Lake Show

"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times."
--Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

I could think of nothing better to describe the Lakers' fortunes after the first two days of the regular season. Wow, did they look good on Tuesday night, dismantling a Nuggets team many said would finish higher in the Western Conference standings, getting outstanding games from Caron Butler and Chris Mihm, and showing great team defense. And wow, did they look awful last night, getting blown out at Utah, shooting LESS THAN 30% FROM THE FLOOR. Ouch.
I knew that this season would test my mettle as a Laker fan, give me some challenges, but this was unbelievably quick to go from so good to so bad. Mihm crashed back to reality with a 6-point, 5-rebound performance, and Kobe had to score almost half of the team's points (38 of 78). That's not going to be a good trend. The best 23-year-old pair of forwards in the league (I really can't think of a better young pairing) went 27 and 11 (Carlos Boozer) and 16, 6 and 8 blocks (Andrei Kirilenko). Butler and Odom were no match.
Tomorrow night brings the Spurs to town--more than a little worried about that one, for sure. They beat the 0-2 Kings last night behind 30 and 14 from Duncan, 24 from Ginobili and 16 off the bench from Brent Barry. Peja and C-Webb battled for leadership of the team by shooting 5-14 and 7-22, respectively. That's a combined 33% from your two superstars. Not gonna get it done.
I know I've only blogged politically once on this thing, but here's my quick thought in the aftermath of W's re-election. I voted for Bush, not because of his stance on specific issues, but because he's a leader. He's been true to himself--love him or hate him--since he came onto the national scene more than four years ago. He stands firm (some might call it stubbornness) and doesn't hide who he is at all. Kerry, on the other hand, has just rubbed me the wrong way every time I hear him talking. The baseball stuff--pretending to be a Red Sox fan and all that--just pushed it over the edge for me. He seems to have tried way too hard to be someone he's not, flexing and bending his views and opinions depending on who's listening. I can't stand that. It's the same way Gore seemed to be working way too hard to change his public image. I heard a guy on television last night say that how you vote (in the Senate) and what you actually do in office reflects who you are and what you truly believe; what you say in speeches reflects what you want people to think you are. It's not a healthy pattern to get into. On the flip side, I want my leader to be the guy on the mound before the World Series at Yankee Stadium, firing a strike in front of 60,000 fans (circa 2001). Watching "Nine Innings From Ground Zero" and seeing that moment re-created was awe-inspiring. That's my leader.
Real quick NBA thoughts before I go: Way to go, Grant Hill, Stevie Franchise and Orlando. Big buzzer-beating win for what is pretty much a brand-new team down there. Francis' dotted-line dunk down the middle on some poor soul was sick. The other sweet dunk of the night came from my boy Chris Andersen, a.k.a. "The Birdman." Got to hang out with him at Magic Johnson's charity all-star game a few months ago, and he was hilarious. Very strange, but definitely hilarious. He went baseline and mashed on Shawn Bradley, which is no small feat. LeBron v. Pacers in double ot is just a portent of things to come from this year's MVP (no joke). He'll have them in the playoffs, probably in the top half of the seedings, despite the loss of Boozer in the off-season. I know I mentioned the Kings 0-2 start, but I just wanted to bring it up again for full enjoyment. Let it breathe a little bit, you know. I still hate them. Out.