The Los Angeles Lakers, last season’s most infamous team in the NBA, are looking to start fresh for the upcoming season. After losing Dwight Howard, all-star center for the Lakers in the previous season, the Lakers were left with almost nothing. Although the team on paper does not look too outstanding, it is surpassingly better than last year’s roster. No really.
We’ll start off with the coach, Mike D’antoni. It is clear that D’antoni does not have a very good reputation in LA. Failing to get past the first round of the playoffs, D’antoni received tons of undeserved harsh criticism–D’antoni is an offensive-minded genius. With that said, the Lakers finished the regular season as the seventh seed and the eighth most efficient offense. However, this all took place without a training camp and can be seen as the sole reason D’antoni could not get his players to click under his run-and-gun, pick-and-roll system. Despite the fact that D’antoni miserably failed in defense, the Lakers added assistant coach Kurt Rambis for it. Offense is nothing to worry about, the problem that still lingers is defense.
With the little money the Lakers were left with, GM Mitch Kupchak signed useful free agents to fill the void of Howard. Chris Kaman, Nick Young, Wesley Johnson, and Jordan Farmar, are all players that will make an impact for the Lakers. The Lakers roster is not a championship team; they are a playoff team. Also, there is one huge X-factor people are seeming to forget. Kobe Bryant’s unending desire to win. And when Bryant comes back from his injury, the league has something to watch out for because the Black Mamba is coming back with a purpose. To win and prove doubters wrong.
Bryant states that he is motivated to come back and win. Everyone is counting the Lakers out but they will stun many teams and basketball fans in the world. I am going out on a limb here and saying that the Lakers will make the sixth seed in the competitive Western Conference. Now let’s not forget the fact that the Lakers still have the seven-foot versatile Spaniard, Pau Gasol, and two time MVP Steve Nash. With the trio surrounded by the correct role players and young legs, the Lakers will make the playoffs.
Making the playoffs is a definite for L.A, but what happens in the playoffs is the part everyone really cares about. The Lakers will probably not get past the first round. Even though the Lakers have a solid roster, the West is too competitive for L.A. to handle.
The Lakers are going to be a good team, but they do not have enough to face against the top seeded teams in the west such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Rockets. Making it past the first round would truly be a miracle. For the Lakers fans out there, do not worry because the Lakers will be a championship team next season with the enormous cap space they will obtain.