Two games on the road this week, and while it’s early in the season, so far this Laker team appears to love the home cooking at Staples. (Or, maybe they just like the home cooking at L.A. fav’s such as Roscoe’s or Mastro’s, since I doubt the players eat garlic fries on the third-floor balcony at Staples very often.)
So far this season, at Staples the Lakers are shooting 45.7%, on the road that number falls to 42.2%. They also seem to play more aggressive defense at home, as evidenced by the average of 7.8 steals per game at home and just 3.8 on the road. Offensively, more Lakers get involved at home — the team averages 21.6 assists per game at home and 15.7 on the road.
All that and more has led to a 6-2 record at home and a 2-4 record on the road for the Lakers.
Of course, they are far from the only team or players to have this problem. Remember Michael Redd, the Milwaukee All-Star that Kobe held to just six points in the Laker win (100-96) last week at Staples Center? He’s shooting 39.7% on the road but 54.3% at home. Tonight, the game is on Redd’s turf.
For the Lakers to get a win in the first game of a back-to-back, they are going to have to bring some of that home cooking with them and avoid eating the brats.