Lakers woes continue!

By: Brandon Vondera

Atlanta, GA

For the second night in a row, Kobe Bryant had to walk (slink) off the court with the sour taste of defeat in his mouth. Kobe led all scorers again (28) but was unable to carry his team over a strong Atlanta squad led by Joe Johnson. The Lakers loss resulted in just the fourth back-to-back loss for Los Angeles all year, but it has added to the Everest-like pile of doubts concerning the teams chances of repeating as champions.

As Phil Jackson's team slithered out of Atlanta's Phillip's Arena, the Hawks were soaring to new heights. In front of the largest regular season crowd ever at Phillip's, the Hawks just seemed to fly by the lethargic Lakers.

The Bench Mob of years past, seems passé. Gone by are the glory days of yesteryear when you might witness 'the machine' explode with a fury of trey's, departed the days that DJ Mbenga enters the game for 12 minutes and leaves with a dozen points, 3 blocks, and a couple boards.

Atlanta's bench, led by former Laker, Mo Evans (18) and paced by Jamal Crawford (15) flexed its muscle with a 48-22 victory over the LA reserves. Same old story if you've followed the Lakers even remotely this year. Even Zaza Pachulia scored ten off the pine, to go along with ten rebounds, resulting in his first double-double of the year.

In the dirty south, it's a different story. Atlanta's got that ambition babe. And after 9 straight wins, they sit a full game ahead of Boston in the Eastern Conference standings, trailing Orlando by just four, with 8 to go before the postseason begins.

Atlanta returns to action Friday at Clevland, while Los Angeles looks to rebound at Staples, hosting the Jazz.