I can’t lie to you guys; for the first time since June 2008, I lost faith in the Lakers. The haters, they finally cracked me. I mean, have you watched the Lakers lately? First, they coasted out the gate. Then, they got smoked by Miami. In fact, they’ve been getting smoked by everybody. The Sacramento Kings are giving them game and the Lakers stand idly by. Do they care? Are they old? Has their window closed? Is the chemistry stale? Does Ron Artest want traded? Should Mitch Kupchak make a move? And if he does, what kind of pieces do the Lakers have? Hell, are the Lakers the best NBA ticket in LA at the moment?
And this was all before their annual…. Road Trip? And I apologize as I digress… but, how come the Bulls have the “Circus Road Trip” and the Spurs have the “Rodeo” Road Trip… but the Lakers can’t get any love for their annual Road Trip? I’m sure there’s an event that involves people with tons of Botox injected into their face that forces the Clippers and Lakers out of Staples for a few weeks every year… but why isn’t there a catchy name for it? Is there a name for it? People can’t be this asleep at the wheel, can they?
Anyway, back to the road trip. This trip is going to be a big deal for the Lakers. At least, that’s what the media is going to tell you. You’re going to see W-L stats, the “should the Lakers make a move?” segments on SportsCenter, and other people just gushing about the Lakers troubles.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f61Qa6Y76Bg
And don’t get me wrong. This could be a big deal, if ultimately, the Lakers hadn’t reached the summit.
For example, two years ago, the Lakers were on the ropes. They had just been smoked the previous summer by the Boston Celtics, and while they had started off well, they had just lost Andrew Bynum to a potentially season-ending injury. Things got real for the Lakers, and everybody asked, “HOW WILL THE LAKERS RESPOND?”
Well, in the next game, at the New York Knicks (when they were properly rated as terrible), Kobe eviscerated them. He dropped like 61 and shattered ol’ Bernard Kings scoring record in the Garden.
Then, after dispatching the Raptors, they strolled into the Garden (where they didn’t win a game the previous year) and ran through the Boston Celtics. And three days later? They dropped the Eastern-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on their own court. That’s when you knew that these Lakers were the real deal.
Roughly six months later, they hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy as fans in Orlando gasped and said things like, “Wait, I thought this was a best-of-11 series?”
And that’s the thing you have to remember: The core of that Lakers team, and the present day one — they lived that. They knew, at the time, they had to prove to themselves they could compete with the best, because until that time, they hadn’t won anything. That’s what the young guy trying to come up on the block does, because he still has something to prove.
But what do the Lakers have to prove right now? Really, outside of Boston and Tim Duncan’s corpse, how many teams truly understand what it takes to win it all in this league? Everybody says the Lakers are old, but nobody mentions that old teams are the only ones that win titles in the NBA.
Next: Not the Hungriest Wolf in the Jungle
Look, the Lakers know more than anybody else. They’re not the hungriest wolf in the jungle right now. They intimately know that; however, they’re running marathons, not sprints. Ultimately, a failure to box out on a Thursday night in January won’t cost them their season. They chock up the L and move on, while the media shrills, because let’s face it, ESPN has gotta talk about something.
Truth: the Lakers don’t need to make a move. They’re the two-time defending champs. They’ve been to the Finals the last three years. Just because people make moves to counter the Lakers (and that’s the crown jewel in Kobe’s legacy, that he made LeBron James join forces to beat him), doesn’t mean the Lakers have to make the moves. They’re the ones holding the crown — it’s on the league to figure out how to topple them.
The bottom line is — nobody is going to want to see the Lakers when the playoffs come around. No team is truly going to feel like the favorites against the Lakers — despite whatever that final (number) next to the Lakers ends up being. The Lakers will answer anybody’s call for a best of seven game series on anybody’s court.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUE73GqyPuU
The Lakers also know that they’re going to need all this energy come June. The Boston Celtics played this route last year and it ultimately cost them; but it’s the smartest route for the Lakers to take at this point. If the Sacramento Kings want to run and gun and bring their A-game just so they can say they beat the defending world champs at home, then so be it. The Lakers have bigger fish to fry than the Sacramento Kings. Let them have their moment.
The only thing that’s hurting the Lakers is defense (how they won the title last year, by the way) and execution and ball movement — all fixable things, when minds are laid to purpose. They show flashes of it almost every game — as if to just calmly remind people: By the way, we are the two-time defending champs, despite what you heard.
Next: Power Rankings Only Matter in June
It’s going to be a hard road to plow, but the Lakers, again, know that better than everybody. They see the Spurs. They see the improved Mavericks. They see Kevin Durant and Russ Westbrook licking their chops for their rematch. And then beyond that? The Boston Celtics or Miami Heat will inevitably loom. It’s going to be chaos come April. So why extend precious energy — the energy that ultimately could be the difference between a Game six or Game six, in February? Like all true senseis in every movie through forever, the true master waits and bides his time.
I don’t know how this road trip is going to turn out, Lakers fans. As a fan, I’d like to see them win every game by 50, but that’s probably not going to happen. Just know — whatever happens, as long as it doesn’t involve Kobe Bryant’s death, is worthless.
LeBron James and the Heat rightfully deserve the No. 1 spot on anybody’s “Power Rankings.” But, history doesn’t reward the top in anybody’s Power Rankings in January.
I suggest the fans do as the players, look beyond this annual road trip, and buckle down. It’s certainly going to be a bumpy ride.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMHdEVN4ugE
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