Well, that could have gone better. We don't seem to be getting the calls (at all), but we're also not playing very well. To put it simply, they're getting all of those 50/50 plays. All the effort plays, everything that could go either way, they're coming up with them. They're hitting their shots, and we're not.
They're outrebounding us by 5, and Howard is already having a block party: 5 in the first half. Until the last few seconds, the foul and free throw situation was actually pretty even. Even now, the FTA count is 12-16, and the foul count is 13-12.
In the end, as Jeff Van Gundy would say, this is a make or miss league, and the Lakers are missing.33.3% from the field won't cut it against the Magic. The Lakers are going to need to get back into their game, and use their passing to beat the Magic. They're going to have to grind it out if they want to pull out a win in the second half.
Sound off here.