Well, the 3-game Lakers' slide came mercifully to a halt Tues. nite with win over Knicks.
The recent losses came against hi-quality opponents, and it didn't get any easier, tipping off grueling 9-game road trip against the perennially efficient Detroit Pistons.
Luke Walton adds to list of injured players who won't play.
Consensus is Odom needs to consistently play with the 22 pts./12 rebounds he produced against Knicks. In other words, more points, fewer assists.
So we'll keep an eye on the Odom-eter.
Fish swishes a long 2 first, 2-0.
Both teams fail to score for a few mins., till Kobe feeds Kwame, 4-0.
Pistons stave off a shut-out, ha ha, with a Billups slash and stash.
Oops, don't sneeze again, the Motor City Boyz just went on a 10-0 run; 10-4, Pistons.
Lakers trail by 7 at end of 1st quarter, as Odom misses a 3.
Too many Lakers turnovers early in 2nd; Pistons make 'em pay.
After falling back, Lakers go on 15-5 run, trail Pistons by 7 at the half -- meaning the 2nd quarter ended dead even.
66-61 Lakers closing mins. of 3rd, as work ethic yields fruit on the scoreboard.
Baby-faced Sascha buries a 3, 69-65, Lakers.
Lakers head into 4th quarter up 72-67.
81-79 Lakers lead with 4 mins. left, on a D-Fish 3.
Turiaf 1 of 2 at the FT line; 89-87 Lakers, 16.5 secs. left, Pistons ball.
90-89 Pistons win, as 2nd chance 3 by Prince for Pistons is followed by an Odom missed jumper, for the win.
Odom-eter reading: 6 pts., 7 rebounds. Lacks offensive conviction and consistency.
Fish had 15 pts., Kwame had effin' 3.
Kobe had 39 pts., 10 rebounds, even leading in the latter category.
No wonder everybody was so happy about Bynum: consistent 20+ pts. (to go with double-figure rebounds) from anyone else besides Kobe on this team is strangely elusive. In the meantime, Turiaf, Vujacic and Farmar frequently look good off the bench -- Turiaf especially, against Detroit. Lakers still got beat in the paint. It's amazing how quickly Andrew's emergence became essential. I still don't understand why Lamar & Kwame can't fill that void more convincingly. I mean, Bynum was just another kid off the bench last year.
The Lakers shouldn't have allowed TWO 3-pt. attempts at the other end, when Prince buried the go-ahead 3 with 4.4 secs. left.
But ya know, Lamar had a decent look -- can anyone remember him ever winning a game with a calm jumper? I can't, just long-arms takin' it to the hoop style, otherwise, a lot of clunkers.
In all fairness, Kobe's missed a few potential game-winners, one especially in the Cavaliers game -- but he's the lion's share of the offense, as well as tough on defense.
Nothin' spreads the offensive numbers around more readily than a really strong inside game, and Odom and Brown aren't doin' it. And wassup with Mihm's perpetually problematic ankle?
Slap a titanium knee-cap on Bynum and get him back in the paint.
Tough loss to start a tough road trip. 28-16 now. Next stop: Toronto.
