Are the Lakers tanking?

[chambers]

THE GREAT NBA MYSTERY...SOLVED!!

Lakers starting line up tonight vs Boston. It's one thing to start younger players over veterans for development, but it's another to start older players who are also WORSE than their younger players just to throw games. Ryan Kelly and Robert Sacre starting with Jordan Hill, Ed Davis, Lin and Nick Young all on the bench.
Simply disgusting.

[GetLucky]

Is grass green (when healthy)? Is the sky blue? Is Jared Sullinger overweight?

Is Rajon Rondo... MERCURIAL? 

[BornReady]

Easy yes

but it is more desperate for them to tank considering they traded their pick and they need to land in the top 5

Also they lost the games before even with Kobe because they were overall a terrible team

[tazzmaniac]

The Lakers are quick studies on tanking fundamentals.  There's going to be a whole lot of griping if they end up with Okafor or Towns and we end up with a late lottery pick. 

[cman88]

I wonder if Kobe is really going to go out playing for a horrible team making 30million$

[Moranis]

Lakers won.  Sacre, Kelly, Clarkson played a combined 49 minutes.  Doesn't matter who starts, it matters who finishes.

[Nowee]

Lakers won.  Sacre, Kelly, Clarkson played a combined 49 minutes.  Doesn't matter who starts, it matters who finishes.

This. Nothing else. TP

[Celtics4ever]

The rivalry stills exists to some degree, they circled this one on the calendar as one they could and should win.  You score just five points in the OT your going to lose games folks.

Of course, the 38 FT were ridiculous and Thomas ejection really helped LA.

[apc]

If you hire Byron Scott as your coach, it is pretty obvious you are tanking.

[TheTruthFot18]

That roster screams tanking

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Yes. Except for when they play Boston. 

[celticsclay]

The rivalry stills exists to some degree, they circled this one on the calendar as one they could and should win.  You score just five points in the OT your going to lose games folks.

Of course, the 38 FT were ridiculous and Thomas ejection really helped LA.

I would agree with this to a certain point. I think the Lakers actually wanted to win this game, which has not really been true of their other games. If you saw how excited their players were, it is just different from their other games. Lin was acting like it was a NBA finals game 7 game. If you watched them a few weeks back against Denver they were controlling the game for about the first 44 minutes, then just completely changed their effort levels. (At least that was my take)

[Waew]

Both the Celtics and Lakers are tanking. So the fact that the Lakers won is bad for them.

[D Dub]

its kind of like fake tanking, or Fanking.

Even if Kobe stays healthy, he'd shoot you out of the playoffs.  So they sign shaky name-recognition guys to appease Kobe & the fanbase, claim to be 'going for it' knowing full well that the bottom will fall out & they will end up with that high pick. 

[celticsclay]

Both the Celtics and Lakers are tanking. So the fact that the Lakers won is bad for them.

I will say it again, maybe it doesn't mean something to younger fans, but that game last night meant something for both teams. It obviously is at the lowest point of the rivalry, but this was still the two teams that have defined the NBA for many decades facing off in one of their two matchups of the season with greats on both sides (probaboy including ainge) wanting the victory for their squad. I think in every other game this season, except for maybe after they lose like 15 games in a row, the Lakers will be happier losing. However, if you watched the lakers last night compared to other games there was 300% as much emotion and effort as there have been in other recent games. Both teams wanted to win last night. Moving forward the lakers want to lose, I am not sure what the celtics want.