Lakers resurgence reminds us bigger is better
Why, every year, do people fall for this?
Back in December Lakers fans were freaking out — and the rest of the league hoped they were right — because something seemed off about the Lakers. They weren’t bad, but the two-time defending champions were not dominating everyone, were not focused, were not defending, were not healthy and were not turning water into wine as their fans expect. Meanwhile the Spurs and Mavericks were steamrolling everyone in their path. People started working on their epitaphs for the Lakers tombstones.
But
scouts warned us back then that it was really about the Lakers, not their opponents. If the Lakers got it together, they were the class of the West and maybe again the class of the NBA.
Well, the Lakers have got it together.
The Lakers are 13-1 since the All-Star break and have been the best team in the league. They are focused, they are defending, they are healthy (relatively) and they have the swagger that champions can bring.
And they remind us that bigger is better.
Or as our own
Matt Moore tweeted after the Lakers beat the revamped Mavericks recently, it’s not just the sheer length of the Lakers front line, but the skill.
Basically, the lesson from this game is: You can add all the size depth you want but it doesn’t matter if none of it is as good as LA’s.
Sure, there is
Kobe Bryant, and he will do Kobe Bryant things. He will get his 20-plus points and take some bad shots (and make a number of them). He will dominate the ball late in games.
But it is the Lakers size and skill that sets them apart. Bigger is better in basketball. Every one of their three key big men is at least 6’10