Wow LA got mugged on the boards. Dirk, Howard & Dampier had more boards combined than the Lakers as a whole.
<div class="quote_poster">P.A.P. Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Wow LA got mugged on the boards. Dirk, Howard & Dampier had more boards combined than the Lakers as a whole.</div> Yeah Dallas has a lot of length on their roster, which goes unnoticed because of their star players. Their ability to dominate the glass makes puts pressure on team to shoot over 50% for an entire game. Dallas really limits your scoring opportunities, and maximizes their own by out rebounding teams. On the season they're a +4.1 in rebound differential.
I realized tonight, on my *brand-new* 42" plasma screen, just how closely Farmar resembles a leprechaun.
Well it didn't come as a surprise. We're missing Odom, and we're going against Dallas. Also, @ Brians sig. Stole my idea.
Watched this game for the first 30min or so, then I said to hell with it. I couldn't stand watching it. From what I did watch, all I can say is yuck. The Lakers played sloppy ball and pathetic defense. I realize we're low on big men, but my god, at least get a freaking rebound. I don't know if I've ever seen us get pounded on the boards this bad, and this game shows just how bad we need Odom and Kwame back. Our weak interior defense was exposed and our inability to rebound well without them was too. They killed us on the glass tonight, 53-28, and that's the story of the game. Any time you give up 19 o-rebs and allow the opponent to shoot 55%, there's no way you win, and that's what happened. Hopefully we can rebound from this crap happy loss and win at least 3 or our next 4 (which should be doable, seeing as how we have 3 games at home) before we hit the road for a brutally long 8 game road trip. Ugh, tonight made me want Odom and Kwame to return ASAP.
I did the same thing Moo. The Lakers were horrible after halftime. So many turnovers off weak passes, no crashing of the boards, and very few hustle plays by the Lakers. We really need Odom and Kwame back to compete with the likes of Dallas. We were outrebounded terribly.
I wouldn't put much emphasis on this loss. The Lakers just came off a big win in San Antonio, and because of weather conditions had to take a bus instead of the normal plane flight into Dallas. The bus ride from San Antonio to Dallas normally takes 4 hours, but with poor road conditions it took 6 hours to get to Dallas. Sitting in a bus for 6 hours and then having to play against the best team in the league on their homecourt puts you at a tremendous disadvantage. The Lakers came out flat and lost in every hustle point area of the court. The team was lethargic and were only in the game during the first half because Dallas was shooting poorly. Once Dallas started getting into their rhythm in the second half it was lights out for the Lakers. Right now this Laker team relies on it's offense to win games. The team hasn't learned how to win with defense consistently, so it leads to blow outs when the energy level is down. Teams who can play defense can always keep a game within reach heading into the final quarter, giving themselves a chance to win. It's what seperates a good team from a great team, and until the Lakers learn to win with defense, we shouldn't be considered an elite team. I actually like our current position in the playoff seeding. If the playoffs started today, the Lakers would face the Jazz in the 1st round. A team I know we can beat in 7 games.
