Los Angeles Lakers: Best in the West

Last night, the Los Angeles Lakers came into San Antonio and authoritatively bulldozed the San Antonio Spurs 99-83. Kobe Bryant had another regular day at the office dropping 26 points along with Pau Gasol's 21, but the big equalizer in this equation was a healthy Andrew Bynum, who transformed into Sabretooth, tore the Spurs to shreds with 17 rebounds despite 4 points. I know the last part was a stretch, but when Bynum is at perfect health, the Lakers are the most dangerous frontcourt in the league with their 3 giants (Gasol, Odom, Bynum) who are a headache for anyone. Now the Lakers have won seven straight games since the All-Star Break, which is what I have been claiming even before the season started. I have constantly stated that the Lakers will turn up the heat after the All-Star break, so this is no surprise to me at all. On the other hand, San Antonio surprised me, in a very tricky way, because not only is this the team with the best record in the league (51-12) with a 22-game winning streak, but the same team that butchered The Miami Heat (125-95). However, the same Lakers who had extended losing streaks without Bynum slaughtered these same Spurs 34-13 in the first quarter and decimated them in blocked shots (4-0). Los Angeles looked nearly flawless in first half scoring opportunities by converting 10-12, and wiping the paint with the Spurs with 12 of 21 chances inside. This game was nothing but a torture as the Lakers' largest lead was by 32, when San Antonio's best lead was by only 2 points. Ironically, Ron Artest was the peacemaker during the game when Kobe and Manu Ginobili got into an argument that would have given Kobe another technical which would have led to a suspension. This was another classic shootout in the old West, but the Lakers came into town with the biggest guns and wiped the Spurs out. Just when everyone wanted to count the champs out because of their lackluster play previously, now they are showing everyone why they are truly the best in the Wild West.