That stink is the smell of the Lakers in Charlotte

The Lakers are in a funk. Not a Bootsy Collins type of funk either. More like the kind of funk you’d find in the Izod Center this season. You know the funk that is more stink than it is stank.

That’s the kind of funk they’re in right about now.

If I were a Celtics fan I’d cite playing in a tightly contested overtime thriller the previous night as an excuse for the 98-83 loss to the Bobcats. Either that or I’d just blame everything on Rasheed Wallace.

But I’m not a delusional fan. I’m a fan who roots for the defending NBA champions. I’m the type of fan who expects the champs to play as such no matter the scenario.

This loss can be summed up in three words:

Pa-the-tic

No emotion. No energy. No excuses

The New Jersey Nets were embarrassed by how horribly the Lakers played.

Yeah, I know the Bobcats have the Lakers’ number. But that had nothing to do with the miserable mishap that occurred tonight.

20 turnovers + 36% shooting = the worst loss of the season.

For the record I’m sick and tired of hearing how Pau Gasol doesn’t get enough touches. He gets plenty of touches. The problem is that Pau takes his sweet time to go to work and by the time he punches the clock the defense is all over him. Another worthless effort by Pau (5 of 14 from the field) has me believing Phil Jackson that Gasol truly is “weak and sickly”.

I’m also tired of watching Kobe Bryant play one-on-five. He’s a scorer so no matter what KB24 will get his. The rest of this squad needs to go for theirs.

No, this loss isn’t the end of the world but it had better be rock bottom. From here out things can only get better. Any worse and the Los Angeles D-Fenders will be ashamed to wear Purple and Gold.

Typical of a team with title hangover, the Lake Show plays down to the comp.

For their sake they’d better play up in Orlando on Sunday. Otherwise the funk from this road trip will stink worse than a beer brewery in the middle of a sulfur mine.