After getting blown out in two road games by an average of 23 points, most fans predicted the same would happen against the Miami Heat on Christmas Day. Without Kobe Bryant, the Lakers battled until the end, but fell short in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter.
While there are no moral victories, Nick Young said following the game that the Lakers didn’t want to get embarrassed on national television and tried their best against the two-time defending champions:
“We’ve been tired of losing. Going against the champs, you don’t want to get embarrassed on national TV. We didn’t want to get too far in the hole. We tried our best.”
With Kobe Bryant out for at least six weeks, most expect the Lakers to fall out of playoff contention. However, they went 10-9 without him and showed great competitiveness through those first 19 games. While the Lakers have been dealing with injuries in their backcourt, the return of Jordan Farmar seemed to put everyone back to their natural positions on the court.
Although the Lakers are now three games under the .500 mark, they have an opportunity to capitalize on the next four games and get back to a winning record. Los Angeles faces the Utah Jazz on the road before returning for a three-game home stand against the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Jazz once again.
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Happy Holidays From The Lakers And Lakers Nation
