Final Laker Preseason Game an Absolute Dreamer
The Lakers played the Thunder Friday night to cap their preseason run. The regular season starts at Staples Center against the Blazers Tuesday at 7:30PM Pacific time on TNT.
Are the Lakers ready? Boy, are they ever.
- I dreamed of a game where Bynum generally dunks the ball the whole time and physically dominates. I expected this kind of performance 30 games into the season. Instead, Bynum did it this game: 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists on 10-15 shooting. With Bynum ready to go from day 1 of the regular season, an over 60-win team is very possible.
- I got to see two fellow alumni go at it, players I have obsessed over for getting my Bruins so close to another national championship- and it was a I could wish for. Jordan Farmar and Russell Westbrook went at it. Westbrook used his body to score on Gasol like a veteran and scored 23 point on 7-12 shooting. Farmar faked baseline, spun back to the baseline for a layup. He was 7-9 for 14 points. These Bruins are the future and present of NBA point guards.
- Kobe Bryant played, and knocked down two deep three-pointers, something he hasn’t done in a while. So not only is his knee OK, he might be back to his old ways of scoring from anywhere on the court.
- Pau Gasol and Fisher looked like starters that are on a mission to simply win the NBA championship. When you look at their face in the game, you can see nothing else matters to them.
On Tuesday, the team of the present meets the team of the future. The Blazers are a young team that just got a whole lot better with Greg Oden manning the center, some would say as well as Bynum has in his short preseason stint. The Blazers still have all-star Brandon Roy at shooting guard, and super-talented Travis Outlaw. All-world guard Rudy Fernandez from Spain has just joined them, and this team seems primed, for the present and the future.
As good as the Blazers are, they have certainly not arrived like the Lakers have. Jordan Farmar and Lamar Odom come off the bench. It is frightening to think of the talent level to have that sentence be true. Get ready for Tuesday, Laker fans. There is now no doubt in my mind that it is the start of a championship run.
