Next: What the Lakers Got in the Summer Arms Race
Last year the Lakers added Ron Artest to their already-talented nucleus to help them contend for the championship in the future. As the year went on, Artest’s presence was an intriguing side story to the Lakers season and provided entertainment to an historic title run. This year the Lakers have added several interesting pieces to their championship roster. At least two of their new players are expected to contribute immediately and will be in their main rotation of players. The other three new players will likely play sparingly at first, but will have roles to fill and their playing time will be dictated by performance and health of other players.
Steve Blake is a perfect fit for the Lakers system. He’s tall, smart, experienced, and is a good shooter as well as capable defender. Whether he starts at point guard or backs up Derek Fisher, he will be depended upon for roughly 20-30 minutes per game mostly at the lead guard position, but could probably see some time at backup shooting guard as well. Although he won’t turn very many heads with his play, he is exactly the type of player the Lakers need. You can pretty much consider him a taller, whiter, younger, Derek Fisher.
Matt Barnes is the other new player on the Lakers roster who will immediately see significant playing time. Although I was against his signing at the time (and I’m still not much of a fan), his production on the court should be unarguable. He will solidify the bench with an additional defensive stopper/pest and will hit open jump shots and slash to the basket on offense. He’s basically a Trevor Ariza type player but a little more physical and meddlesome. His primary role will be backing up Ron Artest but he will likely see some time at backup shooting guard as well. On a side note, I’d be interested to see Artest, Barnes, and Sasha on the court together and see which of them can cause an opposing player to get a Technical foul first.
Theo Ratliff was once a defensive force who was traded for Dikembe Mutombo. He’s old now (37), but he can still block shots at a good clip (1.5 bpg in about 20mpg last season). He will play at backup center but will probably only get around 10 minutes per game (or less). His presence is mostly as an insurance policy in case one of the other Laker bigs gets hurt. It will be interesting to see how much of an impact he can have in his limited minutes, I would think of Ratliff as a much better, smarter, and more disciplined DJ Mbenga.
Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter are two very intriguing prospects the Lakers picked up in the NBA draft. Ebanks is a Trevor Ariza clone who had a productive summer league and could one day be a reliable backup on the Lakers. However, since the Lakers do have Matt Barnes who will essentially play his same role, I don’t see Ebanks having that much of an impact this year. I expect him to only see garbage time minutes unless somebody gets injured, but I do expect him to show flashes of potential in his limited minutes. Derrick Caracter is even more intriguing because like Ebanks, he had a very productive summer league. However, Caracter was once considered one of the top players in his recruiting class with loads of potential. He’s a very talented player who has battled weight and off-court issues throughout his young career. The Lakers have provided him with the perfect opportunity to shed his demons and produce on the world’s greatest stage. Think of Caracter as a “Big Baby” type player, but more talented, more raw, and with much more potential. Worst case scenario he plays garbage minutes this season and never really finds his niche, disappearing from the league two years down the line. Best case scenario, Caracter realizes the opportunity he has been presented with, plays with a chip-on-his-shoulder mentality and produces some big plays when called upon. Eventually he becomes a reliable backup and contributes to our upcoming championship season. As an optimistic Lakers fan, I’m betting on the latter.
Next: Rivalres, Matchups, Shaq O’My
Lakers-Celtics: If the Lakers reach the finals and play the Boston Celtics again, next year’s matchup will be even MORE EPIC than this year’s. Not only is it a rubber match, but both teams are trying to collect as many rings as possible while the window of opportunity is still open. The Celtics window is closing rapidly, while the Lakers still have a few good years left. However, this being the 13th time the Lakers and Celtics have clashed in the finals and 3rd time they’ve met in the previous 4 years means the media will probably hype it up more than Ali vs Foreman. A Lakers win will tie them with the Celtics for most championships in NBA history.
