Los Angeles Presents Sad Display on Christmas Day

An unexpected thing happened on Christmas Day – the Cleveland Cavaliers waltzed into the Staples Center and whalloped the defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, 102-87. And while a 15-point final margin of victory sounds pretty convincing, the separation between these two teams was much greater than that yesterday.

Here are some of the ways that L.A. dropped the ball on Friday:

Overall Poor Performance: The Lakers just stunk on both sides of the ball. It was almost like they had eaten their Christmas dinner before the game. The Lake Show shot a measly 36% from the floor, including 27% (5-18) from the three-point line. They didn’t look any sharper defensively, allowing the Cavs to shoot 54% (39% from three).

Kobe Bryant: The box score indicates that he put up 35 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. But the manner in which he scored these points was forced and frustrated. Kobe shot 11-32 on his field goals, and was frustrated all night. His display on Friday proves that he expects the superstar treatment, and can be rattled when he doesn’t receive what he thinks he deserves. After leaving Cavs guard Anthony Parker in the dust on a couple of quick moves, Parker didn’t stop playing. Parker cleanly blocked Bryant twice from behind, and Kobe was very demonstrative toward the refs. His displeasure ultimately disrupted his team’s flow, turning the Lakers into an inefficient mess. At this point in his career, Kobe has to be mature enough to realize that his attitude will become that of his teammates.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers shot over 54% from the field on Christmas Day.

Supporting Cast: It’s a lot easier to play unselfishly when you have the lead and your emotions are under control. Neither of those was the case for the Lakers on Christmas Day. So, as a result, L.A. got limited contributions from its role players. Only two other Lakers scored ion double figures – Ron Artest, 13, and Pau Gasol, 11. Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom combined for 10 points.

Lakers Losing Their Cool: From the opening minutes of the game, the Lakers felt that the game was being called in Cleveland’s favor. But they were way off on their assertions. Throughout the game, they continually battled an invisible opponent – with a chip on their shoulders for no real reason. In total, the Lakers ended with 4 technical fouls and an ejected Lamar Odom. Lakers veteran Derek Fisher showed horrible restraint late in the game. After Mo Williams (8-13 FG, 28 points, 7 assists) totally destroyed the L.A. guard, Fisher was visibly irritated by the game’s pending outcome. Late in the fourth quarter – in an incident that should be reviewed by the league – Derek intentionally bumped Williams. It was a hard, blatant push that was very unfitting for a professional like Fisher.

Los Angeles Fans: As uncool as the Laker players were, the fans one-upped them during the Christmas day competition. In the final quarter, the Lakers picked up a couple of technical fouls – including the ejection of Odom. When this happened, it started raining signs, paper, and all sort of debris. In supporting fashion, the L.A. faithful was following the attitude and demeanor of their defending champion team. A classy move would have been for head coach Phil Jackson to demand the microphone and calm the restless natives. But that didn’t happen. Nevertheless, the fans should have exhibited a little more class for a regular season game that was televised nationally on the biggest holiday of the year.

Big Win for the Cavs: The Cavs showed great maturity and grace in the decisive victory. The cohesiveness of their unit was spectacular amidst the testy atmosphere in the city of angels. Toward the end of the game, reigning NBA MVP LeBron James showed leadership by gathering his teammates and keeping them focused on the big picture. Any road win is a good one. However, a road win against the team with the best record in the NBA in a game that everybody saw after eating their Christmas dinner…

That’s definitely priceless.