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I wrote last week that the Lakers could go another month without a loss. Since then, they’ve beaten Sacramento, Toronto and Portland. After last night’s “top-to-bottom shellacking” of the best of that group, Myles Brown tweeted, “It is entirely possible that the Lakers won’t lose a game before Christmas.” And in Matt Moore’s recap over at PBT, he wrote, “The Lakers are the best team in the league and it’s not even close.”

This early-season dominance should be a bit surprising. There’s no questioning their talent or their ability to defeat any given team come playoff time, but there were several good reasons to predict a slow start and an up-and-down regular season for the defending champs: Kobe’s playing hurt and he’s got another long season of wear and tear on his body. Bynum’s out, so the young Derrick Caracter and the old Theo Ratliff are in the rotation. And L.A. has earned a reputation as a team that has wavering levels of regular season effort and intensity.
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Luis M. Alvarez / AP Photo

There were seven games on the schedule last night, but the Knicks and Magic didn’t play because Madison Square Garden is not safe. I’ll start with the one game that came down to the wire:

The Wizards beat the Sixers 116-115 in overtime. It wouldn’t have made it to overtime if not for Cartier Martin (representing the D-League) tying the game with a last-second three-pointer that could easily have been an and-one. John Wall could not have been introduced better in the Wizards’ home opener and proceeded to put up a monster line: 29 points (on 16 shots), 13 assists, a franchise record-tying 9 steals, and, gulp, 8 turnovers. Since there are always fun numbers in overtime games, check out some other stats: Lou Williams started 0-8 but finished with 30 points on 16 shots (15-17 FT!), Elton Brand had a super-efficient 21 and 9, and Jrue Holiday had 14 points and 13 assists. I wanted a second overtime, but I was happy that Wizards fans got this win and EXTREMELY happy for Mr. Martin.
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Hey, check it out – a new feature! This is the debut of Basketball for Breakfast, my stab at a daily recap. I know, I know, there is already a wealth of excellent recaps in the NBA blogosphere. I read them all and that won’t change. This isn’t an attempt to compete with anyone; I’m simply trying to add something of my own. I’ll do my best to keep it fun and unique. Continue Reading