Shaq vs Lakers, Matt Barnes vs Kevin Garnett, Ron Artest vs Celtics, etc., are some of the other intriguing plot twists if these two teams met in the finals: Don’t forget Shaq is on the Celtics now and nothing would satisfy him more than leading the Celtics over his former team and arch-nemesis Kobe Bryant. Throw in the mini-rivalry of Matt Barnes vs Kevin Garnett, Ron Artest vs the entire Celtics team, and a Lakers-Celtics matchup will be full of bad blood, highly-contested basketball games, and one epic matchup. On a side note, if the Lakers are Rocky Balboa, the Celtics are Apollo Creed, then maybe the Miami Heat will be Ivan Drago/Mr. T and knock out the Celtics. Maybe the Lakers and Celtics won’t meet for a 3rd time, just like Rocky and Apollo Creed never did either. Instead they’ll join forces to defeat the red menace and single-handedly end the Cold War. (If this is the case I’d love to see what happens when they film Rocky Balboa and the Lakers win a championship behind the will of a 62 year old Kobe Bryant.)
Challengers to the Throne: Kobe Bryant vs…
Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. Although the NBA hasn’t fully embraced a Kobe vs Lebron or Kobe vs Wade rivalry, it’s only natural that it will eventually happen. The Lakers and Heat will both be competing for the NBA championship, and all three players will be competing for title of MVP aka Best Basketball Player in the World. Kobe Bryant, if he stays healthy, may have one more regular-season MVP up his sleeve and if he succeeds it will come at Lebron and Wade’s expense.
Lakers vs the Western Conference
Once again, the Lakers will come into the upcoming NBA season as the odds-on favorite to win the conference. The Lakers will be an overwhelming favorite over any team they play in the playoffs, and every team in the west will bring their “A” game when they face the defending back-to-back champs. The Lakers have dispatched the Nuggets, Jazz, Suns, Spurs, Rockets, and Thunder in recent years during their extended playoff runs, and they will likely face at least one of these teams again during their next championship push. The question is, do any of these teams have what it takes to challenge the Lakers? The answer is no. But it will be fun to see them try.
Next: Stacked Bench: Sham-Wow, A-Bomb, and enRON
Here’s how the Lakers depth chart looks:
PG – Derek Fisher, Steve Blake
SG – Kobe Bryant, Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic
SF – Ron Artest, Matt Barnes, Luke Walton, Devin Ebanks
PF – Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom
C – Andrew Bynum, Theo Ratliff, Derrick Caracter
Although there will probably be some slight shuffling of who backs up who and what order they come off the bench, the Lakers core is pretty much set in stone. Most of their key players are smart veterans and are done improving at this point in their careers. All but two: Andrew Bynum and Shannon Brown.
Shannon Brown is an explosive off-guard whose playing style is dependent on his elite quickness and athleticism. Although his shooting has improved and his decision-making has been getting better, his biggest contributions are with his momentum-changing dunks and high-energy plays. Shannon Brown has improved in each of his seasons as a Laker, but at 24 years of age he’s not exactly a rookie anymore. I’d like to see him becoming a more consistent shooter, make better decisions with the ball, and become a better passer. On defense sometimes he spaces out, but he has the tools to be a very effective defender. Let’s see if he can continue his upward trend in the upcoming season.
Andrew Bynum on the other hand is the biggest enigma on the Lakers roster. I wrote an article last week about how his continued development is crucial to the Lakers future title hopes. Read it here. Bynum is still only 22 years of age (23 in October), but he’s missed over 100 games in his past 3 seasons. If the Lakers are the cast of Ocean’s 13*, Andrew Bynum is Matt Damon. He’s not as big as the main stars (Kobe Bryant – George Clooney and Pau Gasol – Brad Pitt), but he has the potential. It will be interesting to see if he can stay healthy over the course of an entire season, and also whether he can produce at his borderline-all-star-level numbers over an entire season. Early in his career, Bynum took flak for being immature, undisciplined, and basically being inexperienced. But this past season, Bynum showed more maturity, patience, and did his best to please the coaching staff. This next season could truly be his breakout season as he’s poised to take on a bigger role in their championship run, just like Matt Damon in Ocean’s 13. If Andrew Bynum can stay healthy for an entire season and average close to a double-double he could be an all-star this year.
