A dream 10-2 start.
Things were looking very bad for the Lakers.
Chris Paul's move to Los Angeles had been the blockbuster trade of the offseason, shocking the league, sending the Lakers' popularity through the roof, and making them even stronger.
After wave after wave of discussion, fans had entered the season with enormous expectations for them.
But now, against the defending champion Suns, losing both preseason meetings was one thing. Opening the regular season by immediately falling into a nightmare start was another.
It was undoubtedly surprising.
At the same time, it made countless Suns fans in the arena feel that Phoenix was the team that was truly powerful.
And yet, on the Lakers' bench, everyone remained calm.
No one looked discouraged by the poor start. On the contrary, Kobe and Paul were even chatting and laughing.
"Why is that?!"
Van Gundy asked after noticing it.
"Uh..."
Mike Breen thought for a moment.
"I think a big reason the Lakers are so calm is what happened on those last few possessions."
"They missed, yes, but they were getting good looks. Those weren't turnovers or forced shots."
"If they keep creating chances like that, players as good as Paul and Kobe should find their touch and rhythm very quickly."
"Exactly."
Van Gundy nodded.
"Black Mamba Kobe can score even when he has to create everything himself."
"Now that he has the Point God, Chris Paul, setting him up, scoring should only become easier for Kobe this season, and the Lakers should only become stronger."
"Right."
The commentators continued analyzing the game.
Back on the court, play resumed after the timeout.
Lakers ball.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Kobe calmly held the ball on the left side of the arc against George.
Artest stepped up to screen, and Kobe used it to shake George.
At the left elbow, Curry was now matched up against him.
"Whoosh!"
Kobe immediately attacked.
He drove through contact to the left low post, stopped on a dime, then rose for a mid-range jumper.
His burst was terrifying.
Curry barely managed to stay with him. He could only reach out to contest and never even got off the floor.
Against a shot like that, his interference was almost meaningless.
"Swish!"
Kobe buried the jumper.
Phoenix pushed the other way.
Curry received Nash's pass on the left side, cut toward the basket, and tried to finish, but Kobe stayed with him and applied pressure.
Curry adjusted and sent a high bank shot off the glass.
"Clang!"
No good.
Blake tipped the rebound out, but Paul grabbed it and immediately started the break.
He raced up the floor and found George waiting for him.
"Whoosh!"
Paul did not back down.
He attacked George as if he were going all the way for the layup, but just as he rose and drew George into the play, he pulled the ball back and dropped a pass behind him.
"Smack!"
Kobe, trailing the play, caught it one step inside the free-throw line, planted, and exploded into the air.
His long arm swung through like an eagle diving from the sky.
"BOOM!"
A one-handed slam.
Two more for Kobe.
Curry quickly inbounded to Nash, who fired a long pass to Blake near midcourt.
Blake pushed to the left side of the arc, where Murphy picked him up.
He had barely settled into position for a second when Artest rushed over.
The Lakers, as always, were giving Blake at least a double team.
"Whoosh!"
Blake passed to George in the middle.
George pump-faked a three and drew Artest toward him, then swung the ball to Nash on the right side.
"Whoosh!"
Nash accelerated past Paul and entered the paint.
Was he going for the underhand layup?
No.
He fired a pass across the lane to Yao Ming on the left block.
"Whoosh!"
Yao rose into his signature mid-range jumper.
"Swish!"
Good.
He might have been a center, but that jumper was one of Yao's weapons.
Suns 12, Lakers 6.
Lakers ball.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Paul brought it up and settled at the top of the key.
When he saw Kobe calling for the ball at the left elbow, he lobbed it in.
"Smack!"
Kobe caught it with his back to Curry.
"Thud!"
One hard bump.
Then he turned and went straight into the fadeaway.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
"Wow! Kobe has now gone at Curry one-on-one three straight times and scored every time. His touch is back!"
"Curry tries to answer, but it doesn't work this time. His three against Kobe's defense misses."
"The Lakers run."
"Paul pushes it up and looks for Kobe again, trying to let Kobe attack Curry one-on-one, but Phoenix isn't stupid. George immediately comes over."
"They double Kobe."
"With the passing angle to Kobe taken away, Paul decides to attack Nash himself. One crossover, then a slight fadeaway from mid-range."
"Does he have it?!"
"Yes!"
"Nash can't get past Paul on the other end. Transition the other way. Paul races to the left side of the arc, faces Nash, and pulls up for a transition three!!!"
"Wow!"
"That is a tough shot. Does he have it?!"
"Bang!"
"Another make."
"Phoenix comes back with Curry handling the ball. It looks like he's going to Blake, but instead he lobs it inside to Yao. Is Yao going one-on-one against Bynum?!"
"No."
"He fakes the attack, draws the defense, then kicks it to George in the left corner. Wide open three."
"No good."
"Rebound?!"
"Kobe grabs it and, without even bringing the ball down, launches a long pass across half court to Paul. Nash is right beside him, but they're the only two players in the frontcourt."
"Paul accelerates, gets past Nash, holds him off through contact, and finishes with an up-and-under bank layup."
"Good, good, good!"
"Paul has scored seven straight points against Nash. A 7-0 run, and the Lakers have taken the lead!"
Van Gundy rattled off the sequence at a blistering pace, his voice full of excitement.
On the court, Gentry immediately called timeout.
"Beep, beep!"
Suns 12, Lakers 13.
After falling into a nightmare 2-10 start, the Lakers answered the timeout with an 11-2 run and took the lead.
More importantly, all 11 of those points had come from Paul and Kobe.
"Wow..."
During the timeout, Mike Breen stared at the scoreboard with his mouth open.
"Paul and Kobe are just too strong."
"On both offense and defense, the Paul-Kobe backcourt is completely overpowering the Nash-Curry pairing."
"They're attacking them one-on-one over and over and dominating those matchups!"
"Exactly."
Van Gundy was just as fired up, tapping the desk as he nodded.
"Individual scoring, spectacular passing, defensive pressure."
"On both ends of the floor, Paul and Kobe are far better than Nash and Curry tonight. That's one of the biggest reasons Los Angeles just put together that 11-2 run."
"Mike, just like you said earlier, Paul and Kobe stayed calm because they had absolute confidence in themselves."
"The moment their touch came back even a little, the aggression and pressure appeared immediately."
"Paul and Kobe, the Lakers' Twin Stars, are simply too strong. If Phoenix doesn't handle them properly tonight, the Suns are going to pay a heavy price."
"Absolutely."
Mike Breen nodded.
"That's exactly why Chris Paul's move to the Lakers shocked the entire league, and why the rest of the league was so opposed to it!"