Los Angeles Lakers Preview

Hello,
So the season is underway, but trust me, my opinions won't change of the teams I am about to cover even after a few games.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS

Key Additions: Dwight Howard (trade), Steve Nash (FA), Antawn Jamison (FA), Jodie Meeks (FA), Chris Duhon (trade)

Key Losses: Andrew Bynum, Ramon Sessions, Matt Barnes

Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Steve Nash
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: Metta World Peace
PF: Pau Gasol
C: Dwight Howard

Role Players: Jamison, Meeks, Duhon, Steve Blake, Jordan Hill, Devin Ebanks

Comments: If you look at this team on paper, especially the starting lineup, you would be frightened immediately. 2 MVP's, 2 Defensive player of the years, and then Pau Gasol... Jeez. But, if you actually watched them in the preseason and last night, you will notice 3 things that are promising to Laker Haters like myself. 1. They clearly don't have chemistry yet, which is true of any team that has a large overhaul in the offseason. 2. They have no depth whatsoever, which is especially worrying because Nash, Bryant, and Howard all have history of injuries and most likely each will miss some time this season. 3. Kobe Bryant is still the primary playmaker, and not Steve Nash. I will discuss why this is a problem in a second. These 3 things will manifest itself in what is seemingly a disappointing regular season for the Lakers. Their hope is that they figure things out come playoff time, but don't be surprised if they aren't in the top 2 or 3 seeds this year.

Steve Nash is old but still wildly effective as a PG. He has the innate ability to get every person involved. He is especially good at the pick and roll (which the Lakers don't run much of), and he is an excellent jump shooter. He needs to have the ball to make plays and be most effective. If Kobe is doing his thing (which isnt ineffective), Nash is relegated to the Derek Fisher role of hitting open 3's and passing the ball into the post. Nash is better than that, and if he ran pick and roll with Howard and Gasol, with Kobe being the 2nd option, this team would have a scary offense. Thankfully for us, Kobe is too selfish, so we don't have to worry about that. Duhon and Blake are the backups. Duhon is better defensively, and Blake is better at shooting 3's, but neither are particularly good as distributors. With Kobe and Nash, they just need to hit their shots.

I don't like Kobe Bryant, mainly because he raped a woman in my home state, and the fact that he absolutely kills the Nuggets, but I respect his game. He has the best footwork in the NBA, which allows him to score inside and outside, even when it seems you are playing amazing defense. And of course, he is an excellent passer and defender, he doesn't miss games due to injury, and he is ridiculously clutch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeXZY4eVLlo All this said, his team demands that he becomes more like Kevin Durant than LeBron James or Derrick Rose. What I mean by this is that he splits about 50/50 possessions where he is the primary playmaker, instead of being the one that is always making the plays like James and Rose. But again, he won't do it, because he is Kobe, and he wants to do it all himself if he can. Meeks is the backup, and like the other bench players on the Lakers, he isn't very good except for shooting. If he plays with Nash, he will do great (a la Raja Bell or Jared Dudley), but otherwise should be useless.

If World Peace shoots more than 7 shots a game, the Lakers are in trouble. He thinks he is so good at basketball, because he is strong and can defend. While he definitely is both of those things, this team has too much offensive talent for him to have any plays ran for him. The Lakers are scariest when Peace is locked in on defense, and standing in the corner while Kobe and co. do their thing. Also, he needs to stop this crap. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NIYqbb7heQ&feature=fvst. The Lakers have Ebanks as the backup, who is long and athletic. I remember him being dreadful against the Nuggets as Peace's replacement, maybe his offense has improved.

Pau Gasol may be the key to the whole Lakers operation. What Gasol is: a solid mid range shooter, a good big man passer, good a tipping shots in. What Gasol is not: Strong, a 3-point shooter, a good defender. Kenneth Faried is 4 inches shorter and was able to push Gasol around in the playoffs. He has always been weak inside, but the last few years with Bynum, he could get away with it. He can get away with it because of Howard now. Gasol needs to help Howard space the floor by hitting those long range shots, and not clogging the lane. Also, he needs to play better perimeter defense when teams go small against the Lakers to counter their size. Also, he can't dissapear in the 4th quarter, or important games, as he tends to do. Antawn Jamison is the backup. He has had a solid career, especially offensively. He had post moves, and could shoot it outside. Now, he is more of an outside shooter, but what I will remember about Jamison is that he was the guy Cleveland got to appease LeBron and help them win a championship. Didn't quite work out that way.

And the big story of the Lakers is the acquisition of Howard. I have a feeling that Howard will leave after this season, because I think he wants his own legacy, and not to follow in the footsteps of Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, and Oneal (the other Laker centers). But for this year, as long as his back is healthy, he is the best defender in the NBA. It is because no one in the NBA can match his strength and athleticism down low. His obvious achilles heel is his free throw shooting, which is seemingly becoming worse than Shaq's, The Mavs hacked-a-Howard, and other teams will to unless he improves. I mean he obviously is overthinking it... look at this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T8uRmwP1jE. And the Lakers don't really have a backup center, putting a lot of pressure on Howard and Gasol to provide all of the size. Howard may get reinjured if he is overworked.

The Lakers have the most talent in a starting lineup in the NBA. And while it will take some time to translate into wins, I would be very scared of them come playoff time. I could see them being a 6th seed and still making the Finals.

Next Up, Indiana Pacers