Among the highlights of my breakdown on the Lakers 112-91 loss Tuesday to the San Antonio Spurs:
- The Lakers always missed Kobe Bryant. But their loss to the Spurs fully illustrates how their success beforehand mostly came off of adrenaline and everyone sticking to team offensive and defensive principles. That hardly was the case against San Antonio.
- Bryant declined to talk to The Times after the game, but Lakers Coach Mike Brown said he expects Bryant will miss his seventh consecutive game because of a sore left shin Wednesday at Golden State
- The Lakers couldn't avoid getting stuck in screens against San Antonio, which played a large part in Tony Parker scoring 29 points Tuesday on 14-of-20 shooting.
- After Andrew Bynum posted 13 points in the first quarter, he soon became a non-factor. The troubling part is that he didn't focus as much on rebounds and playing defense.
- Metta World Peace got into early foul trouble, which played a large part in the Spurs going on a 18-0 second-quarter run and the Lakers playing with poor tempo.
Among the highlights of Metta World Peace's comments:
