolin (Aug 6, 2004)

The thread set-up is very nice. :clap: 

Tonight....this team is too inconsistent to predict. 

But what the hell...Lakers by 8.


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## SoCalfan21 (Jul 19, 2004)

all there needs to be said is...we need a win here...we havent really played anyone really good...this is our time to prove we are winners..


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

I agree. This is a good stepping stone for the Lakers. I think we have a great shot at winning, but I also dont give the Pistons any respect right now. They have to prove that they can do it without BigBen.

Lakers are gonna be hot tonight.


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## Laker Superstar 34 (Aug 8, 2005)

I actually think the Lakers will be at least competitive in this one.

Hey Eternal, maybe you could add something like they have at Simgalaxy.com for the _Detroit Pistons @ Los Angeles Lakers
Time: 10:30 PM_ sort of thing. I don't know if you know what I mean, but if you signed up for a free trial at Simgalaxy, then you might know what I'm talking about. It's how they review game results and look at next league games. It's some sort of Basketball simulation.


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## CaliCool (Nov 5, 2004)

Odom giving LA first four baskets.


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## CaliCool (Nov 5, 2004)

Detroit without Riiiichaaarddd. Hamiltoooon.


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

I thought Billups and Sheed are going to destroy us... Sheed is out early cuz of the 2 fouls, Billups has been playin well.


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

I think Detroit is playing great and we are playing bad. We are down by only 6 though.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

smush is so horrible it's not even funny.


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## CaliCool (Nov 5, 2004)

Kobe... 0 shot attempts? Why?


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

He did miss that reverse lay up when he got fouled, but it was not called.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

kobe had 1 attempt i believe. detroit is playing zone.


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

Yes, that is our 3 point specialist that got that airball 3, wide open.

A line up of...

Turiaf
Odom
Vlad
Evans
Farmar


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Steez said:


> Yes, that is our 3 point specialist that got that airball 3, wide open.
> 
> A line up of...



I swear when he missed I burst into laugher in a disturbing way. It was pretty sad. Im trying to keep in mind his hand is messed up. But wow.... That was pretty funny.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

how long does it take to recover from surgery? the way he's been playing, i say he gets surgery while studying the triangle more.


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## Kyle (Jul 1, 2003)

Am I the only one that feels that a Kobe at 75% is vastly slowing down our offense? It just looked like it flowed so much better without him in the lineup.

- I've wanted Kobe to play as soon as he's ready but it just doesn't look as if he needs to be in there right now. Granted I didn't see the game where he put up 32. It looks like he's struggling right now though.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

afobisme said:


> how long does it take to recover from surgery? the way he's been playing, i say he gets surgery while studying the triangle more.



Honestly, I think theres a chance that they are delaying a surgery because they hope it might get better on its own. And since Vlad has size and has done a decent job on the defensive end, I dont see why they wont wait it out a little and give it a shot.

His shot was looking better for a while, but sometimes when he misses shots like that. You know it's totally mechanical not mental. He looks like he is straining to get the ball to the rim at times.


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## Lynx (Mar 6, 2004)

Vlad can't make a layup..Twice. uke:


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Can we put Farmar back in?


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## Lynx (Mar 6, 2004)

**** Smush Parker


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

I love when Phil has Cook at the center position.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Its funny, because I think Bynum had good position under the basket probably 3 or 4 times straight and they refuse to pass it to him.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

You forget how big Rasheed is at times. He's a legit 7 feet.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

smush gets burned by point guard after point guard after point guard after point guard after point guard

i swear, even flip murry can eat him up with ease.


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## B-Scott (Jan 17, 2006)

Observations of tonights game

1. We have Lamar playing to far away from the basket. Expecting him to break down a very good defense like Detroit off the dribble and score on a consistent basis is unrealistic. The last 20 games of last season we used him a lot in the post on that left block. Now he is playing 30 feet from the basket like the beginning of last season. It's like Phil forgot what worked those last 20 games for Lamar. 

2. Jordan Farmar should have been kept in when the starters retured. I liked his energy on both sides off the court. He was in a rythym.

3. Kobe has to be more aggressive on offense ,and cut down his turnovers.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

lamar is kinda screwed for this game. wallace is defending him, and giving lamar plenty of room for his jumpshot (but lamar can't make a shot worth for crap). wallace can also handle lamar down on the post, so lamar doesn't have many options. he can 1) take the jumpshots and miss like he normally does or 2) try to push up the tempo, where wallace cannot handle lamar's athleticism.

and then when tayshaun is defending lamar, lamar can't do a whole lot... which sucks.

farmar was good and all, but he's kinda small. definitely shouldn't be defending chauncy, and chauncy is their "smallest" guy.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

afobisme said:


> farmar was good and all, but he's kinda small. definitely shouldn't be defending chauncy, and chauncy is their "smallest" guy.


