Lakers Rumors & News Recap: Below .500 and Feeling the Pressure

He may have been injured most of this season, but Steve Nash is not happy. Admittedly, most of us felt the Lakers would be alright once Nash got healthy and started gluing together the fragmented system under D’Antoni. But with a sorry loss to the 76ers, who again are thriving with younger players like Holiday, it appears Lakers players are feeling the heat. We heard from Kobe the past couple of days, with his mention of the “old” team as the reason the Lakers aren’t winning. Today Nash too vented his frustration:

“We’re running out of time here. We can’t necessarily hit the panic button, but there needs to be a better sense of urgency…It’s frustrating. We’re in a tough position. We really have a lot of ground to make up. We’re not finding a lot of answers right now, and we’re struggling a little bit.”

With Los Angeles below .500 at this point in the season, the Lakers PG couldn’t have said it better. The Lakers can’t seem to pass the .500 mark and they keep digging a bigger and deeper hole. If something doesn’t change soon, L.A. fans will be watching the Clippers in the playoffs, and not the Lakers.

Unfortunately, the Lakers are heading into one of their toughest weeks, maybe even the toughest of the season. The line-up is as such: Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers already have a loss to each of these teams this season thus far. All of the teams are above .500 and are ranked in the top eight in the Western Conference. No pressure.

Need a laugh? Daniel Buerge of Lakers Nation brings some old school joy with a blurb on a resurfaced Kobe rap album from 2000. His analysis comes complete with Disney storybook references and an homage to former Lakers players. If none of that catches your attention just stop and remind yourself, KOBE HAS A RAP ALBUM. That is all.

Lakers Nation News

Lakers Rumors: Team Still Shopping Pau Gasol, But Who’s Buying?

Jodie Meeks Views Kobe Bryant As A ‘Mentor’ In L.A.

Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire Indirectly Criticizes Mike D’Antoni

Video: NBA Fan Compares Jordan, Bryant and James

Lakers Face Most Challenging Week of the Schedule

Mike D’Antoni on Lakers Struggles: “Everybody Plays Off Each Other”

Steve Nash Says Lakers “Running Out of Time”

Kobe’s Rap Album Surfaces With Fantastic Old-School Pictures

Lakers News

Inconsistency is Killing the Los Angeles Lakers [Silver Screen and Roll]

Writer’s Roundtable: 31 Games In, Where Do the Lakers Stand? [Silver Screen and Roll]

Kobe Loves Playing on Clippers Court, Metta World Peace Still Hazing Robert Sacre [Silver Screen and Roll]

Questions for a Lakers-Clippers Video Preview with Lucas at Clipsnation [Silver Screen and Roll]

Kobe: “Every Loss Now Cuts a Little Deeper” [ESPN LA]

Mike D’Antoni Needs Lakers to Play with Energy Every Night [Lakers Now]

According to Blog, Amar’e Stoudemire Took a Shot at Mike D’Antoni [CBS Sports]

Lakers Patience Wearing Thin [OC Register]

Kobe Ahead of LeBron at Ballot Box [Hang Time Blog]

lakers Face the Battle of the Years [LA Times]

Steve Blake Participates in Shooting Drills [Inside the Lakers]

Kobe Bryant Say Clippers are Championship Worthy [Lakers Now]

Kobe Bryant Blames Lakers’ Age [ESPN]

Chris Duhon (Back) Misses Practice Again [Lakers Blog]

Steve Nash Says Lakers ‘Running Out of Time’ [Lakers Now]

Kobe Bryant Acts Surprised in Leading All-Star Votes [Inside the Lakers]

Dwight Howard Attempts to Fix His Free Throw Woes by Lining Up Half a Foot Behind the Line [Ball Don’t Lie]

Mike D’Antoni Saw Lakers’ Defeat Coming Against 76ers [LA Times]

NBA News

Heat’s James, Clippers’ Paul Named Kia Players of the Month [NBA.com]

Wizards’ Beal, Blazers’ Lillard Named Kia Rookies of the Month [NBA.com]

Hawks’ Drew, Clippers’ Del Negro Named Coaches of the Month [NBA.com]

Steve Nash Calls Jrue Holiday an All-Star [LA Times]

Charlie Villanueva Fined for Flagrant Foul on Isaiah Thomas [The Point Forward]

Spurs Fancy Passing No Passing Fancy [Hang Time Blog]

Grant Hill Says He is ‘Very Close’ to Returning [SLAM]

Thunder’s Durant Hit With First Career Ejection After Back-to-Back Technicals [The Point Forward]

Son of Los Angeles Clippers Owner Donald Sterling Found Dead at 32 [ESPN]

The (Rather Large) Small Forward Problem [Posting and Toasting]

USA Basketball Names LeBron James Male Athlete of the Year [SI Tracking Blog]

Carlisle Won’t Suspend, but Will Bench Players [Fan Nation]

Blogtable: The Best Team In The NBA [Hang Time Blog]

Derrick Favors Says Kevin Love is Overrated, Not Special [Ball Don’t Lie]

Jazz’s Williams to Miss at Least Six Weeks After Thumb Surgery [The Point Forward]

Blake Griffin, the Karate Kid [SB Nation]

Larry Sanders Looking to Follow in Footsteps of Tyson Chandler [SI.com]

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