Los Angeles Lakers
2008-09 Record: 65-17
Anticipated Starting Five
PG- Derek Fisher
SG- Kobe Bryant
SF- Ron Artest
PF- Pau Gasol
C- Andrew Bynum
Key Reserves: Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar, Josh Powell, Shannon Brown
Biggest Strength: Depth
The Lakers are very good. Their starting line-up is one of, if not the strongest in the NBA. They bring Odom off the bench along with some quality reserves at every position. This team will be nearly unbeatable if they get strong years from guys like Walton, Vujacic, Farmar and Brown.
Biggest Weakness: Let me know if you find one
You don’t win NBA championships by having easy to recognize and exploitable weaknesses. For the elite teams it’s usually match-ups and situational weaknesses against other top teams, not general, always present weaknesses.
Some think point guard is a weakness. I don’t. The Lakers and the triangle offense doesn’t need a pure playmaker at point and if it did Kobe would fulfill that role better than most anyway. What it does need a shooter. Fisher serves that purpose well. When they bring in Farmar, Vujacic and Brown they all serve that purpose as well. At the point it’s about making open perimeter shots and playing strong defense. If the players surround Kobe, Gasol, Odom and Bynum can’t make open perimeter shots like they didn’t in the Finals against Boston the Lakers struggle.
Key Player: Ron Artest
Trevor Ariza was very productive last season for the Lakers. He was 5th in PER, 5th in Win Shares and 4th in wins produced. Artest really just needs produce at that level as to not hurt the Lakers productivity as a unit. Anything more is gravy in my opinion. I’ve had the opportunity to see the Lakers a couple times in the preseason and Artest still looks a little lost offensively. He isn’t really a spot up shooters and I really don’t see where he gets one-on-one opportunities with Kobe there and Gasol and Bynum in the post. Ariza fit well because he made the corner three and attacked the offensive glass. Will Artest settle and thrive in that role offensively? If not will that cause chemistry issues? Defensively he is an upgrade and his toughness is something Kobe and Phil both wanted.
Biggest Question: How can they not repeat?
They won last year with relative ease. They add Ron Artest and a healthy Andrew Bynum. And they still have Kobe Bryant. It’s a tough sell to pick anyone else to win the title this year if you are putting money on it and not just making random predictions on a blog. Personally, I didn’t pick the Lakers because I think that Artest is slowing down and isn’t the asset that they think he is. I think that they didn’t do enough to fix their PG situation and I think other teams in the league (CLE, ORL, BOS, SAS) got better. They’ll be there in the end, but I think another team takes it this year.
Best Individual Season of All-Time: Shaquille O’Neal, 1999-00
29.7 ppg, 13.6 rpg, 3.8 apg, 3.0 bpg, 57.4 FG%
There are a lot of all-time greats to choose from here: Kobe, Shaq, Baylor, West, Magic, Kareem, etc… so this is nearly impossible to choose, but I settled on Shaq’s season because it was 2nd all-time in PER for a Laker and 1st all-time in Win Shares. This year was the height of his dominance and one of the best in NBA history. He was a force that changed the game when people thought it would never be changed again.
Pete’s 2010 Outlook: 1st place, Pacific division / 1st place, Western conference / 2nd place, NBA
I think the Lakers considerable talent gives them the #1 seed in the Western Conference entering the playoffs. After that, I’m not so sure. I’m currently wavering between them and the Spurs depending on how the older Spurs injuries look, and right now I’m leaning in San Antonio’s direction. I don’t know if the Artest move blows up in their face this year, but I think it will at some point and they would have been better off keeping Ariza.
Dannie’s 2010 Outlook: 1st place, Pacific division / 1st place, Western conference / 1st place, NBA
The Lakers are the defending champs and they didn’t really get discernibly weaker or better in the offseason. What will determine their chance to repeat is Artest’s productivity level. It must mirror Ariza’s. Andrew Bynum’s development. If he plays the way he did before he got hurt the Lakers will be better. And of course overall health. In their conference the Spurs got better and will challenge them. Denver is still around. Dallas got better. The Hornets got a little better. In the East Orlando and Cleveland got better. Boston looks to be at full strength now as well.
There looks to be tougher terrain for the Lakers to navigate through on their way to another championship. With that said I still don’t think I could pick against them.
See all 2010 NBA team previews
Greatest strength(s):
-Versatility
-Offense
-Phil Jackson
-Best starting lineup
-Decent depth
-Still the best team in the West!
-Kobe Bryant
Greatest weakness(es):
-Give up a lot of points for an elite team
-Complacency factor perhaps (Only LA (Lakers) can beat themselves!)
-Ron Artest is no Trevor Ariza!
-Injury woes to Andrew Bynum
With that said, the Lakers will be 1st in the Pacific, 1st in the West (without a doubt).
(On a side note, the Sixers will split the season with the Lakers (1-1) with each team winning on their respective home floors. The Iggy-Kobe matchup will continue to be great. Sixers have the ultimate shot of beating LA, if they can shut down Kobe, like they did last year and many other encounters. Also, look for Lou to have excellent games against the Lakers. Last year, Phil Jackson was very impressed with “that Lou kid”!)