LeBron vs. Kobe on Christmas Day – Cavaliers at Lakers

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The Week That Was: Cavaliers

With a game still to come (at press time) on Dec. 23 at Sacramento, the Cavs have injected a mixture of disappointment and encouragement into their outlook.

The disappointment stems from a pair of weak performances. The first uninspiring episode came in an ugly 85-82 win over Milwaukee on Dec. 18. The nagging propensity to play down to the level of inferior teams did not leave Cleveland’s bloodstream, even in victory. Two days later, the Cavs failed to beat a Dallas Mavericks team that was playing without superstar big man Dirk Nowitzki.

Despite a huge advantage due to the absence of the prolific point-scoring German, the Cavs were handcuffed in a 102-95 defeat on Dec. 20. Subpar performances finally caught up with this club, and entering Phoenix on Dec. 21, something had to change.

In the fourth quarter, something did: Cleveland found encouragement from a junkyard-dog mentality at the defensive end.

The Cavs held the high-octane Suns without a field goal for over six minutes in the final stanza. The display of lock-down defence carried LeBron James and Co. to a 109-91 triumph, the first road win for any Phoenix opponent this season.

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The Week That Was: Lakers

After playing 16 of their first 20 games at home, the defending world champions finally took to the road for an extended spell, and it’s clear that they didn’t lose their fight or their focus over the past week. Coach Phil Jackson is displeased with his bench, but the Lakers’ starters are carrying the load at this point in the season, and it’s more than enough to win games despite ridiculously short turnarounds between games.

The Lakers slogged through wins over New Jersey (103-84) on Dec. 19, and then returned home for a gritty 111-108 triumph over Oklahoma City in L.A. on Dec. 22, but it was the middle game in the Lake Show’s three-game sequence that really deserves some attention and praise.

After winning in New Jersey, the Lakers got on their chartered plane and landed in Detroit just 15 hours before an early-evening tipoff on Sunday, Dec. 20. After a quick sleep and one pregame meal, the reigning champs shrugged off their lack of rest and popped the homestanding Pistons, 93-81. This is a team that isn’t slacking off, and that’s bad news for the rest of the NBA.

Outlook & Pick

Cleveland had one strong performance at Phoenix, but the Lakers have been a far more consistent team this season. Moreover, the Lakers – despite being the reigning titleholders – are currently a hungrier club than the Cavs. That’s surprising when one considers the painful way in which Cleveland lost in the 2009 NBA Playoffs, but it’s impossible to deny. Cleveland is largely coasting and waiting for the playoffs to start. L.A., on the other hand, is intent on re-establishing home-court advantage when the playoffs arrive. Advantage, Lakers.

Pick: Lakers