Well, I said that whoever won Game 1 would win the series between the Lakers and the Spurs, and since the Spurs won it, that's bad news for me as a Lakers fan. I hate to say it, but I'm gonna stick by that prediction, and I do think the Lakers will lose this series. LA outplayed the Spurs for one quarter, but San Antonio outplayed LA for the other three, including the 4th quarter, which is the most important one. If LA just played badly, I wouldn't be so worried about where this series is headed, but the main thing that bothers me is that for the first time in the last 4 years (last year included) the Lakers just do not seem to have the ability to play well in the clutch. Two years ago the Lakers played the Spurs in the second round and won that series 4-1, but in every game of that series the Lakers were behind in the 4th quarter and in every game they outscored the Spurs by about 10 points. In this game LA actually had the lead to begin the 4th quarter and they just quite simply collapsed. In the playoffs, you have to be able to execute your offense at the end of games, because most playoff games are close, and usually whoever wins comes down to who makes the plays at the end. LA was a master at that for the last 4 years. Even last year they were good at that, overcoming a huge 4th quarter defecit to come within one missed 3-pointer of winning Game 5. This year is different, and LA just looks awful in crunch time. The Rockets are one of the worst teams in crunch time, and in the last round the Lakers came very close to being beat a couple times by giving up a late lead against them. That's not a good sign, and neither was today's 4th quarter implosion. The Lakers have the best clutch player in the game in Kobe Bryant, and yet they are still unable to perform at the end. It is baffling, it is disturbing, and I think it will cost the Lakers this series.