*Continuing with the Ocean’s 11 theme, here’s the rest of the cast:
Danny Ocean (George Clooney) : Kobe Bryant
Rusty (Brad Pitt) : Pau Gasol
Frank Catton aka “Ramone” (Bernie Mac) : Lamar Odom
Reuben (Elliot Gould) : Derek Fisher
Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon) : Andrew Bynum
The Amazing Yen – Shannon Brown
The Malloy Brothers – Ron Artest and Matt Barnes
Basher (Don Cheadle) : Sasha Vujacic
Saul – Theo Ratliff
The Electrician dude – Steve Blake
Luke Walton, Devin Ebanks, and Derrick Caracter will fill in as the remaining characters in Ocean’s 12 and 13. Luke Walton can be Andy Garcia while Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter fight out who gets to be that one guy who nobody remembers or Julia Roberts.
Ron Artest’s first season with the Lakers alternated between disappointment and “he just needs more time.” After the Lakers playoff run and Artest went from villain to hero (with his game-winning putback and finals Game 7 performance), everybody basically agreed that despite some early struggles, in the end Artest’s presence on the team undeniably helped them win their second title. In Artest’s second season with the Lakers, I expect Artest to know his role better in the offense, be more efficient in the triangle, and he will be a defensive menace like always. However, I expect him to continue to struggle when he doesn’t get ball touches, be inconsistent with his outside shooting, and be prone to brain-farts every now and then. I also expect at least two or three random off-court incidents which may distract him (his reality show They Call me Crazy sounds promising, although I think it should’ve been called Say Queensbridge, or something with the word flagrant in it.)
On a side note, I hope “The Machine” isn’t broken again this year. Two years ago I ran into Sasha at a movie theater, at that time the Lakers were in the midst of their playoff run (where they eventually lost to the Celtics) and everybody was on the Lakers bandwagon. Additionally, everyone was on “The Machine” bandwagon. At that time I thought he was going to develop into a deadly sharpshooter and be a key contributor to the Lakers championship team. If he can regain his form this year (he averaged 1.6 3s made per game on over 43% shooting that season), the Lakers could be even more deadly and the Lakers won’t want to trade him. His defense is pesky and although sometimes knuckleheaded, it does annoy the opposing team. Let’s hope “The Machine” is on next season.
Next: Defense, Rebounding, Outside Shooting, and Shot-Blocking
In order to win another championship, the Lakers will need to maintain their strengths (defense and rebounding) and continue to improve upon their weaknesses (quick point guard defense and outside shooting).
The combined length of Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum is what provides the Lakers with their advantage in interior defense and rebounding. They have more size combined with skill than any other team in the league, and they should only be better with Theo Ratliff and Derrick Caracter on board and hopefully contributing.
The Lakers have been an average three-point shooting team for the past several seasons. They lack an elite perimeter threat, however the Lakers do have many individual players who are decent outside shooters. With the addition of Steve Blake and Matt Barnes, expect the Lakers to be a better outside shooting team this season than in the past.
As I mentioned in my previous article, the landscape of the NBA has changed and the NBA has never been as point-guard focused as it is today. Take a look at the starting ball-handlers of the other teams in the western conference.
Baron Davis, Tyreke Evans, Steve Nash, Monta Ellis/Stephen Curry, Tony Parker, Jason Kidd, Aaron Brooks, Chris Paul, Mike Conley, Chauncey Billups, Andre Miller, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Johnny Flynn
Notice something? Not a scrub in the bunch. Other than Mike Conley and Johnny Flynn, every single one of these point guards either has been or will be an all-star caliber guard in the league. The Lakers biggest weakness historically (I mean in the past two decades or so) has been their point guard defense. This is no knock on Derek Fisher, as it’s pretty much impossible to guard lightning quick point guards, but it would help if we had someone quicker guarding the Chris Paul’s and Russell Westbrooks of the league. Although Steve Blake is nowhere close to on their level, he is younger and longer than Derek Fisher, and he is considered a capable defender. Let’s hope the Lakers end their recent trend of getting burned by point guards.
