The Lakers had a chance to pretty much wrap up the series by winning game four on the road in New Orleans. They could’ve been up 3-1 going back home but they for some reason were not motivated enough to get it done. They now face an uphill battle since the Hornets now have enough confidence knowing that they can compete with the two-time defending champs.

Chris Paul had a monster game despite the cut he received on his right eye from Lamar Odom during a jump ball. 27 points 13 rebounds and 15 assists is a career night for the feisty little guard. He is playing like the best point guard  in the league  and willed his team to victory in games one and four. The only way the Hornets can beat the Lakers at this point is with CP3 going off along with their scrappy defense  and  their pick and roll. Expect Chris Paul and the Hornets to come out storming in game five trying to do exactly just that.

Pau Gasol played like crap and choked in the final minutes and as a result they lost. Kobe gave him a nice pass right to his chest in the paint when they were down 4 and all he had to do was catch it for two. Instead, he fumbles it and turns it over. On the next possession he seemed as if he would redeem himself by converting a basket with a foul to but blows the free throw to keep them down two. Now the old Pau Gasol would’ve caught and converted the pass and made the and-one which would’ve put the Lakers up by one with just over a minute left in the game probably resulting in a victory since the team’s energy level would’ve went up.

Kobe had a decent game only because of his dismal 28% shooting. He had 17 points 6 rebounds and 8 assists, 7 of which came in the first half along with 0-7 shooting and 0 points. Ron Ron dropped 16 on 7-10 shooting but scored all of  his in the first half. Phil tried to pound the ball inside with the bigs but they were not being efficient, neither was the bench.

All around, this was a terrible effort and you could say that they didn’t show up like they did in game 3. If the Lakers were playing any other team in the western conference they would certainly be down in the series so in a sense you can say they are fortunate to be tied. They have a chance to redeem themselves at home next game.

I hope they come out with a more determined attitude and dominate the paint and use their length like they usually do. It feels  like i’m watching a regular season game and it looks like they’re treating it like one. I wish they would just stuff the ball down the hornets throat and send a message to remind everyone including themselves that they are the two-time defending champs.