Rings, Banner, Then Business For Lakers Tonight

The players will get their rings, the banner will go up, but the Lakers better not forget about the game.

By KURT HELIN

Updated 10:30 AM PST, Tue, Oct 27, 2009

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For just one more night, Lakers fans want to revel in last year’s championship run. They want to watch the highlight of Derek Fisher’s key game four threes one more time, watch their heroes get their rings, and see another championship banner unfurled at Staples Center.

The fans can live in the past, the team had better not — their first game starts as soon as the ceremony ends.

The Lakers open defense of their NBA title tonight, starting by hosting the cross-arena Clippers. All the pomp and circumstance starts at 7 p.m., but the long grind starts at 7:30 when the game tips off.

And the Lakers will start their run to a repeat minus a key piece — Pau Gasol is doubtful for tonight’s game due to a lingering hamstring injury. It is not serious, but the Lakers are being cautions and patient with this injury because they know the key to repeating is staying healthy, and with games stretching out into May and June, it is better to rest and be ready now.

For all the remembering the past tonight, the Lakers that take the floor for the game will be a different team than the one that one the title last year.

The reason: Ron Artest. He makes the Lakers different because he is, well, different. The night before his first Lakers game he was on Twitter sending out pictures of having the Lakers logo carved into his hair. On Sunday he arranged for free milkshakes for his Twitter followers and an overflow crowd showed up. He connects to the fans through social media in a way unlike anyone else in a button-down Lakers locker room.

Artest can also play ball. He is a strong defender that can slow down guys like LeBron James. He is a good three-point shooter. His physical strength makes him hard to stop close to the basket. He has shown himself to be an impressive passer and playmaker in the preseason.

He is not the high-flyer that Trevor Ariza (now with Houston) was, but he is a better player right now. Combine that with a healthy and explosive Andrew Bynum ready for this year, and you have a Lakers team that will be a little more deliberate on offense, but maybe better than last year.

The rest of the Lakers roster — led by Kobe Bryant — is basically the same as the one that won the title. Just a little more mature. They are the NBA title favorites; they may get to hang another banner at Staples next year.

But there is a long road until then. And if the Lakers start that journey reveling in the past tonight, they could start off on the wrong foot.

Kurt Helin lives in Los Angeles where he is runs the NBA/Lakers blog Forum Blue & Gold (which you can also follow in twitter).