Fans, critics struggle to understand where Lakers are headed

Many basketball fans and critics appear to be questioning where the Lakers are headed this season. Will they kick up their performance, such as their powerhouse presence in games against Utah,Houston, Phoenix and Detroit, or will they start faltering on the same level that they have in games like this past week’s loss to the Orlando Magic? That is the question that some Lakers gurus are beginning to ask themselves, according to a Los Angeles Times article published Tuesday, Dec. 4.
As the  team searches for answers, its easy for them to identify exactly what’s going wrong: giving up 70 points int he first half against Utah or allowing 22 turnovers against the Magic, not to mention Kobe Bryant’s and Lamar Odom’s inconsistent performances when it comes to scoring and rebounds. But the real question that hangs over the team this season is: How will they fix it and more importantly can they?
“You’re not a good team until you can play the same way all the time,” Odom said. “Even when you’re not scoring the ball, you still have to play defense. We’ve yet to have that throughout the whole game.”

Lakers forward Luke Walton seconded that opinion and said he hopes the team can figure out how to get themselves to a level of consistency.

“That’s what’s so frustrating,”Walton said. “I wish it was something we could just go to practice and fix, but I can’t put my finger on it. We’re showing that we can play. It’s just that we’re not doing it all the time. If we want to be a good team, we have to do that.”

The Lakers are at 9-8 in the season as they prepare to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves today at the Target Center. The Timberwolves, who are at 2-13 in their season, fell to the Lakers 107-93 when the two teams faced off last month and Los Angeles appears confident that they can do it again.

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