'13-'14 P&G Game 6: vs. Houston Rockets

After getting creamed by the Dallas Mavericks on the road, the Lakers found themselves facing a familiar face in a familiar foe: Dwight Howard wearing the red and white of Houston. Luckily, the purple and gold jumped to an early lead, which was vanquished after several Houston runs in the second quarter. Fortunately, a last-minute play that ended with a swished triple by Steve Blake gave them their third win of the season, 99-98.

Yay of the Game:

11 of the 14 triples in the first half went in for the Lakers, giving them a 14-point lead entering the second half. Unfortunately, the Lakers ended the game with only 16 of 35 triples made total, which means that they only made 5 out of 21 in the second half (the biggest of them all was Blake's triple). Jodie Meeks and Blake shot the lights out as they ended with a combined 9 of 13 triples; Wesley Johnson, however, only went 3 of 8.

Nay of the Game: 

36-17 was the number of fouls between the Lakers and the Rockets respectively. The referees had their whistles locked on the Lakers, as they called even on touch fouls. While the Lakers had a decent 11 of 15 clip from the charity stripe, the Rockets had 52 free throw attempts, and James Harden who ended up with 35 big points, got 14 of his 16. However, the Hack-A-Dwight strategy worked as Howard only got 5 of his 16 charities.

Play of the Game:

Blake Mamba came just in time to make that triple, giving the Lakers the win. It's actually a good play considering that Gasol is ready for the rebound in case the shot misses.




The Lakers are now at...

3-3 (3rd Pacific, 8th West). After this, they have a chance to go above .500 for the second time this season as they face the New Orleans Pelicans, who are hungry for a home win against the Lakers.

Highlights:

'13-'14 P&G Game 2: vs. Golden State Warriors

During the second day of the Lakers' back-to-back games, reality hit them as a torching hot Golden State held them down on the ropes, handing the Purple and Gold a 125-94 loss.

Yay of the Game:

8 out of 18 triples kept the Lakers at bay, and it could have gotten worse if they did not shoot their triples. Ironically, the best shooter of the day was Wesley "Mr. One of Eleven" Johnson, who sank 3 of his 6 three-point attempts

Nay of the Game:

-16 was the difference between the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors in terms of assists. Clearly, the Lakers had problems as well with handling the ball and finding the right guy to take the shot (the Lakers also had 16 turnovers, 8 of them coming from steals). Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar shot at a combined 8 of 26 from the clip, and most of those shots could have been given to Pau Gasol (5 of 10) and Chris Kaman (5 of 9)

Play of the Game:

There's virtually nothing worth seeing here, except Klay Thompson hammering the Lakers down with 38 points.


The Lakers are now at:
1-1, tied with the Clippers and the Warriors. Up next is the San Antonio Spurs, who is a relatively old team that has not lost much but gained a few pieces like Jeff Ayres and Marco Bellinelli. Hopefully the Lakers bounce back from this win and realize that even when the odds are against them, they can still snag a few wins.
Highlights:

P&G Game 22: vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Things have gotten worse. There was no Nash, Blake, and Gasol playing for the Lakers, and Kobe and Dwight found it too much to handle, as another duo shone that night: Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao stepped up for the Cavaliers and gave the Lakers a 100-94 beating on the purple and gold's first of four road trips, sinking them further away from the .500 mark that they used to have just a week ago.

Yay of the Game:

42: Kobe's final score in the game, making 16 out of his 28 shots, which came alongside 5 boards and 2 dimes. Though it may be good that Kobe seems to be the only one stepping up in this depleted Laker squad, the Lakers are 1-10 when Kobe scores 30 or more.

Nay of the Game:

2: Number of points all the Lakers' PGs have combined (none for Morris, a basket for Duhon). Looks like the one spot is going to be a big problem for the Lakers, as the Steves have not yet been cleared to play.

Play of the Game:

Let's just settle and be consoled that Kobe, a 16-year pro, can still take on sophomore Kyrie Irving:


The Lakers Are Now At:

9-13 (3rd Pacific, 12th West). Lakers fans would sure want the nightmare to be over, but with the New York Knicks around, it seems that the worse is yet to come.

P&G Game 7: vs. Sacramento Kings

Winning in fashion over the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers rode their momentum heading into the next game, and they took advantage of DeMarcus Cousins' absence (who is suspended for two games because of a confrontation with Spurs TV analyst Sean Eliott) by abusing them with a Howard-Gasol combo. After a close opening canto, the Lakers blew the game wide open in the second half, and eventually finished with a 103-90 win. Interim head coach Bernie Bickerstaff led the Lakers to its second straight win, moving the team an inch closer to the .500 mark.

Yay of the Game:

23-18: Dwight Howard's points and rebounds, respectively. The Superman made mincemeat of all the Kings' frontmen as he accounted for almost forty percent of the team's 50 rebounds. It was the first time that Howard was really dominant, with the offense of the Lakers hinged on him. It would be interesting if he puts up the same figures against a team that has an equally dominant big man as he is.

Nay of the Game:

18: Jimmer Fredette's markers in only 11 minutes of play. The guy can be dangerous when he hit his shots, and if the bench won't do anything to defend him during crucial possessions, then things might take a different course in the Lakers-Kings meeting (but of course, this isn't a real nay, is it?)

Play of the game:

Who says Steve Blake can't play the point? In this particular sequence, he quickly found Dwight Howard for the big jam.


The Lakers Are Now At:

3-4 (3rd Pacific, 11th West). The Purple & Gold will face their first real challenge in the post-Brown era, the San Antonio Spurs. Will the Superman stand his ground against Tim Duncan? Bernie will remain coaching the team in this game, as new head coach Mike D'Antoni (you read it right) is yet to travel to Los Angeles after a knee-replacement surgery.

Highlights: