Another loss against a great team for the Lakers, 112-105. Tonight, it was only the third time in 100 games that the Lakers lost despite shooting 56.2% from the field. Why did they lose? 16 turnovers compared to only 8 from the Mavs, and they were outrebounded by 4. It was just a sloppy effort by the Lakers. Too many forced turnovers.
I thought the benched stepped up tonight to make up for the starters poor effort (cough Kwame, cough Lamar, cough Luke). It seemed only the Lakers backcourt showed up tonight. It was a long game to watch as the Lakers went 28-40 from the line and the Mavs went 29-36. If the Lakers make 75% of their free-throws tonight, we have a different ball game.
Now, the bests of the night…
Top 3 Laker performers:
1) Kobe stepped up again. 40 points on 19 shots. 10 boards and 5 assists as well. Great effort Kobe.
2) DJ Mbenga really put a lot of effort out tonight. He was forced to guard Dirk and did a good job. He finished with 5 points on 2-2 FGs and 4 boards. He also kept Kwame off the floor.
3) Farmar had a costly turnover in the final minutes. However he did bring us back with 8-13 FGs, 4 rebounds, 5 assists.
Lakers Smush of the Day (Note: STD denotes the Laker that played the poorest): I know a lot of you look at Kwame’s stats and see 4-6 FGs = good game right? But I thought he played awful again. He didn’t hustle at all and gave up easy second baskets to Dampier. Dampier had the same amount of offensive boards as Kwame had total. I think it’s time to bench Kwame. Kwame had a -10 when he was out there, whereas Mbenga was +7. Also, Lamar gets honorable mention for the STD. 2-9 shooting says it all.
Key play of the game: Kobe’s dunk while Harris tweaked his ankle.
What to look for next game: Cleveland is better than their record, but still should be a win for the Lakers. Key to the game—Luke on defense vs LeBron and keeping Gooden off the boards. Game is Sunday @ 12:30 PM (ABC).
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