A Golden Opportunity Squandered Against Houston?

Despite trialing by double figures late in the fourth quarter, and playing without Lamar Odom, the Lakers pushed one of the Western Conference’s top-tier teams to the limit before falling by just two points. Whether it was the fumbled rebound between Luke Walton and Kwame Brown that bounced into the basket or Kobe Bryant’s eight missed free throws (his 9^th miss was intentional), the Lakers’ miscues cost them the opportunity to start the season off on the right note.

This issue is doubly important when the team’s early season schedule is taken into account. Starting tomorrow night in Phoenix, the Lakers will play seven games in the next two weeks, only one of which (11/9 vs. Minnesota) they really should win easily, and another (11/6 vs. New Orleans) that should be very hotly contested. The remaining five games over this stretch are against the NBA’s best: 11/2 @ Phoenix, 11/4 vs. Utah, 11/13 @ San Antonio, 11/14 @ Houston, 11/16 vs. Detroit.

Consider that if the Lakers cash in their home games against the Timberwolves and the Hornets, they’ll still need to beat two legitimate contenders just to be at .500 through eight games- that illustrates the enormous difference between 0-1 and 1-0. Granted the schedule has not done the Lakers any favors, but this team is not good enough to squander opportunities against good teams.