After their temporary vacation (face the Nets, Cavs, Warriors and Clippers) the schedule becomes much more difficult as four of their next five games are against opponents with records above .500 (includes Boston and Dallas).
As many Lakers fans will tell you, the most difficult thing to accept is the fact that the Lakers have been playing at home for a majority of their games. I can understand if the Lakers were playing bad on the road, but it is inexcusable for them to lose so many games at home and a couple of those losses were blowouts.
Many have pinned the blame on boredom and that could be correct, but the problems lie much deeper than that. Firstly, the Western Conference has gotten considerably much tougher since last season. Instead of the Lakers and everyone else; it has now become a three-way race. The Mavericks and Spurs are legit contenders this season. They don't have a better starting five or six (with Odom), but they are much deeper than the Lakers this season.
The Lakers were supposed to be the deeper team coming into the season with the acquisitions of Matt Barnes and Steve Blake, but both have struggled of late. They were clicking in the beginning of the season, as was the Lakers, but because of their struggles, the bench play has been inconsistent.
Ron Artest has been horrible on both ends of the floor and so has Derek Fisher (both starters). Gasol has looked tired and hasn't looked like the all-world player we saw in the beginning of the season. The team defense has been atrocious at times and you pair...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
