Los Angeles Lakers' Road Trip Gets Off on the Wrong Foot

Lao Tse, an ancient Chinese philosopher, once wrote that a journey of a thousand li begins with the first step.

Tonight, for the Lakers, that first step was in the wrong direction.

Okay, so the Lakers still have the best record in the NBA by .012, but the Cavaliers hold home court advantage after the Lakers' loss in Cleveland 93-87.

The Lakers led most of the way but lost the game and their home court advantage in the playoffs at the free throw line, making only 15-of-24.

Tonight, Kobe Bryant joined the notable 25,000-point club but would need a 40-plus night to account for his teammates’ lack of output.

He wouldn’t get it.

Bryant could only manage 31 points on rather poor 12-of-31 shooting and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Despite Bryant’s milestone, it was LeBron James who was the star of the game with 37 points and nine assists.

Is this a cause for concern?  

The answer was clearly in the look on Phil Jackson’s face when the Lakers finally gave up the lead they had held from the outset through the midway point of the third quarter.

Although the Lakers bench outscored the Cavs bench by a single point (22-21), Jackson was not pleased by their overall ineffectiveness.  

Shannon Brown, who had a tremendous game against the Magic on Monday, dropped off tonight with just five points on 1-of-6 shooting.

Jordan Farmar was slightly more effective with five points on 2-of-4 shooting. But both guards failed to stop the bleeding on the defensive end.

The same is true of Ron Artest, who could do nothing to prevent LeBron James from taking over the game and willing the Cavs to a regular-season sweep of the Lakers.

The Cavs won the other matchup on Christmas Day at Staples Center by 15 points. The Lakers can take little solace in the fact that their effort tonight was somewhat more respectable.

Respectability won’t get the job done—only stepping up will. Jackson knows this and was noticeably disappointed that his big men (Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum) didn’t get the job done.

Gasol just couldn’t seem to find the basket, scoring 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting and missing half of his free throws (3-of-6). Bynum managed only seven points and was in foul trouble most of the game.

While it may not be time to chant a funeral dirge, I wouldn’t dust off a spot at Staples Center for another championship trophy either.

The Cavaliers now have a clear road to the best record in the NBA with the bulk of their games at home. The Lakers, on the other hand, need to become road warriors in order to remain on top.

This was definitely not a good way for the Lakers to begin their eight-game road swing. By not evening their series with the Cavaliers, the Lakers have not only handed them home-court advantage but a huge psychological one as well.

And when push comes to shove and guys need to step up, the latter will prove to be a much greater obstacle than the former.