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So the other day Phil Jackson, the winingest coach in NBA history, announced that he would be coming back for at least one more season with the Los Angeles Lakers and now that that's out of the way we can focus on more important matters like are the lakers good enough to win another title?
The biggest concerns I have about the Lakers repeating are:
The continued deterioration of Kobe Bryant. Personally I became a bigger fan of Kobe after I saw what he did in the finals against Boston when he didn't have his "A" game. I fell in love with him all over again when he went one-on-one against Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma Thunder in the opening playoff series. Like the true leader Kobe is he found a way to help his team by rebounding, by defending the other teams best player and by dishing out assists but the fact that he's not the premier scorer that he once used to be is undeniable...
And the big difference in the coming years will be the way defenses play the Lakers with the game on the line. If other teams can play Kobe one-on-one with the game on the line the Lakers might be in trouble... Kobe Bryant bricked at least a couple of times with the game on the line only to be saved by a wide open under-the-basket Pau Gasol but what happens when the other team can play the Lakers straight up and can guard everyone on the floor?
Andrew Bynum's health. Andrew Bynum can't stay healthy and at some point you're just going to have to start calling this guy injury prone. While healthy, he's a game-changer when he decides to play defense and rebound but the problem has been keeping him on the basketball court.
But it's not just Andrew Bynum... It's also Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Ron Artest. All these guys are going to have to step up offensively next season if the Lakers are going to repeat. Gasol stepped up to the challenge this season and he's going to have to be the focal point of the Laker offense now I believe. I don't think you want to make Kobe Bryant the focal point of the offense for an entire season again. Not at his age and with the wear and tear on his body. It's time to start preserving this guy if you want at least another ring...
And I'm not talking about the West... The Western Conference got a whole lot easier this off-season with Carlos Boozer, formerly of the Jazz, going to the Bulls and Amare Stoudemire, formerly of the Suns, going to the Knicks. The regular season should be a cake walk for the Lakers with the real competition coming in the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma Thunder.
Yep I'm calling that one right now... the Thunder are sick and barring an injury to Russell Westbrook or Kevin Durant you can expect to see them in the western Conference Finals.
This is a young and up and coming team and that's what the Lakers have to compete with(youth and speed and kids that can jump out of the arena...) and whatever beast comes out of the East...
The fact of the matter is the Lakers are getting older and their biggest competitor in the West is a lot younger and has a lot more energy. It will be interesting to see if the Lakers championship experience can win them one more title because it's no longer a one-man show in Los Angeles...
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