Well, there goes 82-0.

The Lakers took on the Dallas Mavericks tonight at Staples Center in what many thought would be the Lakers second win of the season. Unfortunately, the Mavericks had other ideas and routed the Lakers 94-80.

First Quarter: LAL 21 DAL 24

From the opening tip it was obvious this was not the Lakers night. The game started out with a healthy dose of Andrew Bynum, which resulted in three missed shots that you would normally see him make. Throughout the quarter the offense appeared sluggish and off balance, and these easy misses were characteristic of the entire game. Luckily our defense was strong and kept us close after one.

First Quarter Highlights:
- Bench Ritual: I’m going to agree with Jeff Van Gundy (what?!): The new bench celebration after the first made basket looks ridiculous. At least make sure Mbenga is on time with the rest of the team.
- Farmar: He played well off the bench and closed the quarter strong. It was good to see him playing with confidence and knocking down those open shots he was making two seasons ago.
- Kobe in the post: I’m hoping we see more and more of this. Kobe was in the post on almost every possession in this quarter. The Mavs played solid defense and were able to deny the ball on many occasions, but the idea was solid.

Second Quarter: LAL 24 DAL 28

Entering the second quarter down three, it was obvious that the Lakers were trying to pick up the pace. The low scoring first quarter was definitely not pretty, and nothing changed in the second to make it any more enjoyable. The offense seemed rushed and hesitant on almost every possession with the Lakers scrapping for every inch of court in the post and on the perimeter. It was as if we could get no space on offense; the Mavs were just living in our jerseys the entire game. The Achilles heel of this quarter was our turnovers. On three straight possessions in the second the Lakers were able to cough the ball up one way or another. This is something we could get away with against the Clips, but definitely not a playoff contender like the Mavs. Towards the end of the quarter, the Lakers began to show extreme frustration and lost composure. Silly fouls from Ron and Lamar turned into easy free throws and baskets by the Mavs. The quarter ended with a slight push from Kobe and the team, but we exited trailing by 7.

Second Quarter Highlights:
- Shannon Brown Offense: I believe he went 4-4 from the field in the second. He was definitely the only bright spot for the Lakers offensively in this quarter, and that is slightly depressing!
- Dirk’s Screen: Shannon was absolutely LAID OUT on a screen by Dirk towards the end of the quarter. After watching the replay it was definitely a clean pick- the Lakers big men have to call that out. If Dirk is going to stand around and head hunt in the second quarter, you have to return the favor and set a solid screen back.
- NBA Shootaround Commercial: Lamar, Worthy, Magic and a bus. Best NBA shootaround commercial yet!

Third Quarter: LAL 15 DAL 26

It seemed as if the referees were attempting to make this an uneven and sloppy game. After a first half, which was basically a parade to the free throw line by the Mavs, the second half started out with a few bogus offensive foul calls on Artest and Kobe that really started us off on the wrong foot. After Artest quickly picked up the first offensive foul fighting for position, he quickly picked up a technical foul and went to the bench. From here on out the Lakers picked up countless offensive, defense and loose ball fouls which led to easy baskets and countless extra possessions for the Mavs. At one point the Lakers were down 22 and looking pathetic.  Towards the end we were able to pick up the intensity, which was evident by a LIVID Kobe in the timeout huddle, but ended up scoring a pathetic 15 points to the Mavs 26.

Third Quarter Highlights:
- Offensive Activity: The Lakers were able to pick up the pace by switching to a pick and roll of Josh Powell and Kobe. This is in stark contrast to the earlier portions of the game where Kobe was playing mostly low post in the triangle.  Times like these are when you really notice we miss Pau. Our other bigs do not run the high pick and roll like Kobe and Gasol and if Josh Powell is the replacement, we’re in trouble.

Fourth Quarter: LAL 20 DAL 16

The Lakers attempted to make a push and cut the lead to twelve midway through the quarter, but it was not enough. The Mavs were able to hit open shots all night and really gave us trouble on defense. Our frustration showed and it’s definitely not the kind of game you want to see from the defending world champs.   The good news is that it’s early in the season, and we can definitely learn from this. I will say that the Lakers gave great effort; it just wasn’t there tonight.  No one was able to get it going outside of a few offensive spurts from Kobe and Shannon.

Fourth Quarter Highlights:
- The Buzzer: It was nice to hear it sound. I’m sure the rest of the Lakers were happy to have this one over with too.

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