Lakers Absorb 2nd Loss

The Lakers and the Pacers. At first glance, it's laughable to think that this is going to be a game. It should be a blowout by the mighty Lakers.

But no. They lost, and it hurt. A body boxing out could've won them the game.

The Lakers were trailing by 1, 115-116 when Kobe took over. He hit a jumper, putting his team ahead 117-116 with less than a minute to go. But their defense on the last Pacers possession was embarrassing: they allowed Danny Granger to slash to the basket making the Lakers collapse on him. It allowed Troy Murphy to get the rebound when Granger missed the layup, and Murphy was lucky to tip the ball in as the buzzer sounded.

There was no passion for the Lakers in this game. They were over-confident, and had no sense of urgency. They were out-hustled and out-rebounded - which should not happen as they have two 7-footers and another tall one in Lamar Odom.

Result? A humiliating loss to a weaker team. The Lakers beat themselves.