NEW YORK - The goal has been set for this eight-game, 13-day road trip, and it's a mighty lofty one. No longer is Coach Phil Jackson content with going .500 on the road, which most coaches usually are happy with. "We just can't be satisfied with that right now," he said Monday. "We have to go on the road trip with kind of like a 'Let's try to win six.' "Let's try to push the limits of what we can do on this road trip. This is something that is really difficult." The Lakers are 27-17 but lost two straight at home for the first time and have lost four of five overall. They hope to avoid their first three-game losing streak by starting this trip with a victory tonight against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Lakers have lost four of their past five on the road and are 7-11 away from Staples Center. Though half of the eight teams they'll face are below .500, the Lakers have a propensity for losing to such lowly teams. "We know that's going to be a difficult challenge in itself," Jackson said. The Lakers will play three sets of back-to-back games, making the trip all the more harrowing. After New York, they go to Boston, Indianapolis, Washington, Atlanta, Detroit, Toronto and Cleveland. "Everybody is excited about the road trip. I know I am," said Kobe Bryant, who's shooting just 43.8 percent on the road, including 22.7 percent from three-point range. "It doesn't matter where you play. I just tell the guys to stay cool. Stay at an even keel. Don't get too high, don't get too low. That's the secret to playing on the road." Asking More of Bench Jackson has been displeased with how the Lakers have played recently and wonders what the road will bring. "It can work either way," he said. "It can make a team come together. It can help a team fall apart." His bench of Maurice Evans, Jordan Farmar, Vladimir Radmanovic, Ronny Turiaf and Brian Cook has been productive. But Jackson's not happy with them, either. "We need to see a little better team play," he said. "I've been concerned about the fact that guys come in and they are desperate coming in off the bench. They want shots. They want to score." Their mistake, he said, is in thinking they are going to stay on the floor by scoring instead of understanding the value in being playmakers and executing the offense. Free-Throw Woes The Lakers are making 73.8 percent of their free throws, which ranks 21st in the NBA. Lamar Odom (73.8) and Smush Parker (64.4) have contributed most to the Lakers' problems. "It's contagious," Jackson said. "When people start missing free throws it makes other guys insecure and unconfident. Right now we have some guys that just aren't confident http://www.pe.com/sports/basketball/breako...30.24c1a33.html - Link
Yeah, this is a critical time for the Lakers to show whether they are serious about making it in the playoffs or not. The team is starting to slide a bit, having had two two-in-a-row losses with a win in between (iirc).
The Lakers goal should be winning 5 of 8 on this road trip. After dropping two games at home, they need to make them up on the road. @NY @BOS (back to back) @IND @WAS (back to back) @ATL @DET @TOR (back to back) @CLE Playing three back to back games on an 8 game road trip is going to be tough, and 8 games in 13 days on the road is brutal. However, a majority of these games against the weakest division in the NBA, the Atlantic, and the Lakers can get off to a great start by sweeping those teams and then beating Atlanta. This would give them 4 wins, and the Lakers should be able to win one of the four remaining games against the tougher teams on this road trip. All these games are winnable if the Lakers play smart, efficient basketball. The Lakers must make their free throws (Lamar Odom, Smush Parker), and they have to limit their turnovers (Kobe Bryant.) Shooting poorly at the free throw line and having more turnovers than your opponent is a formula for failure on the road. The Lakers need to approach it game by game, and not worry about looking ahead to a long time away from Staples. The benefit of these road trips is it gives teammates a chance to really gel because they're spending a lot of time together.
Maybe im one of the farest Lakers fan, but i know very well te team. You remember the topic who said something like "we can winn 8/10"?'??? Well in that topic I told that weare going to win 5 of 10 from this journey. San Antonio I said we will lose, and we lost. @ NY MM, sorry. I said Lost. Jajajajaja @ Boston Win, and we won. So from the first 3 matches, Im 100% "field goal porcentage". Jajajaja This were my others prediction: @ Indiana Win @ DC Lost @ Atlanta Win @ Det Lost @ Tor Win @ Cle Lost NYC Win And now, PJ suport me with this comentarys. See you guys
Lakers are the most intriguing team in the league right now. One night they look like a battlin-for-the-8-spot team, the next, they look like they could upset Dallas AND Phoenix.
<div class="quote_poster">phunDamentalz Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Lakers are the most intriguing team in the league right now. One night they look like a battlin-for-the-8-spot team, the next, they look like they could upset Dallas AND Phoenix.</div> That is what I was thinking. We lose to the Bobcats and Knicks, yet we can go toe to toe with teams like Dallas/Phoenix/San Antonio. I stick to my predictions in that other thread though. @ Indiana - W @ DC - W @ Atlanta - W @ Det - L @ Tor - W @ Cle - L NYC - W
