NBA Opening Night: Lakers Upend Clippers

Things didn’t go as planned for the Clippers on Tuesday.

After acquiring superstar point guard Chris Paul from the Hornets in the offseason last year, the Clippers finally made some progress in the 2012-13  season. Having long been relegated to second class citizen status in the Stales Center, they were a No. 4 seed in the West, while the Lakers barely limped into the playoffs.

Although the Grizzlies upset them 4-2, the expectations this year are sky high for the Clippers, who opened up their season against the Lakers last night. The only expectation for Kobe and company going into the game, and the season in general, was an awful lot of bad basketball on the horizon for this team in transition.

You’d have been hard pressed to find someone definitively leaning Lakers last night, but they surprised everyone, especially the Clippers, with a decisive 116-103 victory. With Bryant on the bench, still recovering from an Achilles injury he suffered in the playoffs, the purple and gold needed their role players to step up in a big way.

And that’s exactly what they did. The Lakers bench combined for an epic 76 points against the Clippers, the most club history since 1985. Jodie Meeks said the team is embracing the rule of the underdog, adding “What’s the worst that can happen? We lose and people say we’re no good?”

The Clippers know what that’s all about today. They had a 57-55 lead at halftime, which was extended to eight points in the third quarter before the Lakers began to takeover the game. Though there is room for improvement, particularly on defense and free throw shooting percentage, most seem to agree last night said more positive about the Lakers than negative about the Clippers.

In other words, it’s way too soon to panic in Clipper Land.