Lakers: Improving With Every Game

Usually, fans would panic a bit about an 0-5 start.  Byron Scott showed some hope with the team early on, as the Lakers were able to win a few games during the preseason.

Remember the preseason?  Jeremy Lin showed a few flashes of great offensive play. Ed Davis looked like the steal of the free agent season. Julius Randle’s jumpshot was becoming more consistent game-to-game. Kobe actually played less than 30 minutes.

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When the regular season began, the Lakers were blown out early.  It wasn’t even close during the first two games. Yes, it was against tough competition. The Golden State Warriors were on fire during the preseason and continued their hot shooting into the regular season.

The Laker team just looked flat.

The Laker team just looked flat.

Yet, there’s a difference between this season and the two seasons before.  The Lakers are improving on a game-to-game basis.  Imagine the first six games of the season.  If the Lakers played the same opponent six times, doesn’t it feel like they would still have a 1-5 record?  The first set of losses weren’t close.  The previous two losses were close up until the last quarter.  Then, the Lakers were finally able to pull a win, creating a huge amount of momentum in the third quarter and carrying it all the way through the fourth quarter.

It didn’t matter who was on the floor.  Carlos Boozer put out a 10 point spurt in the third quarter.  Jeremy Lin looked great all game-long.  Ed Davis was finishing in the paint.  It didn’t matter that Kobe Bryant shot 35% from the field with 20 field goal attempts.

The team isn’t just playing with better offensive rhythm, they are getting more timely defensive stops.  Al Jefferson was a machine through the first half, but struggled to shoot 50% in the second half.  The Lakers stunted the Hornets with a rare look at a zone defense or 3/4-court press.

But, in all facets of the game, the Lakers are improving.  No, the record of 1-5 isn’t great, but the way the Lakers are improving, is.

This is why Byron Scott is the right coach for the team.

This is why his job isn’t in danger.

This is why it’s important to bring back the Laker culture.

We’re watching the Lakers transform on both ends of the floor, no matter who is on the floor.

Each one of them, is a Laker.