The bad news for the Lakers is that they still have more road games left on the schedule. Given their last two meltdowns to below mediocre teams that is a bit of bad news sure to suck the life out of the locker room anytime the Lake Show is set to hit the road.
The good news is that their crosscourt rivals, those ever so popular L.A. Clippers, are doing their best to help keep the Lakers in contention for the Pacific Division title. Currently the Clipps are experiencing some road woes of their own and have dropped six of their last ten contests overall. Those results have put the Lakers only one game back in the loss column and even in terms of winning percentage.
Naturally with the division title comes a guaranteed top 4 seed in the Western Conference and the lone advantage the Lakers would have in any playoff matchup at this point – homecourt advantage.
Lost in all of the recent Clipper hype is how that exciting team is still learning the ropes. The gift of Chris Paul can’t make Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan superior low-post defenders nor can his talent suddenly replace the veteran, big game, playoff experience lost with Chauncey Billups.
Those factors have helped to contribute to the Clippers having some late game issues of their own, the most note worthy occurring several weeks ago against the San Antonio Spurs. Tonight the Clippers see those same Spurs again while the Lakers visit Minnesota.
These days it’s all doom and gloom around the Lakers. Trade rumors, struggles on the road and issues with the coaching staff have created a new circus of drama unlike what we’ve seen in recent Laker times. Despite all that the reality of winning the Pacific is very much a possibility especially when you’ve got a Masked Mamba in your back pocket.
But never mind those new kids on the block on the other side off Staples. The Lakers have got to take care of business. This season might be shorter but the playoff push is well underway. Time for the Lakers to answer the bell.