Derek and the Lakers hit a speed bump this weekend, dropping consecutive contests to the Denver Nuggets on Friday, and the Suns on Sunday, but still hold the league’s best record.
No. 2 dished out a team-high five assists, scored seven points and added three boards, but it all wasn’t nearly enough as the Lakers managed their lowest point output of the season in a 90-79 loss to Denver.
The Lakers opened the second half on a 15-3 run and Derek’s second three gave them a 55-50 lead. But the advantage was short lived and when No. 2 checked out with 2:53 to go in the third, the score was knotted at 59. The Nuggets proceeded on a 15-4 run that lasted into the fourth quarter and put the game away.
Afterward, D-Fish talked about what he felt was responsible for the team’s season-low performance, as quoted on Lakers.com:
“I have heard people ask the question if we miss Bynum. I don’t think we are better without him. We are different, we are still a very good team, but at the same time I don’t think we feel that we are better. In a game like tonight having Andrew in there would have definitely have made a difference and we are looking forward to getting him back as soon as possible, but only when he can come back and stay. (Fatigue?) I don’t know if it was getting in late or if it is that this is our third game in four games coming off a road trip then going back home for the one game and then coming back out. It may be a possibility of the combination of the entire week, not just getting in late. I don’t think that that is an excuse at all. We still had some chances and I think that fatigue does at times limit your ability to think as clearly. We weren’t as sharp tonight.”
PHOENIX-ED
Derek scored all his points in one swoop on Sunday, knocking down a 25-foot bomb with four seconds remaining in the first half to cut an 11-point Suns lead to eight, but Phoenix held off the LA’s charge by just enough to nudge out a 118-111 win.
“We’re going through a period where everyone is a little bit tired,” Kobe Bryant told the LA Daily News. “It happens. You saw Boston go through it. Everyone goes through it. It’s two games we’ve played, you know, lethargic. We’ve hit that point in the season. The key for us is to snap out of it.”
D-Fish finished with four rebounds and dished out an assist in his 30 minutes of play.
The loss was the Lakers first in four games with the Suns this season.
FEAR NOT
Lakers fans need not head for the nearest window as the team “suffers” through a two-game losing streak. The 48-12 Lakers still have plenty to smile about.
In two separate columns Jeff Miller and Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register broke down why there isn’t any reason to sound the alarm. A few excerpts:
Miller:
“Die-hard or not, it’s worth pausing on occasion to appreciate this sustained high level of Lakers achievement and the impressive/kooky reign of owner Jerry Buss.Since 1994, there are four baseball teams — the Nationals, Pirates, Royals and Blue Jays — that haven’t made the playoffs even once. For the Lakers, the postseason is as foregone a conclusion as the fourth quarter.
Rebuild? Not the Lakers. Dismantle? Not the Lakers. Retreat? Not the Lakers.
They are the NBA’s hood ornament, a permanent fixture near the front.”Ding:
“Bryant managed to score 49 points on 47.4 percent shooting. He called his game an attempt to offset his team’s “lethargic” play — to the point that some of his 38 shots came out of the offense.“He pushed it a little bit,” Jackson said.
There is no reason to think Bynum will not be back in late March or early April. And there is no reason to think that this two-game losing streak will mean anything come the postseason opener April 19.
Bryant was asked by a reporter about this “two-game funk.” He crinkled his brow, clearly disagreeing with the terminology: “Two-game funk?”
IN MITCH THEY TRUST
Ramona Shelburne at the Los Angeles Daily News penned a column for Sunday morning’s paper comparing the Lakers and Suns.
In this article, Shelburne talked to D-Fish about the Lakers’ front office strategy in recent years:
“Most often, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak was the man in the line of frustrated ire. And most often, it was Kupchak who smartly counseled more patience when seemingly everybody else moaned how he had already tried theirs."
“I can’t imagine how that felt,” Lakers guard Derek Fisher said, reflecting on those not-so-long-ago days."
“But I think because he’s so disciplined, it puts him in a place where he’s not in a rush to make decisions. I think Mitch would prefer to err on the side of waiting too long than doing something too quick.”
Other than the Pau Gasol trade, a notably big addition, Kupchak has stayed with the players he’s been given and given his young players opportunites:
“It says a lot about the patience (of the Lakers front office), seeing guys like Jordan (Farmar) and Andrew (Bynum) and Sasha (Vujacic) developing into the players they’ve become,” Fisher said. “If you allow guys time to develop, they can turn into fruit and they have.”
“I was thinking about that earlier this year. Even more so than last year, Mitch deserves Executive of the Year just by standing pat and not panicking because we lost in the Finals.”
NEXT UP
The Lakers return home for a Tuesday showdown with the Memphis Grizzlies when they’ll look to snap their two-game losing “skid.” All the action can be seen live in LA on FSN and radio broadcast as always, is provided by KLAC 570 AM. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PST.
RELATED STORIES
Lakers at Nuggets: Lakers Quotes (Lakers.com, February 28, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/090227_quotes.html
Lakers at Nuggets Play by Play (NBA.com, February 27, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090227/LALDEN/playbyplay.html
Lakers at Nuggets Box Score (NBA.com, February 27, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090227/LALDEN/boxscore.html
Lakers vs. Phoenix Box Score (ESPN.com, March 1, 2009)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290301021
Lakers lethargic, wilt under Suns (LA Daily News, March 2, 2009)
http://www.dailynews.com/lakers/ci_11816384
Shelburne: As Lakers shine, Suns are dimming (LA Daily News, March 1, 2009)
http://www.dailynews.com/ci_11811414?source=rss
Lakers fans have to reason to panic (OC Register, March 2, 2009)
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/lakers-game-jackson-2321776-suns-gentry
Despite loss, Lakers’ brilliance is undeniable (OC Register, March 2, 2009)
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/lakers-season-team-2321771-games-game