I'll take smaller guy over guy who doesent even try on defense half of the possessions.


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

Wow, I would expect this from a back to back game. We are playing so dead and slow... Zone is killing us, I wouldnt mind if Kobe took the next 15 shots


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

yeah true, i would actually rather have farmar in there. i really can't stand smush, he makes a lot of bad decisions.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

flip murray beats smush on the drive again

and then a turtle beats smush


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

Odom is playing to win...


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Wow.... 

Kobe's knee just buckled on national tv. He really shouldnt be out there yet,


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

Whats Kobe doing?


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Steez said:


> Whats Kobe doing?



Honestly, he is extremly slow. The knee rather he feels pain or not is not ready yet. The dude's knee buckled twice tonight. Jack Hailey caught the first one before half time and mentioned it in the half time report, and just now it was obvious he went to his right and it just gave out....

He is doing more harm comming back early than good. I think he should just take it easy and get that knee better and get Odom back into an aggressive mode.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Embarassing.


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## wizardsfan2006 (Dec 24, 2005)

CDRacingZX6R said:


> Embarassing.


Yes, indeed


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

Wow Odom, keep it up.


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

Odom needs to be that aggresive when Kobes playin...


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## ShowTimeLakers2005 (Oct 19, 2005)

Is Kobe alright?


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

doesn't seem like it, he only has 2 points this far.


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## Silk D (Feb 6, 2006)

CDRacingZX6R said:


> Honestly, he is extremly slow. The knee rather he feels pain or not is not ready yet. The dude's knee buckled twice tonight. Jack Hailey caught the first one before half time and mentioned it in the half time report, and just now it was obvious he went to his right and it just gave out....
> 
> He is doing more harm comming back early than good. I think he should just take it easy and get that knee better and get Odom back into an aggressive mode.



agreed. He just isn't doing a lot of good things out there. He can pretty much be guarded one-on-one, and he can't stay in front of anyone. knowingly or not, everyone defers to him when he's on the court.


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

It hurts me to see Kobe like this, especially considering how he torched the Pistons last season. And his problems are echoed within the Lakers as a team. Frustrating to watch as a fan.


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

He looked hurt going to the bench earlier and he is icing it right now...
They need to get to get it to 10 with 5 mins left.


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## Laker Freak (Jul 1, 2003)

Having Vlad guard Rasheed is not going to help. Kobe finally hit a shot.


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## Drewbs (Feb 16, 2004)

glad Kobe decided to wake up. too bad theres only 2 minutes left.


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

Kobes balling... but they cant come back, its too late.


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

Lamars gone


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

wow... nice shot kobe


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## Drewbs (Feb 16, 2004)

To be optimistic...

Kobe is going to be fine. His play in the 4th quarter was as good as it ever was. For a 5 minute stretch he looked like he had his shooting touch, explosiveness and drive back. He was getting into the paint at will. Granted the Pistons kind of stopped playing, but had he been that aggressive all game, it would've been much closer. 

Thats why the Lakers need him to be healthy and aggressive.

Also, I like Farmar but he dribbles too much sometimes.


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## The One (Jul 10, 2005)

CDRacingZX6R said:


> Well, I'm sure Im not the only one.... But I have a bad feeling about this one. After the Portland game this team has shown us that the one thing from last year that has remained the same is a lack of consistencey. They will either look better than they should against the pistons, or they will get killed by the pistons.. Which lakers team will show up today?


hhmmm. Good Call, CDRacingX6R :|


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## The One (Jul 10, 2005)

elcap15 said:


> I think the Lakers can beat any team in the NBA. I also dont think the Pistons are all that great right now. Lakers have to stick to what helps them win games and this should be a good one.


hhmmm....Bad Call, elcap15 :|


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

Not time to jump off a bridge laker fans. 

My thoughts

Phil Jackson's insistance on playing Cook as the only real big is crazy. Its not like Cook was hitting shots. We can't rally if we can't get any rebounds nor protect the paint. 

Phil's crazy subs hurt us every damn game. 

odom is playing like he's confused. It has nothing to do with Kobe. He's just jumping in the air faking the shot and passing the bail out pass to Luke. 

Odom is playing terrible and very passive, I can take missed shots but not taking them or lacking aggressiveness is terrible. 

Smush is playing horribly, or pg play is comical just comical. 

