Bad Blood Brewing as Lakers Lose Third Straight

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The Los Angeles Lakers woes continued as they dropped their third game in a row Wednesday. The Lakers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies, 108-103, despite shooting 53.6 percent from the three-point line.

Lakers’ Chris Kaman sat out with a sore back and the Lakers trailed most of the game.  The Lakers attempted a comeback and were 7-of-11 on 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The Lakers managed to pull within three, but couldn’t secure the win.

Grizzles’ Courtney Lee led the team in scoring with 18 points, Marc Gasol finished with a double-double 14 points and 12 assists.

As for the Lakers, Jodie Meeks led the way with 19 points and four rebounds, while Pau Gasol finished with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Following the loss to the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night, dropping LA to the worst record in the west, Gasol vented his frustration. Gasol stated that there is too much one-on-one/individual play on the floor and a lack of discipline.

Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni understands Gasol’s frustration, but wishes criticism wasn’t made public.

“I think it’s a product of people getting frustrated and losing and everybody on one-year contracts. The thing I just don’t appreciate, and I think every coach [too], you just keep it in house,” D’Antoni told Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times.

“It’s very easy just to come over and talk about your frustrations. We’ll try to work something out. But to go to you [media] guys and to do it in the papers, that’s disturbing. I just don’t think that’s the way to go. People should understand that we’re all trying to solve the same problems.”

Fans seem to appreciate Gasol speaking out, taking to Twitter showing support. Some fans even used the hashtag #FireDAntoni. In an interview on Time Warner SportsNet, Gasol said his teammates responded “well” to his comments.

“I just made remarks on how I felt after the game. There was some frustration, but there was nothing out of line,” said Gasol.

Building consistent chemistry has been troublesome for the Lakers this season, but it’s never good when a star player and the coach aren’t getting along.

D’Antoni seemed irritated by Gasol’s complaints claiming he didn’t know “what [Gasol] was talking about,” and was upset by the way he handled the situation.

Fans have questioned D’Antoni’s method long before their 19-39 record.

Fans have their good and bad opinions on Gasol, despite him averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds this season.

Although it’s early, the Lakers need to get this under control. If the team was indeed fine with Gasol’s comments, what does that say about D’Antoni’s control of the team?

Also, if it comes down who would fans rather see go? D’Antoni, Gasol or both? A lot remains to be seen in a season that fans can’t wait to forget.

And with no solution in sight, the Lakers continue to spiral down. The season seems to only be getting longer for fans as the Lakers losses keep piling up.

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