Lakers Have ‘Perfect Start’ To Season, Despite Close Win Over Rockets

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated a Houston Rockets team that missed the playoffs last year by just two points in their season opener. They trailed most of the game, and needed a late rally fueled by hot shooting from their bench and a big three-pointer by Steve Blake to win.

And yet, if you ask C.A. Clark of SB Nation’s Lakers blog Silver Screen and Roll, the Lakers’ first-game performance was as good as it gets.

If the upcoming Los Angeles Lakers season was a fairy tale (and there’s a very decent chance that it will be), this is exactly the way you’d want it to start. Last night’s 112-110 victory over the Houston Rockets had everything you could want in an opening chapter. It started with a ring ceremony so touching, Cheryl Miller had trouble with her first sideline report because she was choked up. It continued with the expected sloppiness from a home side still dealing with the emotions of winning another championship. And it finalized with an inevitable run, and the necessary drama to hook you in for another 82-game season.

You’d rather the Lakers provide a dominant performance from start to finish? No thanks, I’m glad to know that the Lakers still have that calm about them, still know that there’s no need to panic despite a double-digit deficit staring them in the face.

As C.A. Clark writes, the starters didn’t always play well, but the team still found a way to win. When that happened last year, the Lakers usually lost. It’s encouraging to know that things may be different this season.