They stink.

They might not have played well tonight! But they are still the 3x defending Champions! Don't count them out for a 4th straight just yet...!

I totally agree. There are several up and coming teams in the both the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, that I would like to see play right now. Although, I am big Mavericks fan, I still can acknowledge a good team when I see one. The Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets, and the Indiana Pacers are making alot of noise right now. Yao Ming has better stats right now than Shaq, so Shaq may not even start for the West in the All-Star game. That just goes to show you how bad they are right now. The 8th team to make the playoffs in the Western Conference last year won only 44 games. The Lakers will not win that many games this year. They have the worst road record of any team in the entire NBA. They just stink up the PLACE!!

[ December 19, 2002: Message edited by: SmoothRon ]

ok if you say so!

As long as the Lakers make the playoffs even if finishing 40-42 is enough to get them in. Then the motivation will set in and they'll of course go all the way.

Enjoyed watching the Lakers lose to the Nets last night (although I have Shaq on my VGM team ). And will definitely be watching Sunday's Lakers-Raptors match up in TO.

Raptors are still struggling (minus Vince, Antonio Davis and Lamond Murray), but the Lakers are looking truly bad. We might have a chance to kick some Laker butt!

I agree that the Lakers should be taken off the air, at least until March or April, when they decide to start playing. The question is will they still be able to make the playoffs by then??

Da Kid.

Does anyone really believe if the Mavs are the No. 1 seed and the Lakers are No 8, that the Lakers are through? There's only one team in the West that can stop the Lakers in a series and that's the Kings. There is only one team that can stop the Kings and that's the Mavs. However there are four playoff bound teams that can beat the Mavs in a 5 game series. The truth is the Lakers are 3x champs and until they are dethroned, they are still the team to beat.

Z

LAKERS bt themselves 2nite, Fischer had a bunny and passed out to Shaq who was fouled and missed both free throws, and then in OT Fox fumbled a gr8 pass from Horry that would have clinched the game! MOTHER f**kERS!!! Play the f**king game! The fact that I had to watch the game amongst 76er fans adds insult to injury!

I said about the St. Louis Rams early this season that they lost their mystique when they nearly lost to the Eagles in the NFC title game, then DID lose to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Teams figured out that the Rams weren't invincible. The longer the Lakers go without reasserting themselves, the more they lose their mystique.

With their loss to the 76ers, the Lakers are now in 11th place in the West and are 4 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. They've already played over a third of their schedule. They are digging themselves a hole. If they don't turn it around fast, they not only will not repeat as champions, but they might not even make the playoffs, and that would be a major embarrasment.