After another forgettable performance against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, the Lakers found themselves in a tie ballgame with only 19.5 seconds to go. Immediate thoughts?

Fact: Kobe Bryant will be getting the ball.

Fact: The Black Mamba will bust another game winner in your eye.

“That’s my responsibility here, to close things out,” Bryant nonchalantly said of his latest conquest. “The same shot in Orlando, and I missed it.”

Well, at least the Lake Show won to remain three games above the red-hot Dallas Mavericks for the top spot in the Western Conference Playoff race.

The question is, why are the Lakers barely beating/losing to teams they should be blowing out?

Kobe thinks the issue is DEFENSE.

“Offensively, we score a lot of points. That’s not going to change. We have to stop people and we didn’t do a good job of that,” Kobe said of his team’s D.

PJ believes the Lakers need to be more efficient on the other end of the court.

“We’re holding the ball too long,” Jackson said. “Ron [Artest] is a little bit indecisive, Kobe’s looking for opportunities, our centers sometimes are kicking the ball out when they’re double-teamed in the post and creating turnovers. Everybody’s a little bit guilty of that aspect of not moving the ball when it’s time to move the ball.”

Laker Goggles:

SURPRISE!!! You’re both right. You can also throw in their lack of toughness, pathetic free throw shooting, stupid fouls, questionable decision making, as well as lack of rebounding, hustle, heart and effort.

Outside of those minor issues, we’re in a perfect spot to repeat …