Lakers Do It With Defense
There are two realities that are setting in as the Lakers played their 2nd road game of the year, defeating Dallas 106-99, and remaining undefeated at 6-0.
Reality 1) They aren’t going to be better than the great Jordan Bulls teams and blow every team out by 25.
Reality 2) Maybe, just maybe, that doesn’t matter. Their great defense, offense, bench, and the greatest closer in the game is what will win them a championship. And that’s the only thing that matters.
With the Lakers down 10 points deep in the 3rd quarter, Farmar stole the ball from Jason Kidd. Ariza pressured Gerald Green into dribbling the ball off his leg, and Trevor dived and grabbed the ball and the timeout. Farmar had another great steal. By the end of the game, the Mavericks were taking tough shots, with all but Stackhouse’s completely off-target.
This kind of defense is not a one-time great comeback story. It’s the kind of defense the Lakers have been playing since the season began. The game might have been close because the Lakers went an awful 2-13 from 3-point range (an embarassing 15%), but they got the win because they dug down on D. All that was needed now was a quick Kobe explosion (9 points in the 4th on 4-6 shooting), and the game was over.
The Hornets (4-2) have been waiting in New Orleans for three whole days, hungry, preparing to show this undefeated Lakers team that they belong atop the West. The Lakers, meanwhile, will be coming off of a back-to-back. How will they stand a chance? The most famous chant in all of basketball goes on - defense, defense, defense…
