Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
All is right in the Lakers universe again. Maybe Jim Buss was right and I’m the fool for thinking the season is already over.
It only took two weeks but the Lake Show finally has its first win in 2013. Next stop: Titletown.
In case you’re not picking up on my sarcasm let me just spell it out for you.
The Lakers beating the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers by the score of 113-93 will never be a starting point. Save your optimism. L.A. still turned the rock over at a hideous rate. The Cavs cut into this large lead in the third and could have easily overtaken the Lake Show were it not for their youth and inexperience.
In all honesty this one should have been a 30-point laugher at worst.
The Cavs shot a putrid 41% from the field. Their top two scorers dropped 15 a piece. In fact, if you ignore the Lakers out-gunning Cleveland 37-20 in the first this one was much closer contest throughout.
Maybe I should stop being so negative but its hard to ignore sloppy hoops. Steve Nash was supposed to stop all of the turnover troubles. He hasn’t. Against a team that played no defense the Lakers coughed up the rock 22 times.
The return of Dwight Howard should have given the Lakers a better presence on the glass. He didn’t as L.A. only grabbed two more boards than the outmatched Cavs.
But hey, D12 had a double-double and Kobe Bryant scored 23 on only 14 shots. So at least there is some fantasy value to tonight’s win.
According to Mike D’Antoni the season officially started tonight. That’s a relief because this preseason has been horrific. From here out its smooth sailing…I’m assuming.
Now if you want a real sign of the tide turning then go to any Jack In The Box near Staples and you’ll see visual evidence the NBA championship is within reach. As we all know free tacos = titles.
So pardon my lack of enthusiasm over a win that teams with title aspirations are supposed to notch. Wake me up when this team is beating the elite squads in front of them. That’s the only path to the playoffs and even though this win snapped a horrific losing streak we’re still talking about a team that has won once in seven.
But please…enjoy those tacos!