| Warriors Better Than Lakers? Authored by Payam Jahromi - April 3, 2005 - 4:23 pm
The recent surge of the Golden State Warriors and the downfall of the Los Angeles Lakers broach an interesting question: Are the Warriors better than the Lakers?
Should the Warriors pass the Lakers next year, Warriors fans should not underestimate the symbolism and significance. We’re talking about a team who has missed the playoffs the past 11 years to, well, the Lakers. The big, bad, bully Lakers.
They are, along with the Boston Celtics, the most celebrated franchise in the NBA. They have won more championships than Warriors fans can even fathom. They are a Pacific division “rival,” although a true rivalry requires more than one team to win.
But things could be changing. The Warriors are 11-7 with Baron Davis. In the Lakers’ last 18 games, they are 5-13 and have lost any hope for the Western Conference's final playoff spot.
Maybe next year, when the Lakers come to town, Warriors fans can “expect” their team to beat L.A. And maybe the Warrior faithful will clearly out-number and out-cheer the Lakers fans. In recent years the Oakland Arena has been Staples Center II.
Everybody knows the Lake Show has struggled this season without Shaq and with injuries to several key players including Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom, but can the Warriors be better than the Lakers next season?
Why not.
The Lakers may have Kobe Bryant, easily one of the top five players in the league. But the Warriors have better camaraderie, they seem to have a better “team” and they’re playing better right now.
Davis, Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, Mickael Pietrus, Zarko Cabarkapa and Andris Biedrins are all young and getting better. In contrast, the Lakers don’t seem to mesh well together.
Odom played his best basketball with Kobe injured, and Chucky Atkins recently criticized Bryant, calling him the GM of the Lakers. Combine that with the fact that Shaq has basically turned Miami into the best team in the league, it is not the best of times in Lakerland.
Warriors fans shouldn’t and don’t feel the least bit sorry for them.
Optimistically, the Warriors have a shot of surpassing both the Lakers and Clippers next season. And let’s not forget the Warriors were 3-1 against the other California team, the Sacramento Kings.
I’m not suggesting the Warriors will pass the Kings too, but they proved they won’t be a doormat to them either. I also get the feeling Sacramento is going in the wrong direction.
These are exciting times – at least as exciting as possible for a team 18 games under .500. But it would be a very abnormal feeling next season if Warriors fans can look the Lakers in the eye, beat them and finish ahead in the standings.
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