Well, well, well… that was a spectacular stretch in Laker history. Let’s see. The Lakers return from their road trip 35 and 17. They went 7 and 2 and are now 3rd in the Western Conference. They’re 2nd in the Hollinger Power Rankings, 2nd in Hollinger’s Offensive Efficiency category and 8th in Defensive Efficiency. They set a record for success on the longest continuous road trip in NBA history and could have (should have even) won all 9 games. You can’t argue with the numbers. That was an amazing 2 weeks.
And now for the good stuff… It turns out that the Laker brain trust actually knew what it was doing all along. Mitch Kupchack, in his greatest Houdini moment, waved his magic wand and turned Kwame Brown into Pau Gasol. Wow! Aren’t you glad we didn’t trade Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd, or Bynum and Odom for Jermaine O’Neill, or even Bynum and Odom for Kevin Garnett. The Lakers are a better team today than they would have been had Kevin McHale pulled the trigger on the proposed draft day deal for KG.
It was a remarkable feat acquiring an All Star to complement Kobe Bryant without having to give up either Odom or Bynum. And that’s the difference between the Lakers and the Celtics. The Celtics had to give up Al Jefferson to get Garnett,. Mitch Kupchack worked his magic without giving up Andrew Bynum. You might arguably take the C’s big three over the Lakers’ Kobe, Gasol, and Odom. But you certainly wouldn’t take Kendrick Perkins over Bynum. Plus the Lakers’ core is much younger than the Celtics and the bench is deeper.
Of course, the real story is the sheer joy in having this discussion at all. Whether by fate, skill, or conspiracy, the manifest destiny of the Lakers / Celtics rivalry is restored and I, for one, couldn’t be happier. Well done Mitch!!!
