It's so much easier to write about the wins than losses. Before that controversial foul was called, I was really feeling bad about the team, but one little superstar foul call later, all was well.
This was a matchup between two teams with very poor offenses, and the first half in particular was perhaps the most boring Lakers game I've ever seen. The fourth and overtime quarters were so much more enjoyable, perhaps because of all the candy I ate.
There was a lot to be happy about in the end- Lamar looked solid, almost getting a triple double. I thought Brian Cook looked great, he's really playing like a starter. Both Sasha and Smush had some great plays, and Sasha showed tremendous cool under pressure (talk about cliche). It's one thing for Kobe to make two free throws to avoid the automatic loss, but Sasha made it look easy in overtime.
Luke Walton also has me feeling more optimistic, he's been playing great, it was too bad he fouled out or maybe he would've been the one to step up instead of Sasha when Kobe had to leave as well.
Right now the Lakers' starting line (discarding injured outliers) according to +/- should be:
with Devin Green, Lamar Odom, and Devean George first off the bench. I can't find actual stats on this lineup because Lamar and Smush play so much that groups with them on the floor dominate the five-man floor units listings. But statistically constructed lineups never seem that great anyway (although they might make the stats on those five players return to normal, who knows).
Next up: KG and co at home, we need this (and every) win.
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