The first "bad loss" of the season

There's really no other way to look at the Lakers' 109-105 defeat to Milwaukee than as a Bad loss. Real bad. Forget the first L of the year against Seattle -- that was a Sonics team shooting the lights out and healthy in Key Arena. No, last night was something far worse and what it really all came down to was Michael Redd putting on a show worthy of Hollywood, dropping 18 of his 45 points in the 4th quarter. Kobe was guarding him most of the night. Uh, think he's got his defensive legs back? Doesn't look like it. Those are the pitfalls that come with having to play your way back to fitness rather than having an opportunity to rest. But it's not like there's any other option. The Lakers need Mamba and everyone knows it.

But back to Redd's 45. The guy was a one-man wrecking crew last night. He shot over 50% from the field, 5-9 on 3s. He couldn't be stopped. That'll happen sometimes. BUT (this is why it's a bad beat) Milwaukee was without Charlie Villaneuva, still down Bobby Simmons, started a makeshift frontline of which Andrew Bogut was the centerpiece and the Lakers received absolutely no offensive production out of Bynum or Kwame. By the time the 4th quarter rolled around, they weren't even getting any touches. You have to have to have to exploit a weakness like that. The Bucks had nothing at forward and LA didn't seize the opportunity.

The worst of it all, the Bucks were quite literally afraid of winning this game -- Mo Williams in particular. He had 6 TOs and I think about four of them came within the last two minutes, too. Hell, if I didn't know better, he looked like he was trying to throw the game. Unfortunately, cold shooting in the 4th did us in.

The slow starts against bad teams (came out flat in the first half on Sunday against New Jersey, too) are a major sign of trouble. Consider that the Lakers are in first place, having left home, what, three times, and have yet to face San Antonio, Dallas, or Houston. We beat the Suns on opening night, but they're sure to improve. 0-1 vs Utah, lost to Detroit. 1-0 vs the Clippers, so far, but I actually expect that as we're a better team straight up. My point, though, is that we're unproven against top tier clubs and the slow starts against the likes of the Bucks -- the dinged up Bucks, at that -- are a warning that some of the focus that Philip is so noted for instilling in his teams still isn't quite there.

Lastly, even though he only went 4-12 shooting, I will say that Jordan Farmar was a bright spot last night. He was a sparkplug for an otherwise flat team (no thanks to the big men) 10p/7a/5r and he saw more action -- especially during crunch time in the 4th quarter -- than Smush Parker did. That's a huge sign, both as a lack of confidence in Smush (deservedly so) and a show of support to the UCLA rookie. I may have to modify my prediction from earlier this month when I said that Farmar would be starting ahead of Parker by New Year's as Philip is pretty stubborn with his starting lineups, but I will say that Farmar will get more playing time over the course of the season.

Up next: Utah at home, tomorrow night. Another shot at the red hot Jazz and a chance to measure how good this Laker squad really is.