Ten Ridiculous Things Los Angeles Lakers Fans Are Saying About the 2012-13 Squad

The Los Angeles Lakers have had an underwhelming beginning to the 2012-13 season, meandering their way to a disappointing 8-10 record through the first 18 games. Fans have piled on accordingly in Laker-land as is customary in Southern California after yet another embarrassing loss that included a defensive meltdown in Houston.

As expected, the fans went into a frenzy, and here's look at some of the silly things they said following a tough loss from around Twitter and across the Web:

No. 1:

I blame this Lakers loss NOT on the players but coach Mike D'Antoni #LakerNation #Lakeshow #Lakers

Our friend ali1113 is upset because the Lakers squandered a 13-point fourth quarter lead to the Houston Rockets, and rightly so. His frustration, though, is misdirected. He's not alone in blaming D'Anotni for the loss in Houston because the Hack-a-Howard approach appeared to work. But it was the defense that broke down late and costly turnovers, not missed free throws, that cost them the game.

No. 2:

The #Lakers are in a death spiral right now.Man killing me #FireDantoni

An 8-10 record is cause for concern, but a death spiral? These are the extremes that people go to. And for good measure, Mr. Thomas has the requisite #FireDantoni hashtag. If the Lakers fired coaches every time the they took an ugly loss in November or December over the last several years, even the great Phil Jackson would have lost his job several times over.

No. 3:

I just sent in my app for Head Coach of the #Lakers first thing on my agenda put Howard on the bench with 3 minutes left in the game.

The coach deserves some of the blame for the team not showing up late, but D'Antoni himself said after the game in Houston that you can't simply take a guy out of games down the stretch who you're going to rely upon later and have as the future of the franchise. Howard needs to work through it, not sit on the bench so he can lose more confidence at the line -- especially early. Sadly, he was 8-for-16 vs. Houston, which is better than his season average.

No. 4:

Title hopes slipping away #lakers

Thank goodness the NBA Finals aren't in December, otherwise this notion might make some sense. Par for the course in "Hyperbolewood."

No. 5:

I hate all this #Lakers, the sky is falling talk. CHRIS DUHON IS PLAYING CRUNCH TIME! HE CAN'T DRIBBLE! Stop it, please.

There are two problems with this tweet. First, Chris Duhon's ball-handling had almost nothing to do with the loss vs. the Rockets (he committed three of the Lakers' 18 turnovers). Secondly, the idea that the Lakers need only to manage things until the cavalry comes in the form of Steve Nash and Steve Blake is a reach. The team's issues are deeper than at one position.

No. 6:

Lakers fans, Nash will change a lot. Show some patience for once. #Lakers

Marky G shouldn't get beat up too much for this because everyone in Laker nation could use a heavy dose of patience. But to suggest that Nash will solve the Lakers' woes, especially on the defensive end, is just dead wrong. The issues in Los Angeles start with a failure to close out games defensively, not on offense.

No. 7:

Prediction: #Lakers go 8-15,Nash comes back,Kobe gets injury,Nash wins 7 games in a Row! Kobe comes back they lose a lot! D'antoni Quits lol

No. 8:

First the #lakers blamed #MikeBrown and now #Gasol. #BringbackMikeBrown #PrincetonOffense

Here's what the Lakers' offense looked like under Mike Brown and the Princeton offense: 97.2 points and 18.2 turnovers per game. Not to mention a painfully slow pace that made a team full of All-Stars look lost on the court.

Nobody deserves to have to watch that again.

No. 9:

Via "Skilled" in the comments field of "Los Angeles Lakers will depend heavily on the 3 under Mike D'Antoni":

Trade kobe now, even if he is still scoring in the 30s or 40s that's the only bait the lakers can use to convince another team to take him. there's no tomorrow, don't wait too long. ship artest too. there's only one problem who will take these two?

This almost doesn't warrant a response, except for the fact that it's been cosigned on by fans before and got a thumbs up from someone in agreement. Bryant is not tradable, nor is he the problem. The player formerly known as Ron Artest has been the Lakers' most consistent player.

No. 10:

Via "Jeffrey" in the comments field of "Los Angeles Lakers will depend heavily on the 3 under Mike D'Antoni":

When will KoMe learn that the more shots he takes, the less likely it is that the Lakers win... KoMe is such a selfish player... I bet Gasol can not wait to get traded and Howard cannot wait to leave this team in the off season

This argument is so 2007. Bryant is smart enough to know when to defer and when to take over. He's got five rings to prove it.

Michael C. Jones covers the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA. He is also the editor of Sports Out West.

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