No matter what center court says, LA still belongs to the Lakers.
Even though both teams share the same home court, after blowing the Clippers out by 38 points, the Lakers proved that the Staples Center is always home.
Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 16 points, and eight rebounds while shooting 5-for-12. However it was Jordan Farmar who really shined with 15 points, and five rebounds and assists. I knew he was going hard when late in the fourth, Luke Walton, four points, threw a high-arcing alley-oop to a cutting Farmar and amazingly, he caught it and threw it down. Simply put, it was salt in the wound after that.
These Lakers are no longer the young bunch that Bryant led into the NBA Playoffs last year. This is a focused group of seasoned young men that are determined to win. If you don't believe it, go back and look at Sasha Vujacic. The stat sheet does it no justice but the defensive pressure he was still applying late in the fourth was remarkable. The way he and the rest of the Lakers on the floor were playing, one may think the game was close. Even in the closing seconds when the Lakers were up by 38, Vujacic wanted to go up by 40. If Chris Mihm, who had 10 points, would've made the basket after Vujacic passed it to him, the goal would've been fufilled.
As far as the Clippers go, Baron Davis' addition to the team is going to be under a big microscope. The Clippers have always come second to the Lakers. The Clippers and Davis, who had 11 points and seven assists, will need time to adjust to each other. Most of the top players didn't play in the preseason and it showed last night. It seemed as if after the first quarter, the Clippers lost their edge, (no pun intended.) They were subsequently outscored in each of the following quarters by at least 10 points. Not to mention that everyone on the Lakers' roster scored four points or more, including Josh Powell. (Who?)
The Lakers (2-0) stay atop the Pacific Division while the Clippers (0-1) lead the opposite side of the spectrum. The Lakers visit Denver on Saturday. I probably won't be able to get around to that game until Sunday, but I know that the Lakers will still be undefeated after playing Denver.
I'm out.
Keywords: Baron Davis, Jordan Farmar, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Sasha Vujacic
