The holidays are such a miserable time. There's a myth that people enjoy being reunited with the family. Perhaps that is a good myth to be comforted by. The television commercials make it seem wonderful. The only problem is that it's a bloody lie.
Reality hits. You realize how much you hate your family. Drunk Uncle Jeff who has one too many egg nogs and pisses his pants. Aunt Bessie who is probably the most selfish person you've ever known. Cousin Jeff who likes burning things. Mom complains you never call. Dad tells everyone to pull his finger. Older sister slept with all of your childhood friends, and your younger brother is esconsed away in his third stint in rehab. And lord knows how many packages of tube socks and droopy drawers you'll receive.
And all of your friends on Facebook who post messages and pictures of hope and joy are just fucking liars who have no soul and probably are closeted serial killers.
It's a nightmare, and unfortunately the Lakers will not give you a couple of hours of solace.
The Lakers are a bit of a mess, even more so than one could have imagined. Sure Kobe Bryant is back in the lineup giving Laker fans everywhere some sense of familiarity, a bit of nostalgia to cling on to during this time of transition. But with players sidelined by injury left and right, it doesn't help things any.
Jordan Farmar has a left hamstring tear. Chris Kaman made his first appearance since Nov. 17 to start the fourth quarter with the Lakers already down 20 points. And to make things worse Steve Blake was just diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow meaning he's out for a minimum of six weeks.
And just to make it feel like a real family during the holidays, head coach Mike D'Antoni and Pau Gasol are having a public spat.
So it's no surprise the Oklahoma City Thunder utterly destroyed the Lakers 122-87. The Lakers had no hope. They were DOA.
The game in a nutshell: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook exploded all over the Lakers. The Lakers made some buckets. It wasn't pretty.
But let's be honest. After playing well right before Kobe came back to the team, it's obvious that the team is struggling to find itself with him back in the lineup. Things will probably look ugly for a little bit as they figure out what sort of team they want to be. But let's wait a month and see where they are.
I know preaching patience to fans is a sin, but thank god I'm an atheist.
In the meantime there are some fun moments like when Nick Young decides to go all Swaggy P all over the place:
