November 24, 2008

The Lakers Are Rolling


After a dozen games into the NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers are rolling over the competition with winning all but one game.

In their last three games where they faced the Phoenix Suns, the new-look Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings (the Suns and the Nuggets have winning records), the Lakers beat them by at least 10 points and with different ways. They downed the Suns with outside shooting, led by Vladimir Radmanovic's 100% shooting from beyond the arc. The Lakers finished with 10 treys for that game.

In the game against the Nuggets, the Lakers used suffocating defense to shackle the Nuggets. The Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony was held to only 10 points (he was averaging 20 prior to that game) and 5 for 19 shooting. The Lakers had 12 steals and 9 blocks as a team. The game was so lopsided that no Laker starter spent more than 30 minutes on the floor.

When the defense wasn't working, the Lakers turned to team offense to beat the Kings. The Lakers were utterly sloppy on the defensive end at the home game, where they let the Kings' transition game keep the game closer than it should have been. But thanks to good shooting and offensive execution, EIGHT Lakers scored in double figures. I would have preferred a lockdown game against a lower rung team like the Kings, maybe the Lakers are a bit tired after playing three games in four nights.

The Lakers are looking strong early on, and may finish the month with only one loss, with upcoming games against the New Jersey Nets, the resurgent Dallas Mavericks, and the suddenly struggling Toronto Raptors.

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After shooting 80% from the three-point area in the Sacramento game, I'm theorizing that the red-colored visors that Vladimir Radmanovic wore had some hi-tech targeting system... something the ships in Star Wars had.


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2 comments:

  1. if Radmanovic continues with his Mida's touch, the Lakers will have another potent offensive option. Coach Phil should start boosting Rad's confidence with more playing time and set plays. He might create a new offense monster come playoff time.

    - astig316

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