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The Lakers 5-0 start has been a mixture of good starter and bench play. There are nights where the starters dominate (the last two games) and where the bench adds that needed speed and kick (the first three games). Either way the trend is obvious: when you have a deep team you don’t need everyone to have a stellar night.

Kobe continues to deny his knee isn’t 100% and although he is lying I believe I know why he does it: positive thinking. When he says something to the media, he visualizes what he wants to see/believe. If he says, he’s 70% – 90% then there’s room for excuses if he doesn’t perform well. See Kobe is the best because of his mindset and work ethic. Any other player when having a subpar night would say he didn’t bring his “A” game, had a nagging injury or blamed his teammates. Not Kobe. He believes he controls his performance solely and usually he does. How about the triple double he dropped last night against the Kings as his knee continues to recover? Amazing.

Matt Barnes mentioned that the veterans welcomed the new guys with open arms since training camp opened. Sure, the Lakers are talented, but more than that they actually like each other. Chemistry and playing in the right system can lengthen or shorten your career. For example, Steve Blake hasn’t been on fire from the field yet, but you can tell the triangle is a great fit for him. On the flip side, when Trevor Ariza left the Lakers and had a short stint for the Rockets, he got more looks, but instead of open 3′s had to create his own shot (which he isn’t that good at yet). I watched a Lakers roundtable discussion with the 80′s showtime team and even if you knew nothing about basketball, you could sense the camaraderie in the room. I see that same bond with this year’s team. (Trust me it wasn’t there in the post-Shaq days of 2004 – 2007).

And for the JV team that rents out the Staples Center, outside of last night’s surprising win over the Thunder they have already underachieved. You can play musical chairs with the coaches, but they obviously have a losing culture starting from the top down. Blake Griffin is almost already an All-Star, Eric Gordon is going to have a stellar year off the World Championship’s, and Kaman is a top 10 center. Even though I dislike the Clippers, it’s sad to know that in a couple of years, most of the talent will be traded or let go for new faces because the owner doesn’t want to pay to win. This time I’ll go as far as to say the Achilles heel for the team is Baron Davis. Looking more like Kimbo Slice and spending his offseason pushing his producer skills, he came into camp overweight and out of shape (again!). Since his flashy years in New Orleans and Golden State, he epitomizes the Clippers in a nutshell, over-talented and under-achieving.