As I was reading the California born and raised writer John Steinbeck, I thought about the Los Angeles Lakers: “…remembering brings the curious warm pleasure (however, I add) It was very early in the morning.”
And it is in fact very early in the morning. The so-called “Baby Lakers” are exactly that: babies. And so is their coach. A good one, but still, a “baby” head coach in this league.
So let’s be aware that remembering Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, or Kobe and Pau Gasol, or even just Kobe by himself, could bring about a “curious warm pleasure” but there’s an early morning happening right now in front of us that we shouldn’t miss out on.
Despite getting off to what schedule makers called a challenging start, the Purple and Gold held their own through the team’s first 20 games. Five of their first six games were against teams who made the playoffs last year (HOU, OKC, IND, ATL and GSW) resulting in three wins and three losses with the last W coming against a team that won 73 games last season and added Kevin Durant.
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By November 17th, Luke Walton’s team was 7-6 and everyone was asking “Sorry, what?” But then the winds changed and from mid-November to early-December a rejuvenated Nick Young got injured three times, D’Angelo Russell went down twice, and power forwards Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr also missed time.
Walton was then forced to concoct starting lineups which had the team using eight different opening units by the beginning of December.
To add insult to injury, during this stretch the Lakers played the San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls (twice), Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors (twice), Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies – L, L, W, L, L, W, L, W, L, L – and that’s when things starting going off the rails.
Yet, it is still very early in the morning for Luke, Brian Shaw and the Baby Lakers.
Even with their battle back from injuries the young Lakers were able to scratch out a win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas Day, albeit sans Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, hopefully exorcising their blown 20-point lead demons.
Brandon Ingram has recently picked it up, showing that the point-forward experiment just might pay off, barely missing becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double (9 points, 9 assists, 10 rebounds), against none other than the defending champion,Cleveland Cavaliers.
So, for now, let’s leave the nostalgic warm thoughts be and instead, sit back and enjoy this early morning.
Next: Lakers Beat the Clips For First Time in 3 Seasons
And for the road, here’s another famous quote from Steinbeck: “I got ice on my veins!” but don’t quote me on that.