Game Notes - MilBoJerSeaDenUtAndo

That's just about the exact same expression I would make in his position.

I apologize for the lag.

Part of it was an ear infection that I had the last week or so. Part of it is that I am usually too pissed off to write game notes after the Lakers play particularly shitty. This is not necessarily after they lose, mind you.

But my how the climate has changed in seven games. I last wrote after the Indiana game. They had just beat the Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse, a place where the Lakers usually lose, and did it with 8 guys posting double figures. They were the surprise team of the NBA earning an impressive 7-3 record against a strong schedule that included wins against Phoenix, Utah, Detroit, and Houston.

Now, after losing 5 of their last seven, the Lakers are back to where many pundits have predicted they will finish: hovering above .500 . And it's not so much the numerical record that is so, so sobering. It's the inconsistency. It's the turnovers. It's the mental lapses. And as is usually the king symptom of all young teams, the frustration of the few veterans.

I guess it turns out that Kobe's reserved attitude after the sparkling early going was prudent. We can only hope now that he is just as patient during the rough patches.

Anyway, here's what I remember off the top of my head from the last seven games.

@ Milwaukee
Michael Redd is good.

@ Boston
The Celtics are who we thought they were. And we let 'em off the hook. Actually, they put the hook through our collective scrotum, but whatever.

New Jersey
My cell phone did not survive this game viewing.

Seattle
Against a not-the-worst team, we lose this game too.

Denver
The lone bright spot in the bunch. The Lakers weathered the early storm and figured out how to make the Nuggets pay for their passing lane gambles. They returned to the form of the 7-3 team.

Melo is a beast. Here's what Phil said about Lamar's D against Melo: "Lamar was a punk against him, actually." Ouch.

@ Utah
Deron Williams is good.

Orlando
Sometimes the Lakers simply do not finish. Yet one more growing pain to endure.

Kobe showed some flashes in this game. The consecutive three pointers he dropped in the second quarter. The one handed lob he threw down from around the top of the box. Showing his unmatched body control -- breaking out his dribble-spin-stepback fadeway and slithering around tailor made charging calls. But then came the second half and the indecisive, pump faking, flat shot Kobe returned and the Lakers fell apart.

The key play for Orlando last night? Keyon Dooling and that charge that he took on Jordan Farmar. The Lakers were up by two, Farmar rebounds a long three point miss by Rashard Lewis and comes screaming down the court full speed. After a nifty, crowd pleasing behind the back move to lose the first transition defender, Farmer found himself 2 on 1 against Keyon Dooling with Lamar filling the right lane. You could almost see it coming. Farmar dishes just as Dooling is position himself in Jordan's path. Charge. Dunk negated. Of course, Dooling then went on to hit a 17 footer on the next possession to tie and that was basically it for the Lakers.

(Jordan complained after the call, naturally. But it looked clean, a good call. And besides, if Jordan relied on his fundamentals and executed a jump stop at the free throw line...)