Beast or Burden: An Uncertain Future
Following a disappointing season for the Lakers, we struggle to emerge with conclusions about how to move forward considering how much was lost to injury and other concerns.
Beast or Burden
Beast or Burden: An Untenable Goal
With their main players all injured or trying to play through injury, the Lakers are bereft of the offensive options sufficient to make this a series with San Antonio.
Beast or Burden: Searching for Production
Although the Lakers' defensive effort against the Spurs in Game 1 was respectable, their inability to produce on offense is derailing their efforts to make this a series.
Beast or Burden: One More Dance
With Dwight Howard dominating defensively and Pau Gasol notching a triple double while controlling the offensive flow, the Lakers bested Houston and earned a first round matchup with the Spurs.
Beast or Burden: Rising to the Occasion
The Lakers' role players and other stars, especially Dwight Howard, performed well in their first game after the Kobe Bryant injury.
Beast or Burden: A Hero Falls
Without Kobe Bryant, the Lakers will have to figure out how to come together and make the best of what has been a disastrous season.
Beast or Burden: On the Shoulders of Giants
To stay in the playoff race, the Lakers relied on incredible performances from Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Dwight Howard, all of whom are beginning to display some solid chemistry.
Beast or Burden: Dead legs, no options
After a strong start, the Los Angeles Lakers never seemed a threat to the Clippers, and went down to their cross-town foes by double digits for the third time this season. As you can imagine, there wasn't a whole lot positive
Beast or Burden: A Welcome Flashback
As the Lakers came up ahead in a tight contest over Memphis, a lot of their success came from some staples that carried the team in their championship years.
Beast or Burden: In the Shadow of a Legend
On the night of Shaquille O'Neal's jersey retirements, the current Laker stars responded and kept the Lakers' playoff hopes alive.
Beast or Burden: Superman Returns
Behind a dominant performance from Dwight Howard, the Lakers came back against the Kings and the Lakers got a glimpse of what may be their future franchise cornerstone.
Beast or Burden: Staring into Oblivion
As the Lakers' season is further derailed by injuries, one wonders whether they have enough left in the tank to sustain their playoff run after dropping yet another end to a back-to-back.
Beast or Burden: Unlearning Old Tricks
The Lakers' ignominious loss against the Wizards was a result of this team's painful tendency towards complacency, something the team hasn't shed in years.
Beast or Burden: Surprises Abound
Buoyed by some great role player performances, including a spectacular one from Steve Blake, the Lakers beat Indiana largely without Kobe Bryant and captured a surprising and solid win.
Beast or Burden: Treading Water
With Kobe Bryant injured, the Lakers will have to find a way to stay effective after splitting the games on their recent back-to-back against Orlando and Atlanta.
Beast or Burden: Flipping the Switch
As the Lakers beat the Bulls on Sunday, the team finally controlled a game from start to finish and began to realize what we envisioned of them back at the start of the season.
Beast or Burden: Changing Approaches
While the Lakers needed a big comeback against Toronto, their contrasting offensive approaches demonstrated which side is better suited for long-term success.
Beast or Burden: Standing Firm
Should you take any message from the Lakers' last two games, it's that they certainly have quite a lot of gumption, particularly since they left it all out on the court. Twice they rallied back...
Beast or Burden: Lacking Depth
The Lakers beat Atlanta on the shoulders of Kobe Bryant's crunch time performance, but it also displayed the problems the team's rotation faces with Pau Gasol out with injury.
Beast or Burden: The Bench Rises
The Lakers easily defeated Minnesota at home and we got a fair view of the Lakers' emerging bench unit. How they've performed and some implications for what happens when Pau Gasol returns.
Beast or Burden: A Predictable Result
The Lakers' short road trip went as expected as they split the games, but their overall effort and execution, things that have increased since the All-Star game, allows one to take some confidence from the results.
Beast or Burden: Staying Afloat
As the Lakers downed the Blazers despite an injury scare to Dwight Howard, they need to continue their newfound effort down the stretch of the schedule.
Beast or Burden: One for Dr. Buss
As Laker Nation dealt with the sadness of Dr. Buss' passing, the Lakers honored his memory in the best way possible: crushing the Celtics under the banners at Staples Center.
Beast or Burden: A Broken Record
Although the Lakers' role players and other stars mostly stepped up against Phoenix, the horribly ineffectual and downright inexplicable play of Kobe Bryant marred what should have been a straightforward victory over Phoenix.
Beast or Burden: Turning the Corner
Even though the Lakers dropped the game to Miami, they need to try to maintain this effort and execution going forward.
Beast or Burden: Dealing with Adversity
As much as the Lakers salvaged their road trip in Charlotte, the way they went about their play there and in Boston was troubling, and the Lakers' stars can't fall into such extended straits of passivity.
