| Wither The Lakers? Authored by Scott Essman - December 5, 2005 - 11:40 pm
After a road win against the Utah Jazz, it seemed the Lakers, at 6-8, were correcting their wayward path.
However, returning home against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers were convincingly trounced in the fourth quarter of a game that they had in hand into the second half.
All of which begs the question, what are the Lakers to do? They are in possession of arguably one of the best handful of players in the game in Kobe Bryant.
Beyond that, many inconsistencies and question marks abound. Certainly, guard Smush Parker, forward Lamar Odom, and center Chris Mihm have all shown flashes of excellence. But they have also shown equal measures of unreliability.
With the first 15 games in the can, it remains wholly unclear as to which Lakers might show up on a given night. No doubt, coach Phil Jackson has been trying different combinations of players at different stretches throughout games, even going so far as using rookie center Andrew Bynum at key junctures, but solutions to Laker offensive problems seem to be erratic at best.
If the Lakers are to turn it around, the key questions are 1) Do they have enough player personnel to do so with this squad?, and 2) Do they have enough time to correct their errors in time for the playoffs?
The Lakers face the lowly Charlotte Bobcats Sunday night at Staples Center. |
