Did David Stern hit the jackpot this year or what? Boston acquires KG and Allen to be the East favorite. Lakers, despite all the Kobe and Bynum rumors, pull it together to lead the West? Even being a super die-hard Lakers homer I don't think I'd put as at #1 overall yet, but man is this nostalgic. This may be the best BBALL year since Jordan retired. http://www.nba.com/powerrankings/
We'll have to see if Bynum returns quickly from his injuries. Kwame Brown isn't starting material. I don't quite place Lakers as #1 and I am a Lakers homer.
They say it's not too serious so we can hope. We have enough depth to battle through it though if he does sit out for a bit.
Yeah, shouldnt they at least have the best reacord in the West to be considered #1? Second best? We will see how they do down the stretch. Depth once again is going to KILL the Lakers. IMO
As someone who (although a die hard Heat fan) watches the Lakers pretty much every night since Kobe Bryant is my favorite player aside from Wade, I'm pretty upset with Bynum's injury. No Bynum for 8 weeks is going to hurt the Lakers. If they were in the Weakstern Conference, then they'd be okay. However, in the West, one minor losing streak or two and a lot of ground is lost. It's a shame because the Lakers have been must see TV so far this entire season....
Well for starters, who is going to fill in for Bynum? What happens when Kobe goes down? (Not talking about an 18 year old blonde in Colorado this time either). Odom has missed time the last two seasons. Behind those three, your bench gets pretty weak pretty quickly.
Mihm and especially Kwame are going to have to step up. This is it for Kwame, it's time to prove what he's worth when the team needs him the most. If we really need to go big and adjust, we still have Ariza, Vlad, Ronny, and Odom. Odom is another guy who is going to have to step up. I don't get what you mean by "when" Kobe goes down. I sure hope Kobe doesn't go down Going to be interesting to see how Kobe reacts to this. He might have to go back to old 35ppg Kobe until Bynum comes back.
Better hope not. THat is the ONLY reason you guys are winning games right now. IF Kobe's arrogance meter goes back up, you can count on the winning ways to go back down. JMO. FYI: Sorry, I shouldve stated IF Kobe gets hurt. As much as I dislike him (And I do) I dont want anybody to get hurt.
ACTUALLY, the bench is very deep this year. Trevor Ariza has come over form the Magic in a great trade that saw L.A. rid themselves of two schlubs in Mo Evans and Brian Cook. His defense has been impregnatable. Vlad Radmanovich, Sasha Vujacic Ronny Turiaf and Jordan Farmar have all contributed nicely to the scoring binge that has happened this season. Unfortunately for us Laker fans. Bynum is now out for 8 weeks with a partially dislocated knne cap (ouch). Which means, that Kwame Brown is back in the starting rotation. Thats is good when talking about defense, but bad if you are relying on him for offense. Chris Mihm is due back in about a week as well so hopefully he will pick up some scoring. It is going to be a tough road from here on out. We were hitting our stride and were probably better than any team not named the Spurs out west. Phoenix can't guard Bynum (very few teams can) and Kobe is still amazing. Ronny Turiaf will have much more of a prominent role I believe for the next two months. High motor, rebounding big body that can bang. He isn't as effective a scorer and is a legit 4, not a 5, but he brings it every night and is a load. I really wouldn't be surprised to see the Lakers make a trade now that Bynum is down. The question becomes though, do they trade a big like Kwame for J. Kidd and try to run and gun for awhile? Or do they trade one of their talented guards along with Kwame to try and get another big body? The Celtics should be number one overall though. They have earned it.
I hope not. As much as the Laker fan base bashed Mitch the last couple of seasons(I was one of them) he sure turned out to be a genius. J.Kidd, JO, etc all those rumors centered around Bynum. I don't think anyone gives us any of those guys for Odom or Kwame. Bynum will have to be in the package and at this point, he's pretty much untouchable. We can hope though
There have been rumors that Kidd wants out and New Jersey has listened to offers that revolve around Kwame at this point. More players would be involved for salary purposes. that might be out the window with Bynum down though. We probably need to hang onto Kwame.
L.A. kicks the tar out of Dallas seemingly every year. Phoenix has spanked L.A. in the playoffs in previous years, but so far this year, they haven't been able to solve the L.A. puzzle and the Spurs...well the Spurs are the best in the West. I wouldn't bet against them until they lose quite frankly.
The spurs are old. Once Bynum comes back healthy the Lakers will be the Western Conf Champions. Watch.
Loved the Ariza trade and not just because Ariza went to UCLA. If he can get a good dependable jumpshot, he could be better than Caron Butler was for us. Him and Farmar are the sparks off the bench. Definitely a tough stretch even with Bynum. Without him, we lose a huge dimension in our offense and defense. Right now, I'd be looking for a stop-gap big (Chris Webber? PJ Brown?) because if Kwame gets injured again, Ronny would start at C and that's it. There are some quality veterans who can fill the gap and need the $$$.
Rumor over at a Laker board is that Kupchak has done just that, and reached out to both Webber and Pj Brown. Personally, I would love to see PJ Brown come in. He would be a great fit I think, even when Bynum comes back. His veteran presence and court experience could only help one of the youngest teams in the legaue come playoff time. I have never been a Webber fan and he always seem to fold under pressure. So between the too, I go with Brown.
There's an LA Times article about Kupchak reaching out to the two. Brown certainly is my preference if he has anything left in the tank. I'm no Webber fan too but we could use his offensive production. Odom isn't shooting well and Kwame has 0 offensive capabilities (negative if possible if you consider his turnovers).
Growing up, basketball was my life. In the last five years, I have barely been able to watch a whole game. But this season is really really good. I'm loving it. Go Lakers!!
