Maybe I was wrong about D’Antoni?

The Los Angeles Tankers? Think again.

Mike D’Antoni deserves credit for the Lakers start to the season after a season of criticism. By Chamber of Fear, via Wikimedia Commons

The Purple and Gold are 9-8 after 17 games without Kobe Bryant. Their record is something that nobody around the NBA expected, except for maybe the Lakers themselves. A team that was constructed with mainly one-year minimum salary contracts is winning and even when they lose they are interesting. For Lakers fans, this is a pretty awesome sight considering all the frustration from last season. It may only be one game over .500 right now but that’s a huge accomplishment for this team.

Coming into the season, the Lakers were expected to be a sub .500 team. After losing Dwight Howard, the Lakers were supposed to drop even farther in the standings. So far this season, though, this team has showed fight and determination. Players like Wesley Johnson, Jordan Farmar, Chris Kaman, and Shawne Williams made the Lakers certainly younger, longer, and more athletic than they were last season and it’s easy to see the improvement.

As much as everyone, including myself, criticized Mike D’Antoni last season we have to give him some credit. He has taken a team of career bench players and made them relevant every time they step out onto the floor.

So far this season, the Lakers have fought and grinded for wins, including victories over the Clippers, Rockets and Warriors. This team really seems to like one another and they are fun to watch. They play with hustle, heart and without fear or expectations, which is why they are having success. Fans can enjoy watching this team play and that is what makes it fun. I expect this trend to continue for the Lakers especially once Kobe comes back and look for them to make a run at making the playoffs in the tough Western Conference.