going to see them play at the staples center can rip your heart out
watching them on t.v. can bring a grey storm cloud into your living
room
looking on the computer to see the score if you miss the game is liable
to give you some bizarre incurable neurosis

when they lost to atlanta before the all star break i thought they
could not sink any lower
that they had bottomed out
then they finally played a decent game against the lowly trail blazers
at staples
then they crushed sacramento
and i thought, wow, they are getting it together, lamar and devean are
showing a little spunk
then of course the next game, lamar and devean did their usual
disappearing act against the clippers and they were crushed
then they get beat by the celtics, ok it was a close game, but an
important one for the lakers and the celtics are a sub 500 team on the
road, come on fellas
then they beat orlando like they should
then last night they get killed by one of the lousiest teams in the
nba, the blazers, and i, on my snowboarding trip, am forced to listen
to some arrogant shallow portland
broadcasters put down my beloved city and team all night long

and through it all kobe plays well, except for giving up 16 to steve
blake who he should have had sewn up, but he did not take him seriously
enough

the other day, after the lakes beat the beat sacramento
i was brimming with optomism
lamar and devean really had spirited games, taking to to the hoop with
gusto
playing hard focused defense
i was saying man, they are finally bringing it together for this post
allstar last third of the season
they are getting it on!
devean and lamar are feeling it, they know what they have to do! it is
contagious to the rest of the team! momentum is on our side!

and anthony said to me, "if devean and lamar could play half as well as
they did last night all the time, the lakers would be a good team, but
they can't, they have to get beaten down for a while, then they make a
big stand and get excited, but then they will just get back to playing
sub par basketball and the lakers will suffer"
and i said, no way! they know what they have to do, this is the post
all star time when they bring it together and make the big playoff run!
boy was anthony right
and this is what that means
devean and lamar and most of the other lakers (excluding kobe of
course)
and chris mihm who is consistent in his workhorse kind of way
play well when they really want to and then constantly sink into some
kind of doldrums
that happens when you have
no disciplined work ethic, no disciplined mental approach to doing your
job, and your motivation is based on something weak, resulting in lack
of heart and desire
i don't know if this is because of team chemistry
or because they dont like each other or resent kobe or what
but i know that is an emotional roller coaster for the true fan and i
am bumming on their performance
big time
i am thinking irrational crazy thoughts
like, trade everybody except kobe and andrew bynum and rony turiaf
i miss jerry west

and don't get me wrong, i know devean has been playing well off the
bench
coming in and scoring well and playing good d
and i like it and appreciate it

but i refuse to be rational at a time like this

i refuse to be mature

i am bummed