Bynum can't catch a break from his coach, PJ refuses to give the kid the minutes. At least he was guarding the basket, he made a couple noie shots and gets pulled for Cook. 

Walton is playing okay. 

NOW Kobe. He is playing like his knee really hurts, he was made to look silly at times on defense. He just can't move laterally well at all. he can still score but only in limted spurts. it must hurt too damn bad. 

He'll be fine though but he really hurt the team in the 3rd when he wouldn't shoot or become a factr passing at all. 

The team doesn't have any real confidence right now but things will pick up just the eb and flow of the NBA. 

One thing is for certain. We have a pg emergency. Farmar needs to be starting not like he's the answer though because he plays far too tenative at times. But Smush just isn't a good player he's not even playing bad he's terrible.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

Tonight's game looked real bad. Kobe's knee worries me alot... I hope he's not trying to rush his knee.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)




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## SoCalfan21 (Jul 19, 2004)

please guys...i didnt watch the game...i went to the movies instead (although i updated the game on my phone)...this game from the highlights...doesnt look promising for the lakers...mihm out for basically the season doesnt help out...what we thought was a good team...is just heartbreaking


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## KDOS (Nov 29, 2005)

> Phil Jackson's insistance on playing Cook as the only real big is crazy. Its not like Cook was hitting shots. We can't rally if we can't get any rebounds nor protect the paint.


They need a Big man who passes well to execute the system, also Bynum cannot handle the zone defense pressure the Pistons are giving him. There were a lot of times where once he gets the ball, the Piston defense collapses on him and he loses the ball and it contributed for some fast break points. Cook put up decent numbers for a sub tonight.

Plain and simple the game plan did not work today.




> Phil Jackson's insistance on playing Cook as the only real big is crazy. Its not like Cook was hitting shots. We can't rally if we can't get any rebounds nor protect the paint.


This I dont understand either, he could've inserted Turiaf for more minutes. I dont think Turiaf even broke a sweat outh there tonight.





> Odom is playing terrible and very passive, I can take missed shots but not taking them or lacking aggressiveness is terrible.


I thought Odom played aggressively towards the end of the first half and definitely the second half, a bit too agrressive as a matter of fact. Im not for complaiing against refs, but they did missed a couple of clear contact fouls for Odom when he was driving in the basket.




> NOW Kobe. He is playing like his knee really hurts, he was made to look silly at times on defense. He just can't move laterally well at all. he can still score but only in limted spurts. it must hurt too damn bad.


He's still rusty no doubt, but his sudden explosion in the fourth tells me that he's ok. He sticked with the game plan and it didnt work, so Phil after 3 quarters of futile attempt to get back in the game then possibly advised him to "Take Over"...too bad its too late.


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## The One (Jul 10, 2005)

KOBEDUNKEDONSHAQ said:


> He's still rusty no doubt, but his sudden explosion in the fourth tells me that he's ok. He sticked with the game plan and it didnt work, so Phil after 3 quarters of futile attempt to get back in the game then possibly advised him to "Take Over"...too bad its too late.


Agreed. Kobe's Offense is fine, but his extreme passiveness is affecting everbody's rhythm. As much as He does not want to, Kobe needs to start going 05-06 on teams because Odom will not score on his own if Kobe is in the game whether Kobe is shooting ot not. With Both Kobe and Odom competing with each ther oat being passive, there is nobody in the game that can bring energy at the get go. This happen three straight games: Kobe starts, Odom get indecisive, Kobe gets passive, Team goes on a slow start because of lack of energy to feed off of.

If Kobe does not want to take 30 shots for the time begin he could at least do a Sandwich game where he is aggressive for one quarter, gradually slows down during the second and third, and then puts back on his cape during the fourth.


Til Next game GO LAKERS!


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## SoCalfan21 (Jul 19, 2004)

The One said:


> Agreed. Kobe's Offense is fine, but his extreme passiveness is affecting everbody's rhythm. As much as He does not want to, Kobe needs to start going 05-06 on teams because Odom will not score on his own if Kobe is in the game whether Kobe is shooting ot not. With Both Kobe and Odom competing with each ther oat being passive, there is nobody in the game that can bring energy at the get go. This happen three straight games: Kobe starts, Odom get indecisive, Kobe gets passive, Team goes on a slow start because of lack of energy to feed off of.
> 
> If Kobe does not want to take 30 shots for the time begin he could at least do a Sandwich game where he is aggressive for one quarter, gradually slows down during the second and third, and then puts back on his cape during the fourth.
> 
> ...


dude thats the thing...if the lakers want to win a championship you have to realize kobe cant score 30 pts a night...he needs to be that guy that has all around numbers 20-25 pts a game 7 Reb. 7 ast season for them to go far in the season and playoffs..in last season the reason they did awsome the last games of the season and the first part of the 1st round was cause kobe wasnt averaging huge pt numbers he was distributing the ball...kobe can be a hero sure but not forcing up shots til he gets hot..that puts us in a bigger hole and makes everyone on the court lazier just watching him shoot...when the other players get around there more active..Ala the first 2 games in the season when everyone was getting a touch...im not hating....i just am trying to think realistically...


