<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">A Lakers season that began with promise and hopes of reaching the playoffs is on the brink. The Lakers have been pushed to the edge by their own undoing, by their inability to play even a hint of defense and by a need to put the organization in the hands of Kobe Bryant. The Lakers stand on the ledge after a 115-107 loss to the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center before 18,746 Tuesday night that pushed their season-long losing streak to six straight games and sent up smoke signals that this 2004-05 season is just about to end. Bryant's play was noteworthy in that he scored 43 points and made 9 of 15 three-pointers. But he had 39 points through three quarters. He was 2 for 9 in the fourth. hough it was the ninth time this season Bryant has scored 40-plus points in a game, he still is close to having on his resume that he missed the playoffs for the first time during his nine-year career. The Lakers dropped 4? games behind the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. They are 1? games behind the Minnesota Timberwolves and are in the 10th position. The Lakers play the Nuggets Thursday night in Denver, perhaps their last stand with 15 games left and a 32-35 record. They are getting closer to missing the playoffs for the first time since the 1993-94 season, the only time the Lakers were in the lottery. </div> Source
