The Lakers and the Grizzlies had not been considered a marquee matchup for a very long time.
When Kobe was at his peak, Link and the Grizzlies had still been insignificant bit players.
By the time the Grizzlies rose to prominence, the Lakers had entered their tanking years.
So this might have been the first true head-to-head meeting between the Lakers and Grizzlies while both were championship contenders.
Of course, the Grizzlies' reputation had not been very good lately.
Even though they had only lost one game, fans seemed to think the Grizzlies were already on the verge of missing the playoffs.
The Lakers, meanwhile, also stood at 2-1, yet the outside world held them in extremely high regard.
After losing to the Clippers in the season opener, the Lakers crushed the Jazz 98-86 and blew out the Hornets 120-101, putting together a two-game winning streak.
Those two victories had Lakers fans cheering with excitement.
Perhaps, in their eyes, winning by huge margins proved that the Lakers were more dominant than the Grizzlies.
Don't ask. If you did, the answer was that the Grizzlies struggled against even the Bulls and had choked against the Heat.
"Lakers champions" no longer seemed like just a joke.
Anthony Davis's arrival had indeed transformed the Lakers, who had not even made the playoffs last season.
Only Lakers fans knew how painfully long they had waited for Anthony Davis.
Rumors linking the Lakers and Anthony Davis had begun as early as the middle of last season.
It was not until this summer that the Lakers and Davis finally got what they wanted and came together.
That long wait had naturally built enormous expectations among Lakers fans.
And so far, the Lakers had indeed lived up to those expectations.
If there was one regret, it was