There are only four words to build you up for excitement at this point of October: "The NBA is back!" There's nothing like it. One thing for sure is that the NBA knows when to schedule marquee matchups to get fans hyped. This season, we officially mark the end of an era: the end of the superteam. The league blew up with so many big moves this past offseason. No more Big 3's or Fantastic Fours. It's now the era of the dynamic duos. Just like in the good old days.. Of course, the Lakers are no exception. Championship aspirations are once again sky high for this team with the acquisition of Anthony Davis. Paired up with LeBron, this duo is projected to be a dominant force. Let's see how they fared in opening week shall we?
10/22: @ LA Clippers 102-112 [L] (0-1)
HIGHLIGHTS
Didn't I say the NBA knows when to schedule marquee matchups? Nobody cared that the Pelicans-Raptors went to OT to see the anticipated battle of LA. LeBron and his new partner-in-crime in Anthony Davis vs. Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers. No question, the Clippers shattered the fabric of the NBA realm when they acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. But, let's not forget the city of LA still rules under purple and gold domain. The Lakers proved their dominance early-on this game, feeding Anthony Davis in the paint. The Clippers had no answer to guard Davis as they fell behind early 13-2. That was all the Lakers had to show for this game. The Clippers countered by sending in their sparkplugs, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell. Their instant offense brought the Clippers new life. Kawhi Leonard put up Michael Jordan-esque numbers starting in the 2nd quarter. The guy's midrange was unstoppable that game and he abused KCP. The Lakers continued to run Davis inside until it became predictable for the Clippers defense to figure out. Aside from Danny Green's explosive 3rd quarter, the Clippers had this game on ice and they didn't even have Paul George! Last year, proved they had some depth. Combine that with star power, they're a team to look out for. The 4th quarter was already lost when AD and LeBron combined for only 2 points. The Clippers may have won the battle, but the war has only just begun. We'll see on Christmas when both teams are at full strength
10/25: vs. Utah 86-95 [W] (1-1)
HIGHLIGHTS
After the debacle on opening night, questions arose on LeBron and AD's piss-poor 4th quarter. Moreso on LeBron's end. They say father time is catching up. It was time to push the panic button. I have something to say: it's only one game. Yes, I would've loved that win, but we still got 81 more games to go. The Lakers get another test on opening night against a Jazz team that is expected to make a deep playoff run. It was a slugfest for most of the game. That was expected. Remember the notion that father time is catching up to LeBron? Well, the King bounced back with a near triple-double of 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists. Davis struggled for the most part against Rudy Gobert, but still got the job done with 21 points and 5 blocks on the defensive end. Frank Vogel actually experimented with AD at the 5 and it worked out as the Lakers more activity on the defensive end. Speaking of defensive end, it was a lot better this game. They made Utah turn the ball over 22 times. Troy Daniels lead all scorers off the bench with 15 points. His 3-point shooting gave a lot of momentum for the Lakers to close this out. The Lakers made this interesting in garbage time though when Dwight committed a flagrant foul on Georges Niang. That was the only blemish. But hey! KCP scored a point today! And we have the GOAT, Alex Caruso back! Lakers are 1-0 when those two things happen.
10/27: vs. Charlotte 101-120 [W] (2-1)
HIGHLIGHTS
Early on this game, I could not believe what I was seeing. Why in the world are we playing down to the Hornets level? That team is not even expected to be good this year by letting Kemba Walker go the easily for an overpaid Terry Rozier! The first half was bit too close for comfort. But then, they started pulling away in the 3rd quarter and eventually the 4th quarter. One thing's for certain, AD had the 3-point game rolling and notched his first double-double with the Lakers with 29 points and 14 rebounds to go with 10 blocks. And never thought I would mention this guy's name again: Dwight Howard lead the bench with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Opening, he was a little too pedestrian. Against Utah, he picked up some activity. This game is where we actually saw shades of the old Dwight. At least compared to 2012-13, Dwight knows his role and clearly, he owes Laker fans like myself a lot if he wants to fully clear his name. He's made the most of it. LeBron James had 6 points in the first half, but he picked it up in the 4th quarter to pretty much put this game on ice. There was not a lot of load for LeBron to shoulder since he was perfectly setting up AD and Dwight for easy shots in the paint. Those big men did a lot of work inside and it wore down Charlotte's interior defense to pull away from this game.
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