Questions keep coming after another stagnant road loss

L.A. Times Archives

March 5, 2010 12 AM PT

Reporting from Charlotte

Andrew Bynum looked at the gathering before him Friday night and listened to the question about how the Lakers haven’t played a worthy game since Denver last Sunday.

Bynum smiled and answered the question before it was completed, making a statement on what Lakers’ fans and the media have been wondering after the Lakers struggled to win the next game against Indiana and then lost the next two on the road at Miami and Charlotte

“What the (heck)? I think that’s what everybody is thinking right now,” Bynum said following the Lakers’ 98-83 loss to the Bobcats.

Kobe Bryant stood before the media with a frown on his face, his answer curt, and his tone serious and definite.

Bryant identified the problems his team has been having — being flat, not having energy.

And how do the Lakers change what ails them?

“Well, you just got to elevate your game,” Bryant said. “The effort and the energy that we’re playing with is not enough. You got to bring more. This time last year, it probably would have been enough. When you’re champions, you’ve got to bring more.”

The Lakers didn’t bring enough of anything against the Bobcats.

They fell behind by 20 points. They turned the ball over 20 times.

They sloshed through a victory over Indiana on Tuesday, lost in overtime at Miami on Thursday and were not the same team after halftime against the Bobcats on Friday.

“We’re just disjointed,” Bynum said. “We’re not playing together. Everybody is kind of a little discombobulated out there. That’s the best way to put it. It’s just like playing five sets of one-on-ones versus playing together.”

Bryant said he would talk to his teammates about what’s at stake, about how difficult it is to repeat as NBA champions, something he did when he was a part of the Lakers’ three-peat from 2000-2002.

When asked if now is the right time to have a discussion with his teammates, Bryant shrugged.

“I don’t know if it’s time or not,” Bryant said. “I’ll just communicate and talk to my guys, just make sure that we continue to move forward and we understand that if we want to repeat as champions, it’s not going to be easy. We’ve got to bring it.”

Thumbs down

Another Laker has an injury to his hand.

Ron Artest sustained a sprained left thumb in the third quarter of Thursday’s game against Miami and had it taped for Friday’s game. He said he did not remember the specific play that caused the injury.

Bryant has dealt with a broken right index finger since December and Lamar Odom often tapes together two fingers on his right hand, to help ease the pressure on a sore index finger.

More recently, Shannon Brown sustained a sprained right thumb and Jordan Farmar has a sprained ligament in his left hand.

“It seems to be a hand-injury year,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “They just have to adjust how to play with it.”

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