Kobe and the boys hit the floor at STAPLES tonight against the 76ers (7:30pm, FSN HD) to start a seven game stretch with some very winnable games.
As Phil Jackson mentioned after practice yesterday, there are no easy games in this league and the Lakers have been known to drop a couple to teams they should beat.
“We last year notoriously were not effective against teams under .500,” (Jackson) said. “I don’t like to look at things that way right now. I’m trying to keep these young players on an even keel so that they play hard every game.”
The players didn’t seem to want to peer too far into the future either.
“We’ve had a tough schedule this first quarter of the season or whatever it was,” Kobe Bryant said. “We’ve had some heavy hitters. The important thing for us is to really focus on one game and try to build energy for the team every single game.”
The old saying “Some of the best trades are the ones you don’t make” always sounds great when things work out (I guess you never hear it when things don’t), so far this one has worked out and the best trade was the one that wasn’t made.
The early season success has lightened the load minutes wise on the Lakers. Something that should help down the stretch and into the playoffs.
And Kobe’s keeping the sleeve, not because he needs it, but because he likes it.
