LOSE ONE AND WIN TWO

Wonder just what it is about Portland anyway?
Cannot seem to trigger a win there. Stepping
inside the Rose Garden (AKA) "The Temple of Doom"
for Lakers to face the Portland Trail Blazers
it would seem. After all, new coach, new ideas,
and coach Brown making light of the fact that
he is unfamiliar with some of the intricacies
of the Lakers' many rivalries. As an example,
Lakers never ever wear green because the Boston
Celtics wear green and....well, enough said.
Now the history of Portland is indeed worthy
of creeping around a bit in sheer wonder at why
we seem to not be able to win when up there.
Our score this time was: Portland 107, Lakers 96.
And so now on to another trial on the courts.
L.A. outscored Golden State 32-19 in the third
quarter with Kobe Bryant making 39 points himself.
Kobe scored 17 of his season-high 39 points in the
pivotal third quarter. His scoring helped transform
a 39-35 halftime deficit into a 67-58 lead going into
the fourth quarter. For a time the Lakers were again
being outscored until that forgiving third quarter.
Bryant made 6 of 11 shots and also had 4 assists,
playing superbly despite having a torn ligament
in his right wrist. Center Andrew Bynum struggled
and fellow 7 footer Pau Gasol even missed the mark
in the paint early on when small forward Matt Barnes
gave all a lift coming in on the run. Barnes had 16
points too...a season high. Bynum finished with 9
points and 16 rebounds and Gasol had 17 points and 11
rebounds. Actually Barnes, Bryant, Bynum and Gasol
were the only ones to score in double figures however.
And yes, the Lakers scoring depth has been an issue
so far this season.Lakers won the game at 97,Golden
State 90. Last nights' game, too, had us all worried.
How on earth could they ever win a game in which they
committed an astounding 27 turnovers? Yes, it was
ugly right from the start. Clearly the compressed
66 game schedule is wreaking havoc with their ball
handling skills. Their more or less sloppy play
enabled the undersized Grizzlies from Memphis to
stick around far longer than anyone in Staples could
have expected. Memphis turned the Lakers' turnovers
into 24 points, many coming on fastbreak layups and
dunks. The Grizzlies scored 31 points on fastbreaks.
Luck certainly enters in here and Lakers won last
nights' game 90 with Memphis score at 82.
How much more luck do you suppose maybe we still have?
Babs Wells