On Friday, April 6, the Los Angeles Lakers blew another halftime lead in a 112-107 loss to the Houston Rockets. Kobe Bryant scored 28 points to lead the Lakers.
Lakers vs Heat, December 25, 2010, at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California.
Wikimedia Commons
Here are three thoughts on the game:
The childish Andrew Bynum
I can understand Lakers center Andrew Bynum being upset by a hard foul from an opposing player. However, I can't accept Bynum getting his second technical foul for mouthing off at the Rockets bench early in the fourth quarter. If Bynum wants to do some talking, then he should do it on the basketball court by dominating the opposing team. Trash talking to the Rockets bench is childish and completely uncalled for, especially when his team needed him in the lineup.
Given the controversy already surrounding Bynum after being fined earlier in the week, I have to wonder how much longer the Lakers are going to put up with his antics. At age 24, he's still young, but Bynum's been playing for one of the NBA's top franchises for the past seven years. It's time for him to grow up. It's frustrating to watch such a talented player hurt his team like Bynum did against the Rockets.
Defense?
Apparently the Lakers have forgotten how to play defense. There was a time earlier in the season when teams couldn't score more than 100 points on the Lakers. The team has now given up 100 or more points in six out of its last eight games. That's not acceptable in a playoff run. I understand that some of the defense's woes come from the fact that the Lakers have been playing a much more open style of basketball. However, some of their problems are coming from defenders being out of position or giving shooters too much space. I hope the Lakers can at least bring back some of their stingy defense in time for the playoff run.
Metta World Peace
In what might be a case of stolen identity, a man who looked like Metta World Peace scored 23 points on 8 of 13 shooting on Friday night. I'm not sure how this man passed himself off as the player formerly known as Ron Artest, but it was great to see someone produce from the small forward position.
Seriously, it was great to see World Peace have an outstanding offensive performance. It might be a lot to expect, but I hope he keeps his hot hand for the rest of the season. His production was the one highlight the Lakers had in the game.
Derek Ciapala has been a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers since childhood. His favorite Lakers' moment is when they beat the Detroit Pistons 108-105 in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals. You can follow him on Twitter @dciapala.
Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.
No comments:
Post a Comment