The Los Angeles Lakers are going to repeat, and they are going to make it look easy

Adam on 09 28, 2009

If you believe that, “The Los Angeles Lakers represent all that is evil in the world,” well, get ready for evil to reign supreme yet again.  This Laker team is going to repeat, and they are going to make it look easy.

I would however first like to address the notion that they are evil, or are somehow cheating.  The NBA has a salary cap, so comparisons to the Yankees are down right ridiculous.  They made a draft day trade for Kobe Bryant, who at that point was an unproven 17 year old kid.  Andrew Bynum was passed on by 9 other teams before the Lakers made him the youngest player ever drafted into The Association.  The Gasol trade, widely condemned by rival GM’s, was an affirmation that the Lakers are incredibly shrewd, not sinister.  Further, that trade demonstrates the wide gulf between the savvy Lakers management, and teams that perpetually struggle, like The Grizzlies.

Laker hatred exists because they are great, not because they cheat.  It’s the same reason women are jealous of other beautiful women, or why men hate guys with nicer cars and houses than they have.  The only thing the Lakers are doing wrong is beating the pants off of your favorite team.

Now to the real point, why this Laker team is going to dominate all season long, and make the NBA playoffs look like the Globetrotters versus The Generals.

It all starts with Kobe.  He may not be the best player in the league, but if he’s not he is the second best.  He still dominates, is lethal at the end of games, and his burden will be less than ever this year with the maturation of his young teammates, and the addition of mercurial forward Ron Artest.

Second, Pau Gasol proved his worth in last year’s playoffs emerging as a star in big moments.  His skill set is nearly unmatched by any other 7 footer in the game.  There is no better passer at Gasol’s size in the league.  His post moves are as brilliant and limitless as good Scorsese films, and his defense and strength are improving.  Not to mention the fact that winning a championship does great things for a player’s confidence.  Gasol is now firmly a top 15 player in the league, King James doesn’t have a teammate in the top 25.

The most controversial move of The Lakers’ offseason is surely the addition of Artest.  Yes he is strange, moody, and perhaps dangerous.  All that said he is no Dennis Rodman, and Phil Jackson got the most out of him for three full years. Also, winning has a way of putting a stop to the outbursts of malcontents.  Plenty of winning will be occurring in Lakerland, so Artest will be happy, and producing at a maximum level.

Bryant, Gasol, and Artest give the Lakers a big three that absolutely no team can match.  All three are in their absolute primes, and have each been all-stars multiple times.  Kobe could sit out half the games and this team would still be successful, you can’t say that about King James and the Cavs.

In addition Lamar Odom re-signed, giving the Lakers a great three man rotation in the post with Odom, Gasol, and Bynum.  They have more length than any other team; all those guys can pass, and have now been playing together for a long time.

Finally Bynum and the rest of the supporting cast will be given a chance to shine in support of the big three.  Many have prematurely denounced Bynum because of his playoff performance last year.  If he is healthy (and I realize that is a large if) he can be dominant, a top 3 center in the league.  In the past two years the entire month before Bynum was injured he averaged 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game.  That is a sample of what this kid (he will turn 22 on the season opener) can do when fully healthy and comfortable in his role.

So let’s see, that means the Lakers have one of the two best players in the game, two all stars to complement him, an incredibly versatile and talented 6th man, and a potentially dominant 7 foot center who is just barely of drinking age.  Not to mention dependable and steady point guard Derek Fisher.  What does that leave out, ah yes, the bench.

Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, Luke Walton, and Lamar Odom represent one of the better second units in the league.  They are athletic, young, quick, and have all been in Phil Jackson’s system for a while now.

All that’s left to do is tell you why the Spurs, Celtics, Magic, and Cavs won’t be a serious challenge to LA.

The Spurs added a very good player in Richard Jefferson, but the Spurs were old two years ago when LA dispatched them in the conference finals 4-1.  Since then the Spurs have only gotten older, while LA remains one of the youngest teams in the League, and the addition of Artest more than sets off Richard Jefferson.  Who knows if Duncan and Ginobli can play full seasons either.

The Celtics have a very good deep team that may have a mental edge on the Lakers, but father time seems to be catching up to them as well.  Garnett has a suspect knee, Ray Allen is not close to the player he once was, and Paul Pierce will be 32 by the time the season starts.  This big three can soon be called the big AARP.