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

SoCalfan21 said:


> please guys...i didnt watch the game...i went to the movies instead (although i updated the game on my phone)...this game from the highlights...doesnt look promising for the lakers...mihm out for basically the season doesnt help out...what we thought was a good team...is just heartbreaking


Don't jump off a bridge man its just a couple bad games. Good teams get stagnant all the time .


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

The One said:


> Agreed. Kobe's Offense is fine, but his extreme passiveness is affecting everbody's rhythm. As much as He does not want to, Kobe needs to start going 05-06 on teams because Odom will not score on his own if Kobe is in the game whether Kobe is shooting ot not. With Both Kobe and Odom competing with each ther oat being passive, there is nobody in the game that can bring energy at the get go. This happen three straight games: Kobe starts, Odom get indecisive, Kobe gets passive, Team goes on a slow start because of lack of energy to feed off of.
> 
> If Kobe does not want to take 30 shots for the time begin he could at least do a Sandwich game where he is aggressive for one quarter, gradually slows down during the second and third, and then puts back on his cape during the fourth.
> 
> ...


I just don't think Kobe can crank up the energy to ignite the team right now. He seems to be laboring just to get a rhythm himself. I just think the teams rhythm is off. odom is just playing far too passively on offense. The spots on the floor where he's attacking doesn't take advantage of his sklls. Late in the year last season when he was most effective he was attacking from the mid post but now he's catching at the 3 pt line and the defenses are just sagging and playing his left hand. The overall ofense needs to be adjusted but this is what happens when the Head Coach and the teams best player don't have a preseason. 

Its falling all outta whack which is making the role players very passive. farmar was aggressive now has to be prodded to shoot, Vlad and Smush are very passive as is Turiaf in his limited minutes. Evans seems very uncomfortable as well. 

Everything is gonna be fine PJ doesn't have a handle on this team yet, he seems very hesistant to play Bynum big minutes, doesn;t seem to trust him as much yet.

I really was more surprised we started so strong because I thought we'd really struggle badly early, and we're beginning to struggle now so if we can stay above .500 until we start clicking things will pick up.


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## Cap (Nov 5, 2003)

Kobe looked horrible out there for 3.5 quarters. Don't know what the game plan was, but it was bad. Kobe and Jackson need to get on the same page, that was a pathetic display of energy by Kobe, but the rest of the team save for Walton and Farmar showed the same lack of energy as well. Baffling.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap_81_detlal.asx"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap_81_detlal.asx" type="application/x-mplayer2" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>


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## The One (Jul 10, 2005)

jazzy1 said:


> this is what happens when the Head Coach and the teams best player don't have a preseason.


That pretty much explains it.

It would be interesting to see if the Lakers will win more If Rambis coaches and Kobe sits out for awhile again....(The One, You Shouldn't think that way :biggrin


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## The One (Jul 10, 2005)

Eternal said:


> <EMBED src=""http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap_81_detlal.asx width=425 height=350 type=application/x-mplayer2 wmode="transparent"></EMBED>


LOL Do we really need to go through this game again? :biggrin:


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## The One (Jul 10, 2005)

Eternal said:


> <EMBED src="" width=425 height=350 type=application/x-mplayer2 wmode="transparent" recap_81_detlal.asx recaps nbacom nba wmedia boss.streamos.com http:></EMBED>


LOL Do we really need to go through this game again? :biggrin:


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

The One said:


> LOL Do we really need to go through this game again? :biggrin:


Just to keep track of this, so if anyone wants to view the highlight of how bad Lakers were at beginning of year, they'll get to see. 

We can all laugh on this in the summer when Lakers are the 2007 NBA champions.

Besides there's a insane Kobe fadeaway in it.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

*Lakers misfire, 94-83 *

By Ross Siler Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/11/2006 12:23:11 AM PST

LOS ANGELES - As soon as the question was asked Thursday at practice, Kobe Bryant answered that his right knee was feeling "fantastic," so much so that he didn't even need to stretch before heading onto the court to shoot a few jumpers.

Barely a day later, Bryant sat on the bench in the third quarter of the Lakers' 97-83 loss to the Detroit Pistons with a heat pack on the knee, having taken four shots and scored two points as his team fell behind by 20 points.

