Despite the fact that the Lakers could only muster 17 points in the first quarter, shooting a dismal percentage that is too obscene to print, the game was still in our hands down the stretch. The only difference between last night’s game and most of the other times the Lakers are in that same situation is that we could not execute properly in the end-game scenario, on either end of the floor. Kobe missed virtually every jump-shot he took, especially in the last 5 minutes. Pau Gasol somehow th0ught doing his best Gumby impression would help him defend Carlos Boozer…how very wrong he was. Sure he was getting manhandled, but the point is that he was letting himself be manhandled, buy a smaller guy! I am not one to whine about the referees, because there’s too much that the Lakers could have done to win the game, but the hook Boozer used to get the dunk on Pau in the waining minutes was really obvious. The general lack of energy and interest by most of the Lakers for most of the game was also painfully obvious, with the one exception being the first eight minutes or so of the third quarter. As poorly as the Lakers played, however they definitely defeated themselves in the end.

Catching a number of breaks, such as uncharacteristic Jazz turnovers and fortuitous ball bounces on offence, the Lakers ultimately couldn’t capitalize because their general level of play did not match that of the Jazz. Frankly, it didn’t even look like they were playing a playoff game. The team’s body language and lack of concentration didn’t convey the sense that this was a game they wanted to win. There were, however, two notable exceptions in Sasha Vujacic and Lamar Odom. Sasha made an immediate impact on both ends of the floor with his energy and hustle, hitting shots and stealing the ball right away. Lamar didn’t have quite as much of a noticeable impact, but he again played with the grit and toughness that we saw develop over the last year. Also, and more importantly, he didn’t back down from anyone in the post, which is more than can be said for the other premier Lakers big men. To be honest, I think I’d almost rather see DJ Mbenga and Lamar Odom playing the 4 and 5 in Utah rather than Gasol and Bynum…almost.

Kobe, however, played almost the exact opposite type of game of Lamar and Sasha. Going 1-for-10 in the first half, I thought for sure that Kobe would come out firing on all six cylinders in the second half and still end up with his average. While he was able to help orchestrate the 3rd quarter comeback, he still ended the game shooting a dismal 5-for-24, and most of those misses were not the typical in-and-out Kobe heartbreak misses…they were really really off! I love Kobe, and over the years I’ve learned not to question his decision-making skills on offence because usually when I start to scold him for doing something ridiculous, the ball is dropping through the hoop just as I make a fool of myself out loud. For this reason, I (and many others) make the case that there really are no bad shots for Kobe, granted he’s feeling that shot at that moment and isn’t injured in some way. There is another possibility though, which is epitomized by the rare occurrence which we all witnessed last night as Kobe’s shot went long and wide-right and the final buzzer sounded…Kobe had a bad game. Not just an average mortal game, because those happen with more frequency, but a really really bad showing (which of course happens to us regular folk more often than the Kobe’s of the world). He said as much after the game, which shows his high level of integrity and character as both a person and a player.

Still, it is an inescapable fact that if Kobe spends 30+ minutes of the game running up and down the count and just plain sucking and making a mess of things, the Lakers will not be favored to win the championship much longer. Fortunately for us Laker fans, there’s not a lot of reason to think that we will see a repeat of that type of performance again for a long while. If anything, I think it’s only fair of me to issue a humble warning to the Jazz: whenever Kobe is coming off of a game like that, he likes to make a statement by pulling a complete 180-degree turnaround in the next game and just going 100% from the opening tip until the fat lady sings…so watch out!