Lakers Demise was a little premature
My face when I woke up at 2AM and saw that the Lakers actually won:
But in all seriousness, it's one game. Teams are still feeling each other out. It's going to take at least a month or two before I'm entirely convinced a team is legit. Still, that was a nice start, especially without Kobe. Just be careful if you think you're going to get that kind of performance from the bench all the time. Pau is really going to need to carry some of the load down the stretch. I think he's ready, but time will tell.
Not really because nobody gave them a chance without Kobe. Their top players did not even play that great. Kobe will be back and if they can hold it down until then, Lakers will surprise people. I would rather they tank but it is what it is.
No , they are much better without Metta and Dwight Howard. I know people like to compare teams by individual players, but they forget this is a team sport. Last year Lakers struggled with the Clippers and tonite they smoked them ...with their bench. Great coaching by Dantoni to leave the bench in when they got hot. Anyone who understand this game can clearly see that there is much more chemistry, especially between Caman and Gasol.
Lakers ARE better than people think. Especially early on before Kobe returns and turns everyone else into observers. The lakers have a lot more perimeter talent than they usually do. They will be in a fight with 5-6 teams for the 7/8th spot and i like the wolves for that 7th spot.
I don't get why you're banking on Kobe making much of a difference when history has shown the Lakers records aren't so pretty when its just Kobe and a bunch of role players. The Lakers got hot. They hit a lot of contested 3s. It's one game, still 81 to go.
They aren't going to make 14 3s and get 70+ points from their bench every night. The Clippers played poor perimeter defense and tried to turn the game in to a shootout instead... The Lakers ran D'Antoni's offense with great success and the Lakers' second unit torched the Clippers second unit.
The Lakers would have scored even more if Wes Johnson didn't put up so many bricks......
I Predicted the Lakers to beat the Clippers last night.....When Doc Rivers said De'Andre Jordan was their best player in the preseason..You know the Clippers have alot of adjustments to make,before they can become serious title contenders!!!
Besides CP3 and Doc Rivers none of the other Clippers have a championship mindset..Hopefully Doc will be the coach that helps Blake reach his potential...And also teach other guys on the roster what it takes to become a winner and not just playing to please the crowd....
The Lakers played a Clippers team that havent put it all 2gether yet.....If it was a team like the Spurs i believe the outcome would've been totally different last night.....With or without Kobe i still think they're a borderline playoff team...Mainly becuz of their poor defense...
1-11 is really bad and wes shot horribly all pre-season so his bad shooting certainly isn't a 1 game type thing, it's gonna be bad all year. But he is the teams best defender. His energy and competitiveness at that end was very important last night in the win and there was a reason he was on the court the whole 4th quarter. Hopefully he can shoot around 40% because Ill take that considering his energy and defense on a team that already has plenty of offensive tools.
As for people writing the lakers off, just makes this season that much funner. No pressure. If we make the playoffs as a 7th seed this year, we will have proven everyone wrong and it will be a fun ride. Last year getting 7th felt like the biggest disappointment ever and it was considered a joke of a season. It's gonna be nice for a change actually enjoying every win instead of breathing a sigh of relief that we didn't lose.
I don't even think tonight was a great game for the Lakers' top players yet they put up a lot of points and won. I think people forget that Mike D'Antoni's style works wonders in the regular season