Next: The Last Stand, An Historic Season, Kobe Bryant’s Legacy
Forget trying to beat the Bulls 72 win season. Every season a team starts off hot, fans and analysts start talking about how it’s reachable. Forget it. It’s not even worth mentioning this record until you’ve played about 50 games. It’s nearly impossible to maintain such a high level of play for so long, I’m not saying the Lakers can’t do it, but it’s tough. You need a collection of talent that remains healthy and motivated throughout the season. Not only would this require all of the Lakers’ main players to stay healthy (don’t count on it, Kobe, Pau, Bynum, and Ron will surely miss some time during the season), but they need to stay hungry all-season long. Although the Lakers do have two of the top competitors in the league, Kobe and Ron, don’t expect them to compete for this record. Instead, look for the Lakers to win slightly over 60 wins this season and keep an eye on the following storylines which could make this season EPIC.
The Last Stand: In all likelihood this is Phil Jackson’s last season as Laker coach. That means whether or not the Lakers win the championship this year, next year will already be a more difficult path since they’ll be changing coaches. Throw in the budding powerhouses in Oklahoma, Miami, and other improving teams, as well as the aging of the Lakers’ nucleus, and the Lakers’ don’t have that much time left. Although I remain steadfast that the Lakers still have at least 3 years of championship contention (at the end of which Kobe will be 35), nothing’s for certain in the NBA. What if a few lucky shots don’t go their way and they don’t win a championship this year. What if somebody gets injured next year? Suddenly that window of opportunity is much smaller. On the other hand, what if they do win the championship this year. Phil Jackson has always said that 3 championships in a row is the longest a team can maintain the level of focus and play that is required to win a championship. This mean’s if they win the championship this year, maybe they spend next year a little less focused and transitioning into a new system and don’t win. Suddenly Kobe will be 34, Pau, Lamar, and Ron are 32 and the rest of the league has had 2 seasons to catch up. If the Lakers win the championship, they’ll tie Boston for the most championships in NBA history with 17 Larry O’Brien trophies. They’ll have completed their second 3-peat in the Kobe Bryant era, and be one of the few teams to even have accomplished such a feat. One thing’s for certain, as Phil Jackson tries for his fourth 3-peat of his career, this one is most certainly going to be his last. *Oh and let’s not forget that many NBA analysts are predicting some form of lockout for the 2011-2012 season, which further puts the Lakers window of opportunity into jeopardy.
Kobe Bryant’s Legacy: Kobe Bryant’s quest to be the best basketball player of all time begins and ends with winning championships. Nobody will argue that Kobe Bryant’s regular season statistics and heroics can surpass Jordan’s. Nobody can even begin to argue that Kobe Bryant’s playoff statistics and heroics surpass Jordan’s either. However, with each passing season and each won championship, Kobe Bryant’s accomplishments accumulate. If he finishes his career with as many championships as Jordan, his historical significance and relevance will automatically be magnified. He may never be known as a better player than Jordan, but he may be known for having a better career than Jordan. I’m sure nothing would satisfy Kobe more than finishing his career with more championships than Jordan, being known as one of the greatest of all time and leading the Lakers to more championships than Boston, finishing with at least 2 more championships than Shaq, and retiring with certainly a plethora of career records, milestones, and achievements. Kobe could possibly finish his career more decorated than any superstar other than Bill Russell. Of course this goal requires Kobe to win at least one more championship this year.
So that’s it Laker fans, get ready for the 2010-2011 Laker season. It may be the most entertaining, intriguing, and epic Laker season we’ll see in our lifetime.