After a big victory Thursday night over the Phoenix Suns and an even bigger loss Friday to the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers rested Saturday afternoon. There was no practice, no drills, no running.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he would review the video of their 26-point loss to the Nuggets for clues to their many second-half breakdowns. He said it was the wise thing to do before tonight's game against the Houston Rockets at Staples Center.

"Oh, without a doubt," he said.

What can he learn from it?

"Just what guys were tentative about, how (the Nuggets') defense kept us from getting the ball into the post position," Jackson said.

"These guys have to learn things like that. The defense Denver played was effective. They high-sided our post players."

In other words, rather than play behind Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum in the post, the Nuggets positioned their defenders in front of them or to the side of them. The Nuggets made it more difficult to pass the ball to Bryant and/or Bynum.

The strategy was different than other Lakers opponents have tried this season. Judging by the results, more teams might try it in future games since the Nuggets were the first opponent to slow down Bryant and Bynum.

Bryant scored 19 points, a season low, on 7-for-17 shooting. He did not score in the third quarter, when the Lakers were outscored by 29-8, missing all four shots he attempted as the Nuggets clamped down on him. He didn't play in the fourth quarter.

Bynum also scored 19 points (on 8-for-13 shooting), below his season average of 20.7 points. He also grabbed 15 rebounds, above his season average of 11.9. He was the only Lakers starter to play in the fourth, scoring five points in 4 minutes, 25 seconds.
"We had to manipulate their defense to get the kind of shots we wanted and we didn't do a very good job of it," Jackson said.

As Bynum said, "I didn't get too many touches down low. We weren't swinging the ball and there was no movement on offense. A lot of it was a lack of team basketball. We would come down, dump it in the middle and everybody would stand still."

Ring, ring, ring

The Lakers have a little something waiting for Houston's Trevor Ariza tonight. They plan to present him with his championship ring, a reward for helping them win the 15th title in franchise history last June.

Ariza said it was no big deal facing his old teammates when the Lakers and Rockets played Nov. 4 in Houston. He said tonight's game figured to be a good deal more emotional and memorable.

After all, he will get his championship ring tonight.

Plus, it will mark his return to L.A., where he was a standout at Westchester High School and UCLA before joining the pro ranks. He played with the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic before he was traded to the Lakers in November 2007.

Link: http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_13792789

^^If you recall, we celebrated when we beat the Celtics last year. So i don't see anything wrong with beating your stiffest rival, especially in a blow out and then making a big deal out of it. Quite frankly, it is a big deal after the fact that the Lakers have whooped this team in the playoffs. No excuses should be made. The Lakers players get paid millions to perform to their best ability night in and night out and they failed to do so and thus got a beating from the Nuggets. I have nothing against Nuggets players and fans celebrating this win. They deserve it!