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February 8th - LA Lakers (40-9) at Cleveland Cavaliers (39-9)
Wow... I thought that there was a bit of hype before the Boston/LA game, but nothing approaching this. LA come into the Quicken Loans Arena on the back of a one point victory over Boston. But other than the Cavs, no-one's won at the Q this year. No-one. Can LA finish the road trip on a positive note?
Well, before that... let's talk to someone from the opposite end of the scorer's table: Carolyn from And One - Cleveland Cavaliers (at Cleveland.com)...
Behind Enemy Lines: The Cavaliers
With Malice (Don): Many critics (I have to admit, myself included at times) write the Cavaliers off as being LeBron James and scrubs. Why isn't this true?
 And One Cleveland (Carolyn): Ah, the conundrum - how to disprove a negative? If we can agree that ‘a scrub is a guy that thinks he's fly and is also known as a buster,' and that people tend to emulate the attributes of the people surrounding them, the answer becomes clear. Cranberries, green beans and potatoes are ordinary; add a flightless bird and you have Thanksgiving dinner. Eggs and butter and flour make a cake; add candles and you have a birthday. Guards and forwards and a coach make up a team; add LeBron and you have a championship.
If the ingredients are fresh and the oven is hot, it's all good. You may have to replace the wilted arugula once in a while.
In other words, a deep bench, multiple perimeter shooters, selfless players who care for each other, a coach who empowers his assistants and an adoring city have de-scrubbed the Cavs.
"The notion that LeBron James did not want to score 62 points, that he did not want to break Kobe Bryant's 48-hour visiting-player scoring record at the new Madison Square Garden, is utterly, patently and absurdly false."
What do you think - did LeBron set out to score 62?
AOC: I believe every time LeBron picks up a basketball, he is out to break all known records. On the other hand, I don't believe any single record is more important to LB than a win. And 62 points for any one player flies in the face of Mike Brown's philosophy of selfless play.
As for Mr. Sheridan, I don't mind him speculating on the meaning behind LeBron's actions and facial expressions ...
"... he wanted it [the record] from the get-go. You could see it in the way he started going off early in the first quarter ... (And One note: Right, because we've never seen LeBron have an exceptional first quarter before ...)
... the record was clearly out of reach as this game entered the final minute, and James knew it. He glanced over at three of his friends sitting courtside and shook his head with a hint of disgust .."
but why does he have to go here:
"He'll get the 62, and then we can start looking ahead to 2010-11, when the big question might be whether he'll eclipse Bernard King's record for most points by a Knick. For that, he'll need only 61."
That's just plain mean.
WM: So... you tell me which was better:
Kobe Bryant's Ankle Insurance or LeBron's DNA?
AOC: Hard to think of anything that outperforms LeBron's DNA, especially with its promise of a subsequent generation.
WM: Lastly, what does LA have to do to be the first team this season to win at the Q?
AOC: Don Cavs uniforms and try to blend in.
*****
 Sheesh Carolyn, put on Cavs colours? That's harsh. Well, anyway...
Kobe vs LeBron.2 Cleveland have been amazing at the Q. And although I've been critical of the perceived lack of depth of the Cavs, LeBron has them believing in themselves. And it's amazing what a little belief can do. What can it do? Cleveland sit atop a crowded upper Eastern Conference, a game clear of Boston. And whilst LeBron James is clearly the reason they're there, he gets ample support from a much-derided cast - altho' Mo Williams has to be feeling pretty gypped by not getting selected to play in the All Star game.
LA have really turned on the afterburners during this roadtrip. Minnesota, Memphis, New York, Toronto and Boston have fallen in order this trip. Yes, the first 3 were not particularly impressive - but immediately after losing Andrew Bynum, a win's a win. New York, New York... Kobe Bryant put on a performance - one for the ages. Bernard King's record of 61 fell to #24 that night. He scored 62 points in 36 minutes, much of the time serenaded by the partisan New York crowd with chants of "MVP! MVP!".
Not to be out-done, the team came into Boston, and against all odds, won. No Bynum, but Pau Gasol et al put a less-than-average performance from Kobe behind the team, and got the job done - winning 110-109.
LeBron James had his own ideas of "not being out-done" by Kobe too. He went into the Garden with focus - and whilst he didn't break Bryant's new record, he did get an amazing triple double of 52 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. That was, until the NBA deemed that LeBron's 9th rebound was actually tipped to him by Ben Wallace, and thus not his, but Wallace's. Whilst the historical significance impacted, it doesn't really detract from a performance that was - in it's own way - just as impressive (many would argue more so) as Kobe  Bryant's.
Definitely, both have something to prove coming into Sunday afternoon. But it goes beyond that: both teams have something to prove.
LA can win, but to do that they'll have to limit what LeBron does, that's for sure. Gasol & Odom are going to have to bring the physicality that they brought against Boston. Everyone will.
And no winners at the Q? Well, there's a first time for everything. LA can leave the Q just as jubilant as they left Boston.
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