Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks
9:30 PM ET, May 6, 2011
American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
DALLAS (AP) -- One big man is struggling, the other is spouting off about "trust issues." Their enforcer got carried away at the end of the last game and is suspended from the next one.
Their mental edge is gone, and so is their home-court advantage. They've even lost the approval of one of their greatest icons.
Asked how to get them to snap out of it, their Zen master coach suggested "flogging them." Then he laughed. Hey, Phil Jackson's retiring in a few days or weeks, so he might as well crack wise.
Such melodrama is vintage Hollywood, but usually for the make-believe folks. Or the Clippers. Certainly not the realm of Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Yet early in their second-round series against the Dallas Mavericks, Bryant and the Lakers are in deep trouble, and they know it.
Los Angeles is down 0-2 going into Game 3 on Friday night. While three teams in NBA history have won a seven-game series after losing the first two at home, no team has rallied from an 0-3 deficit. That makes the next game pivotal in the Lakers' quest for a third straight championship.
Their mental edge is gone, and so is their home-court advantage. They've even lost the approval of one of their greatest icons.
Asked how to get them to snap out of it, their Zen master coach suggested "flogging them." Then he laughed. Hey, Phil Jackson's retiring in a few days or weeks, so he might as well crack wise.
Such melodrama is vintage Hollywood, but usually for the make-believe folks. Or the Clippers. Certainly not the realm of Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Yet early in their second-round series against the Dallas Mavericks, Bryant and the Lakers are in deep trouble, and they know it.
Los Angeles is down 0-2 going into Game 3 on Friday night. While three teams in NBA history have won a seven-game series after losing the first two at home, no team has rallied from an 0-3 deficit. That makes the next game pivotal in the Lakers' quest for a third straight championship.
Watch Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks Live Stream Free May 6, 2011 NBA Game 3
