Los Angeles Lakers Lose to Charlotte Bobcats: Ranking Their Worst Losses So Far
The Los Angeles Lakers have won the last two NBA championships, and are a perennial power in the league. They have the game's best coach (Phil Jackson), the world's best player (Kobe Bryant), and one of the deepest line-ups in the league.
But all has not been well with La La Land this season, as the Lake Show have dropped some seemingly easy games this season. These losses add up, and will cost them not only seeding in the Western Conference, but potentially home-court advantage if they reach the Finals, something incredibly important in last season's Finals run.
Here we review the worst losses for the Lakers this season.
Charlotte Bobcats
1 of 7
The Lakers pathetic showing against Charlotte was nothing new for them. In their past ten games, the Lakers are 2-8 against Charlotte, their worst record against any team in basketball.
Some teams match up well with each other, and it seems that the Bobcats match up quite well with the Lakers.
Phil Jackson was in no mood to talk after the game, with his entire press conference limited to: "I'm very disappointed in our performance tonight. I'm embarrassed about what we did. That's it."
Milwaukee Bucks
2 of 7
This was the most embarrassing loss for the Lakers all season. No Michael Redd, no Brandon Jennings, no Corey Maggette, no Carlos Delfino, and no Drew Gooden. The Lakers were at home, and went up against a starting line-up that featured Earl Boykins, Keyon Dooling and and Chris Douglas-Roberts. No worry for Milwaukee though, as they blew out the Lake Show 98-79.
The loss saw the Lakers get outworked and outhustled all night by an undermanned Bucks squad, as the Lakers played lazy basketball, settling for three pointers (where they shot only 15% for the game), and only managed 13 free throw attempts.
The worst part is the Bucks manhandling the Lakers in the fourth quarter, outscoring them 26-13.
Indiana Pacers
3 of 7
The Pacers may not sneak into the playoffs in the East, but they'll always own a road victory against the Lakers.
Kobe went for 41 of the Lakers 92 total points, as the Lakers were essentially a one-man show all night. The younger and more athletic Pacers grabbed 48 rebounds, and had ten players score for them.
While the Pacers are a feisty team, and have given the Heat fits all season, the Lakers size should have made up for the difference in athleticism. But they watched as Roy Hibbert dominated whoever guarded him, going for 24 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists.
Miami Heat
4 of 7
This wasn't a bad loss in terms of the talent they were facing. Miami is a supremely talented team, and the Big 3 can go off on any night.
But the problem with this loss was the lack of fight and the offensive ineptitude shown by LA. Steve Blake was 0/5 off the bench, all his misses coming from downtown. Again, the offense was lazy, shooting more three-pointers than free throws. Derek Fisher was the only Laker starter to shoot over 50%, as the Lakers lost the rebounding battle and turnover battle, and were losing the entire game.
Throw in that the Lakers were at home, on Christmas, in a nationally televised game, they fell flat on their faces.
Memphis Grizzlies
5 of 7
The Lakers lost the rebounding battle, allowed over 100 points, and committed 20 turnovers. Kobe scored 28 points, and the rest of their starting line-up combined for 24 points.
Again, when Kobe doesn't get help, this team falls apart. Nobody can do it by themselves (as LeBron proved in Cleveland), and as talented as Kobe's supporting cast is, they tend to disappear from time to time.
This was one of those times.
Sacramento Kings
6 of 7
Another game at home against an inferior opponent, and another loss. Notice the pattern?
While the Lakers do own a strong record at home (19-8), they've been nowhere near as dominant as they used to be on their home court. The Kings, who are the owners of six road wins all season, took care of business, shocking the vastly superior Lakers at the Staples Center.
Los Angeles Clippers
7 of 7
In a match-up between the Lakers and the Blakers, er Clippers, the Lake Show dropped a rare game to their same-city rivals.
Earlier in the season, they needed a Derek Fisher lay-up as time expired to top the Clippers, but had no such luck this time. The Lakers lead by three going into the fourth, before getting blown away, allowing 31 points in the final quarter (after allowing only 68 in the first three).
Like in many of the other losses above, the Lakers had no luck from downtown (3/20), lost the rebounding battle, and committed more turnovers than it forced. Not a good recipe for success.
