12.04.2008

Laker Nation Dialing it Back


I was reading one of today's links provided by the wonderful Florida Celts Fan, and I must say the Lakers' blogger offered a fairly balanced and even tempered preview of the purple-green tilt on Christmas Day. The blogger concluded by saying that the Lakers would give the Celtics a "run for their money."

While I'm still digging through a pile of other Laker-related jottings from the Left Coast, I think I've detected a change in mood among the Laker faithful. Gone is the "we're going 77-5" swagger that was present as recently as last week.

Present is a realization that the Lakers defense might not be as stifling as once thought. Present, too, is an understanding that the Lakers are still finding ways to struggle against the Eastern Conference.

Andrew Bynum is having an OK year, and so are the European three-point shooters. Nonetheless, Tinseltown seems to be dialing back the expectations ever so slightly.

It's a tough lesson to learn for a group whose favorite team breezed to three straight titles just a few years back. But the bottom line is that nothing really matters except how you play on game day.

And on that point, these Lakers are a bit of a crap shoot.

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