LOS ANGELES -- All that stands between the Golden State Warriors and the NBA record for most wins to start the season (16-0) is the 2-11 Los Angeles Lakers, with the two teams meeting Tuesday in Oakland. Not surprisingly, Lakers star Kobe Bryant is confident.
"I've seen stranger things happen," Bryant said Sunday after his team's 107-93 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center here. "We've been playing like s---. We might go up there and we might play like gangbusters up there. You never know. "
Lakers coach Byron Scott was asked for his thought on the matchup. He laughed.
"That's my thought right now," Scott said. "They're the best team I've seen in the league and it's not close ... . They're the best team I've seen in a while."
With the Warriors chasing history, Scott said he expects the Warriors to be ready.
"They haven't had a whole lot of lulls in any of the games that they've played," Scott added. "When they do [have a lull], they've got so much confidence in the way they play and how they play that they don't panic.
"You can be up by 23 [against the Warriors] and it doesn't matter, especially if they've got two quarters left. It's a difference if you're up 23 with five or six minutes left; then you've probably got a great chance of winning that game. But if you give them 24 minutes left in the game, there's not a whole lot of leads that are too big for them [to overcome]."
Scott admires the way the Warriors play, but he isn't exactly looking forward to facing them.
"Basically I look at them as a fan, when I watch them play," Scott said. "Unfortunately I don't have that luxury Tuesday. I love watching them play because they do all the things we talk about. They share the ball. They play for one another. They play as a team."