LOS ANGELES -- The San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers compared franchises Sunday morning at Staples Center, and the gap makes the Grand Canyon seem like a ditch. Big market versus small. Flashy versus fundamental. Star driven versus team first. Extreme dysfunction versus unshakable consistency. The list could go on for two foes once embroiled in a fierce Western Conference rivalry, but these differences seemed especially stark given what unfolded over the past week.
While the Spurs epitomize managerial stability, togetherness and focus -- which drives their well-oiled machine that has hummed along with surgical efficiency for decades -- the Lakers and their worst-ever struggles represent what happens when too many in power pull in opposite directions for far too long: disaster.