Bryant looked like a changed player in the fourth quarter, when he scored 17 points, took seven shots and got to the foul line nine times, but it only led to more questions than answers about the condition of his knee.

"He was labored tonight," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "He was labored the other night. When I watched him run, I could see it a little bit. That's going to happen right now.

"We have to go without him a lot of minutes out there on the floor. You know he's going to come out there and try to be competitive and bring the game back again at some level. 

"He was getting frustrated in the third quarter because things just weren't working out right. I thought we could make a run but we just couldn't get all the way there. That was too big a lead to bring it into the single digits."

The Lakers (4-3) struggled to solve the Pistons' zone defense and were unable to beat a team that forward Lamar Odom often cites as setting the standard for winning ugly in the NBA.


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## Damian Necronamous (Jun 10, 2002)

I have tried to remain objective when determining how this team performs.

However, tonight's game was honestly the worst I have EVER seen as a Laker fan. That was the most pathetic lack of effort I have ever seen on any team. They just all looked really pissed off with each other. What the hell is going on?

Three days after the future looked so bright...it suddenly looks so, so grim.


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## Ych (Feb 25, 2006)

Things like this are bound to happen.

I knew that our chances of winning this one was slim.

The problem right now is, when will the Lakers start stepping up.


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## ceejaynj (Oct 9, 2005)

Unfortunately, it appears that, after a quick start with a few nice wins, we are starting to settle down and play at our true competitive level. Other than the injuries, it could also be that the team has not adjusted to playing with Kobe yet.


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## Ych (Feb 25, 2006)

At least the Lakers are having a better start then I expected due to the injuries.
I was expecting them to go below 50% due to Kobe been injured. And even when he comes back i expected him to take awhile for him to adjust.

The bright side is, Kobe is back from the injury and he is playing better ball every game. He did play good ball in the forth quarter. Itz just that the gameplan of Kobe distributing the ball throughout the game wasn't working and by the time Kobe was to take over, the game is pretty much over by then.
Not to mention we are still above 50%. We just need to get our acts together as soon as possible and we should be fine.


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## JerryWest (Jun 24, 2002)

Team is still plagued with same problem of inconsistency as last year. However, they should improve more and more as everyone gets used to the triangle.

Strength is great size which allows for controlling the boards. Weakness is defensive rotations.


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## BallFan1 (Nov 11, 2006)

Eternal said:


> We can all laugh on this in the summer when Lakers are the 2007 NBA champions.


Yeah, I'll have what he's drinking!


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## Cap (Nov 5, 2003)

If they're a .600 team by the end of this long home stand, considering the injuries to Kobe and everyone else, I'll be pleased. Anything else would be disappointing considering all the home games.


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## ceejaynj (Oct 9, 2005)

Do you think it's remotely possible that the Lakers _could have _ taken the Pistons too lightly??? After all, we were playing at home, Detroit has no Big Ben, no Rip Hamilton, only a .500 record...and they seem to be getting the rep that they are all done.


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## BallFan1 (Nov 11, 2006)

ceejaynj said:


> Do you think it's remotely possible that the Lakers _could have _ taken the Pistons too lightly???


TAke Pistons lightly after losing to the Sonics and Blazers? The Lakers were recipients of a soft initial schedule resulting in a good start. The Lakers cannot afford to take anyone lightly, let alone Pistons.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

BallFan1 said:


> Yeah, I'll have what he's drinking!


I obviously was joking...


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

Just watched the game and don't have much to say. This was a downright pathetic effort. I think we will be okay though. Phil is in the "I'm going to do crazy ****" mode. A lot of Kobe's passiveness has to do with the knee. A lot of it also has to do with Phil's desire to have the supporting cast build the confidence that they can perform alongside Kobe. This is all simply building to benefit for the end of the season, just like all of Phil's teams. Let's bang our heads against the remote for now, because I believe things will work out in the end.


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## BallFan1 (Nov 11, 2006)

Eternal said:


> I obviously was joking...


OK. My bad. I come from an environment where some people actually thought that the Lakers would win a championship this year after the 4-0 start and end with a 70-12 record.


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

BallFan1 said:


> OK. My bad. I come from an environment where some people actually thought that the Lakers would win a championship this year after the 4-0 start and end with a 70-12 record.


 We're a little more realistic around here. I'm thinking 68-14.


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## BallFan1 (Nov 11, 2006)

Bartholomew Hunt said:


> We're a little more realistic around here. I'm thinking 68-14.


In that case, 70-12 IS pretty realistic.


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