CHICAGO - With four key players aged at least 31, and with LeBron James being the oldest in the roster at 36, the Los Angeles Lakers are not a young team.
They aren't fast, either. Ranked only 16th among 30 teams in pace with just 100.5 possessions per 48 minutes.
But they own the best record in the league right now at 12-4.
Old and wise. And slow and steady wins the race.
Although not much of a Lake Show at Staples Center, where they log a sluggish 4-4 card, the Lakers are a formidable Road Show, unbeaten away from home at 8-0.
That murderous, rumbling express train passed through Milwaukee today and left a familiar trail of carnage in its wake. This time the victims were a herd of Bucks, who got disemboweled, 113-106, inside a crowd empty Fiserv Forum.
Surprise, surprise, LeBron James led the marching band to the tune of 34 points, six rebounds and eight assists, a masterpiece that he punctuated with a 6-for-10 fare from 3.
Anthony Davis had a relatively pedestrian 18 points and nine boards but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, playing even more loosely now after pocketing a three-year $40 million contract last November, picked up the slack with 23 points while a drifter from Clippers land, Montrezl Harrell, pinched in 12 off the bench.
As expected, Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee's resistance with 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting. But outside of Jrue Holiday's 22 and the 20 from Khris Middleton, the Greek Freak got little else in support.
"Ultimately, we've got to get better," said the reigning league MVP.
HEARD THAT STORY BEFORE. SEEN THE BAD MOVIE TWICE.
Correction: Heard that story many times already. And after seeing these Bucks finish the regular season atop the NBA standings the last two seasons and not even reach the conference finals, the tale is starting to get old and wearisome.
The Lakers, meanwhile, are rolling, chilling, and stomping like defending champions,
Next stop is the United Center on Sunday here in Chicago where I might just hop on this gleaming, shimmering purple-and-gold bandwagon.
I know, I know. The fence-hopping gymnastics will make me look like a fair-weather Bulls fan and a traitor to all things Warriors. But don't we all love winners?
The idea of permanently parking your affection to a team that has gone allergic to winning is silly. Walking away isn't being disloyal, it's merely a flight for happiness.
So If you're looking for a new team to velcro your loyalty to, try speed dating these Lakers. Even though they're Hollywood, I can't guarantee love at first sight but I promise that the relationship will end with another ring.
It will be the fifth for a King.
Here's why.
The Lakers are No. 1 in the NBA in defensive rating with a 104.7 score. And they are second in points per game allowed at 105.2
They are only 5th in offensive rating but they manufacture enough points per game - 115.1 - to hang with anyone and their 40 percent three-point shooting clip is third overall.
They grab 47.9 rebounds per and spit out 25.5 assists an outing. They are 10-deep, tried and tested in the crucible of the playoffs.
And here's what really takes the cake.
LeBron and A.D. are logging only 36.6 and 32.7 minutes a game. Their team's depth has allowed both stars more leg and elbow room for load management that will safeguard their health and freshness in the grueling postseason.
When James Harden bragged about "scary hours" when talking about Brooklyn's Big Three, I yawned. As shown by the 147 points they surrendered to the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday, the Nets don't play defense.
The Lakers have bite on both sides of the ball.
They are the real horror show.
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