Boasting the NBA’s best winning percentage to this point in the season (87.5 percent), the Lakers are the only team in the Western Conference that doesn’t have at least three losses. In fact, only one team - the Phoenix Suns - has three losses, while Houston, Utah, Portland, Denver and New Orleans have all lost four times.
Sure, it’s early, but I thought it prudent to take an early-season look at the Lakers’ Division:
Pacific Division Standings
(Record, PCT., GB)
L.A. Lakers (7-1, .875)
Phoenix (7-3, .700, 1)
Sacramento (4-6, .400, 4)
Golden State (4-6, .400, 4)
L.A. Clippers (1-8, .111, 6 ½)
LAKERS: L.A.’s 7-1 mark is not misleading, and it’s no stretch to say the opening stanza for the purple and gold has been the league’s most impressive. The Lakers have won three road games in hostile environments (Denver, Dallas and New Orleans) and destroyed Portland, the Clippers and Houston at home. I don’t think anyone’s too worried about Friday’s home loss to Detroit, though it does let the Lakers know that their talent isn’t great enough to overcome any deficit at any time, as it had seemed in the first seven wins. There aren’t even any glaring areas of weakness that standout on this team, because “being susceptible to good perimeter shooting” isn’t too plausible.
SUNS: Phoenix’s 7-3 mark, however, is slightly misleading. The Suns have won only one game against a team with a record over .500 (Portland), and lost to the Hornets and Rockets (both of whom L.A. beat) as well as the Chicago Bulls. Shaquille O’Neal has been fantastic in some games (27 and 11 at Milwaukee, 29 and 13 with six assists at Sacramento) but has sat out others. Steve Nash served a one-game suspension after a mini-brawl with Houston, but the question with Nash is if he can last 82 games plus the playoffs in peak condition. Did anyone else see him struggle immensely with San Antonio in the first round last season? Yet and still, Phoenix is too talented to dismiss by any means.
KINGS: A young squad that really seems to play hard for head coach Reggie Theus, the Kings have managed to win four-of-six games despite being without best player Kevin Martin and former All-Star Brad Miller at times. Both second-year center Spencer Hawes and rookie Jason Thompson have looked very good for the Kings, however, which makes Sacramento a better team than it looks on paper. Yet and still, I’m not sure anyone’s considering the Kings a threat to make any real noise this season. Their four wins are over Memphis, Minnesota, Golden State and the Clippers.
WARRIORS: A strange mix of players and a strange rotation from head coach Don Nelson has produced four wins against Minnesota (OT), Denver, New Jersey and the Clippers, though the Warriors have already lost twice to the lowly Memphis Grizzlies. Stephen Jackson and Andris Biedrins have been very good through 10 games, but the rest of the roster is a mess: Corey Maggette’s missed four games, Monta Ellis won’t play for a while, Al Harrington is demanding a trade and missed five straight games, and guys like Brandan Wright, Anthony Randolph, Anthony Morrow and C.J. Watson could play anywhere from zero to 45 minutes a night. They have some talent when fully healthy, but it’s tough to picture them coming anywhere near a playoff victory, let alone getting to the postseason.
CLIPPERS: You can’t really blame the Clippers for losing their first six games, not with their roster in such disarray with Baron Davis and Marcus Camby missing time when the schedule delivered the Lakers and Jazz twice each, and Houston and Denver once each. The Clippers responded with a win over Dallas, but then lost consecutive games against Sacramento and Golden State. Hhhmmm. Those two losses worry me much more than the first six, particularly because the Clippers had everyone playing. Prior to the season, Baron Davis said that if the team can simply hang in there while the talent figures out how to mesh together, the Clips can make a second-half run to get into the playoffs. I bought in after seeing their first unit look, at times, impressive against the Lakers, but my skepticism is growing…
