Desperation Three

A 15-point drubbing by the Suns makes it the third straight subpar outing for the Lakers (that is, if one were to include the double-overtime 112-103 win over the Sacramento Queens, and believe me, most Lakers fans do). What makes it even stranger is that Andrew Bynum finally snapped out of his funk with a 14-point, 9-rebound showing (albeit on 4-of-10 shooting), and yet the Suns were still able to take a commanding lead in the third quarter and not look back.

Is it the lackluster defense of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the paint? Is it Defensive Player of the Year candidate Ron Artest's absence? Is it the lack of energy and hustle by the bench mob (Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic et al)? Either way, now would be as good a time as ever to get it together. In the race for the best regular-season record, Boston and Cleveland are right on their heels.