By Mike Bresnahan
Los Angeles Times
December 25, 2010
If the Lakers were looking for a pick-me-up, it didn't happen. Not even close.
If they hoped for a momentum-turner in a season mostly devoid of them, there was only bitter disappointment.
The two-time defending champions had only themselves to blame after a thorough thrashing Saturday by the Miami Heat in front of a hushed Staples Center crowd.
The Lakers were a Christmas Day mess, failing to hit shots and serving as mere speed bumps under LeBron James and, curiously, Chris Bosh, the least feared of the Big Three but a monster in Miami's 96-80 victory.
A lot of people paid a lot of money for tickets, with face value as high as $900 for non-courtside seats, but Lakers fans streamed toward the exits with 2:20 to play, the home team down 19 on the way to another disconcerting loss.
The Lakers (21-9) are an unimpressive 2-4 against teams with winning records and a startling 4 1/2 games behind San Antonio in the Western Conference. It won't get any easier with their next two games in San Antonio and New Orleans on back-to-back nights.
Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol missed all 11 of their first-quarter shots and never seemed to recover, dragging down the hopes of their team.
Bryant wasn't merry at all, holiday or otherwise.
"This is serious stuff," he said after scoring 17 quiet points on six-for-16 shooting. "You don't just have two rings and say we're satisfied with what we've got and let it slide. I'm not rolling with that."
He wasn't finished, continuing to glower as he fielded reporters' questions for the first time in six days, his media boycott officially ending.
"I think these games mean more to our opponent than they do us," he said. "I think we need to get that straight. I think we need to play with more focus and put more importance on these games. I don't like it."
As the queries continued, and minor expletives began being dropped into his lexicon, Bryant scoffed when asked whether he was concerned about the Lakers' record against winning records.
"What about [my demeanor at] this press conference makes you think I'm not concerned?" he said, later adding, "We could be playing Minnesota
