According to head coach Phil Jackson, star guard Kobe Bryant decided to "screw up the game" in the second half by going one-on-one with defenders rather than include his teammates in the offense.
At home versus the 14-19 Memphis Grizzlies (last place in the Southwest division), Los Angeles was embarrassed last night. Trailing by 17 going into the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were not able to chip away at the deficit and fell, 104-85.
"We didn't execute well, and defensively we were poor," said Bryant. "We've just got to come out focused and ready to play. It's tough when you have to try to regenerate that energy every single night. It starts individually. You have to look at yourself and try to find things to get you going. Right now we can't beat anybody, but we'll be fine."
The Lakers (23-11) are still in first place in the Western Conference's Pacific division by far: they have an eight-game lead over second-place Phoenix. But if the season ended today, they'd have just the fourth seed in the playoffs.
The loss to Memphis last night was the fourth in their last six games. In addition to the Christmas Day home defeat against LeBron James and the Miami Heat, they missed out on a chance to defeat the West's best team, losing to the San Antonio Spurs, 97-82 last week. And at home against the Milwaukee Bucks (currently five games under .500), they were completely outplayed in the fourth quarter and lost 98-79.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
