The 2018-19 Los Angeles Lakers are bringing back authentic emotions of teams in the past.
As I sat on my couch Monday night watching the Los Angeles Lakers, as LeBron James missed a potential game-winner, there was a feeling inside me that I really haven’t felt since the Lakers’ 2011-2012 season.
That year, the Lakers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Playoffs. There was a clear shift in the Western Conference.
The Thunder and their three-headed monster of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden seemed to be the new force to be reckoned with, as Kobe’s Lakers were beginning to look dated. The year before the Lakers was eliminated by OKC, they were swept out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks, just a year removed from winning their 2nd straight NBA title.
While it was tough to stomach the realization of needing to prepare myself for Kobe Bryant “A.D.”, these losses, frustrating to say the least, made me actually feel something. Meaningful losses pulled emotion out of me.
Waiting for a Lakers game to start during the 2000’s and early 2010’s on a weeknight during the season was a good and comfortable feeling. Usually, at the top of their conference, the Lakers were winning so much that it spoiled me as a Lakers fan.
These games were numbing, yet meaningful, but on any given night, Kobe could go off — scoring 40, 50, or 60 points — on a ho-hum Tuesday night, no less. That was enough reason for you to sit your butt on a couch, destroy your diet by ordering a pizza, and wait for that Laker game to start. Comfort level: 100%.
LeBron James and the new-look Lakers have infused that electricity back into the mix, so far, which has got my emotional juices revving as a result.
The anticipation of Monday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs (and each of the previous two games) and thinking about Game 1 of the World Series developed a fat boy hunger pang that was quite recognizable. The urge for pepperoni pizza and hot wings. My diet could wait a few more days.
The Lakers of today are bringing back those emotions, and these are three reasons why.