Are L.A. Lakers Back on Track?

Last night I was watching a basketball game on TV.  There haven't been too many lately that have attracted my interest, but this one was special: the Los Angeles Lakers were hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder...and were slightly ahead early in the fourth quarter.  The Lakers were supposed to be the team to beat in the NBA this year after they acquired Steve Nash and Dwight Howard.  But instead, they floundered and now find themselves on the outside of a playoff spot, several games under .500 with the regular season just past halfway over.  The problem with this team that has such a star lineup as the previous two, along with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Metta World Peace, has yet to figure out a way to work effectively together.  I know that the Miami Heat faced a similar situation a couple of years ago when they acquired LeBron James and Chris Bosh, but at least they were generally winning their games.  The Lakers have looked comparatively weaker.  But very recently, it has begun to look as if they are beginning to get their "mojo" back.  This game against the Thunder, which has the best record in the NBA, showed a different LA team: everyone playing in harmony!  I was stunned by their lead, and wondered whether they could hold it until the end of the game.

I happened to encounter this game while running on a treadmill (which sports a built-in television) at my workout gym.  I sometimes play a little game of my own and tell myself I'll keep running until a specific thing happens on a show I'm watching (usually its ending). So I vowed to stay on the treadmill until this game was over, although I had originally only intended to run a couple of miles.  Instead, when the shocking final score of "Lakers 105, Thunder 96" was flashed on the screen, I had covered four miles.  Thanks for the inspiration, team!

I used to despise the Lakers because one of their players, Andrew Bynum, displayed thuggish behavior during the playoffs a couple of years ago against a Dallas Mavericks player.  He's gone, and they still have a problematic member in World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, a player with a long trail of behavior problems.  Still, he seems to fit well with the others and I do think that Nash and Bryant are incredible players.  So I'm rooting for them now.  We'll just have to see how lasting this resurgence truly is.  They already just made a huge statement by beating the Thunder!