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Early nail-biters good for the Lakers
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Kobe and the Lakers pulled out a couple of squeakers on the road.
There isn't a person in America who predicted that the Los Angeles Lakers' first five games would go the way they have.
Sure, many predicted the good start (4-1), but I don't think anyone saw back-to-back overtime games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Yao-less, McGrady-less Houston Rockets coming. Now we've gone from asking the question, "can this team win 73?" to "does this team have what it takes to repeat?"
Some might say the Lakers' early struggles expose their flaws and show that they're not the "dream team" many thought they would be.
That may be the case, but one thing's for certain: these early close victories are good for the Lakers.
The key word there is "victories." No matter what team you're playing, road games are always tough. The Lakers are always going to get the other team's best shot, and we all know about the Lakers' propensity for losing focus against teams that they don't see as a threat.
Last season, the Lakers lost road games to the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, and of course, the Charlotte Bobcats. The fact that, this year, the Lakers are pulling out victories in these tough road games shows their growth and maturity as a team.
According to John Ireland's report last night, Derek Fisher pulled the Lakers together towards the end of overtime and screamed at them to buckle down on the defensive end. That kind of leadership doesn't come out in a 20-point victory.
Ron Artest showed that he is starting to figure it out on the offensive end by making clutch shots last night. If the game was a blowout, Artest wouldn't have the opportunity to make those shots.
Sure, you'd love to get Kobe Bryant and the starters some rest, but that can wait until later in the season. At this point, it's more important to develop the idea that losing is unacceptable. Worry about rest in April.
And of course there's another small factor...NO PAU GASOL!
People seem to forget that the Lakers are missing their second-best player. Take Paul Pierce off of the Boston Celtics or Rashard Lewis off of the Orlando Magic. Suddenly those teams don't look quite as intimidating.
The Lakers are winning close games without Gasol, which means it will be that much easier when he comes back (which is looking like it will be later and later...).
The fact that the Lakers are winning tough, close games early in the season is a good thing for them. The more you can simulate playoff basketball during the regular season, the more prepared you will be once the playoffs start.
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