Up, Up, and ...

New Orleans, LA

The Lakers are back on track. After a disappointing start to their four game road trip, headway is made. Tuesday night brought back flashes of the Lakers team that began the season 7-0, after beating the Hornets 100-87. Los Angeles lost consecutive games for the first time this season to Miami and Orlando. The Florida Fiasco was the last thing the team wanted to see. It might have been one of the best things to happen to them. The Lakers have been playing poorly, by LA standards, as of late. 

Defense has been an after statement and the shots haven't fallen. Sunday night, after the Magic loss, the Lakers had a closed door players only meeting. These meetings are often highly publicized because the attention the media brings to them. Fans and networks alike are often times clamoring for an inside word on what went down in the inner sanctum of a team. Derek Fisher earlier this year called a players only, after a loss to Sacramento. This time it seemed much more necessary. The Lakers have given up 100 + to 8 of their last 12 opponents. Also consistency remains  to be a problem, as does free throw shooting. Los Angeles has fallen to 75% from the charity stripe. That's middle of the pack in the NBA, not good enough for a championship caliber team. 

I could bore you with all the details of tonight's win. Lakers lead most of the way, Bynum plays well with early foul trouble, CP3 gets a steal on opening play for NBA record 108th straight, LA defense comes back, trap help, PJ time-out - tells players to fight through screens, NO late rally from beyond the arc, Kobe clutch 4th, etc. Or, I could give you your holiday wishes early. A preview of your highly anticipated Christmas Day matchup with the highly hated Celtics of Boston. It is the season of giving, so I'll give you the latter. Bynum did look good though.

Stay tuned...