The Los Angeles Lakers are on a three-game losing streak, the longest of their season.  They have not been playing very good team basketball and their defense has been suspect.  Head coach Phil Jackson loves the triangle offense, and he should since it has brought him 10 NBA Titles.  Ball movement is key in the triangle offense though, and the Lakers have not been doing a good job of moving the ball lately.  There has been too much standing around and 1-on-1 basketball.  Some of the Lakers’ players are making the mistake of giving the ball to Kobe Bryant and then being stagnant and just watching him go, instead of moving without the ball and creating opportunities for Kobe and the offense.  Kobe also needs to try and create more for his teammates, which is something he can do a great job most of the time.  Mainly though, they need to tighten up their defense.  They are giving up way too many points lately.  In their current three- game losing streak they are giving up an average of 102.7 points.  They are the defending champions and defense is one of the main reasons why.  They need to get back to playing better defense and limiting second chance points.  I’m confident the Lakers can get back on track and they are still my favorite to win the NBA Title again.  Hopefully this funk they are in currently will be a wake-up call for them and they can gain some more intensity.

Small forward Luke Walton’s season started late due to injury but that doesn’t cover up for the fact that he is not playing well. Walton has played in 20 games (0 starts) for the Lakers this season and he is averaging 8.6 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He has fallen behind Shannon Brown on the depth chart pretty much because he has gotten outplayed by him.

Shooting guard Sasha Vujacic looks like he has flat out lost his job to Shannon Brown (who is outplaying him this season). Vujacic has played in 39 games (0 starts) for the Lakers this season and he is averaging only 7.9 minutes, 2.4 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. With his long range shooting being his main asset, Vujacic might need some time to get back his shooting rhythm if he gets brought back into the regular rotation at some point this season for the Lakers.

Small forward Adam Morrison continues to be overmatched in the NBA proving that Gonzaga is not a goldmine for NBA players. He has played in 20 games (0 starts) for the Lakers this season and he is averaging 8.3 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He has the reputation of being a good shooter but it isn’t very accurate as he is shooting 39% from the floor, 28.6% from three point range and 50% from the free throw line. Morrison is looking like one of the all-time busts of the first round. He has played in 150 games (28 starts) in his three years in the league and he is averaging 21.4 minutes, 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

Chris Mihm better started playing better soon or he will be sitting at the end of the bench. If Andrew Bynum keeps playing like he is right now the Lakers will have to give him more minutes and when Kwame Brown returns there won’t be any minutes left for Mihm unless he picks up his play soon. In his first 15 games this season Mihm has averaged 11.5 minutes, 3.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. The most puzzling thing about Mihm this season is that he’s only shooting 33.9% from the floor which is pathetic for a man his size.