The 2011 Lakers Have a 2003 Stench to Them

By Craig Kwasniewski Another day another Lakers blowout loss to... Memphis???  What's happened to the two-time defending champs?  I'll address their problem another day but in the meantime I keep reading all the past Lakers squads people are comparing this team to.  Sure they have some 2004 in them with the collection of talent and the mid-season losing streaks plus they also hosted the All-Star game that season.  That's a VERY good assessment and right now I'll take a 5-game loss in the Finals.  Flat out, the Lakers are terrible. I'm not even thinking 2004 right now.  I'm thinking the Lakers are more like the 2003 squad.  The one that was such a disappointment that it forced the Lakers to look to Karl Malone and Gary Payton to save the day. (While we're here, the biggest farce back in 2004 was Karl Malone taking an 18 million dollar pay cut to sign with LA.  Sure he made nearly 20 million in 2003, but ther...