The Magic could not dethrone the Lakers last year, and did not get considerably better swapping two players (Turkgolu for Carter) that are relatively equal in caliber.  There is no reason to think The Magic will take a big step forward.

And now to the big enchilada, the team everyone thinks can run with the Lakers, The Cleveland Cavaliers.  Lebron is great, but Kobe essentially sets him off.  If those two cancel each other out what are you left with?  The Lakers boast Artest, Gasol, Bynum, Odom, and a good Bench.  The Cavs have The Big Crypt Keeper Shaquille O’Neal, Mo Williams, plus an amalgamation of average to below average supporting players.  The only way the Cavs can beat the Lakers is if Delonte West brings his guitar case to the finals.  Also the Lakers now have two guys (Kobe and Artest) that can physically matchup with Lebron.

So you see all you Laker haters, resistance is futile.  They have the best players, the best management, and oh yeah did I mention their coach has won just a few championships?

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  • Adam
    If the nba is all about matchups then perhaps you could enlighten me on this point. How are teams going to matchup with kobe, Artest, Gasol, Bynum, and Odom. You said all about matchups, I hope now you aren't going to say there's more to it than that, otherwise that would mean you were being cliche before, and thats not a very good way to support your argument.

    I'll grant you that the NBA is a matchup league, thats why the lakers are going to dominate, especially utilizing the triangle which gives a number of different players opportunities to play in the post, flanked by shooters, thus creating a matchup. That sounds like a good fit for the lakers since Gasol, Kobe, Artest, Bynum, and Odom can all play with their back to the baskets quite effectively, and more importantly create a myriad of matchup problems. This will force double teams, and the lakers have plenty of shooting (farmar, brown, artest, kobe, vujacic) to make any team pay for doubling any one of their many stars. Defensively the Lakers have the two of the best and most physical one on one defenders in the leage with kobe and artest. They will not stop Lebron James because nobody can stop him, but it will make him work harder, and limit him more than any other team is capable of doing.

    The Cavs have one player (Lebron) that will consistently demand a double team against the Lakers. Many teams were playing shaq straight up last year, he put up solid numbers, but he's nowhere near the force he used to be. Mo williams is a good offensive player but nothing more, and other than that they dont have a single offensive option that keeps you up at night. Gasol is a much better second option than anybody on the cavs, and Artest Odom and Bynum represent more than the cavs can deal with.


    The cavs needed a miracle shot against the magic last year just to force that series to six games. The lakers then took care of the magic in 5. You are telling me that Shaq and a couple of role players can bridge this gap? I dont buy it, especially since the lakers werent stagnant in the offseason, they added a defensive force and all star in artest.

    Lebron is a great player that cant be gameplanned for one night in a regular season game. Once in a series though, he will have to rely on his teammates at least some to get past the elite teams, he doesnt have enough help on this team, and Shaq has to prove it all over again this year. He had a good year last year, but has been only slightly above average over the previous 3 years. Also Shaq and Z are going to be a huge liability defensively trying to defend the pick and roll agains the like of rondo/garnett, nelson/dwight howard, parker/duncan, kobe/gasol. This team is a mismatch of parts, what you call being a student of the game is a misguided formula where you look at raw numbers of what guys did on bad teams (anthony parker, jamario moon). By elevating these players as good you make it appear like you know what you are talking about because these are relatively obscure role players, but the real fact is that these are average players, that produced decent numbers on a bad team. Moon and Parker are not going to come up in a key playoff series.

    Also Kobe's Lakers struggled when his team was terrible largely because he was playing in a western conference that was widely regarded as the strongest and deepest conference the league had seen in years, maybe ever. While Lebron carried an albeit terrible team to the finals, he did it in the at that time terrible eastern conference.
  • that's right, bob. lebron carries worse teams further into the playoffs consistently. he's never had a good supporting cast. kobe's 09 title team supporting cast was fantastic, and if bynum is healthy this year, kobe's supporting cast will be unbelievable.. the roster lebron carried to the finals in 07 was atrocious......hughes & big z were his best 2 guys..........remember in 05, 06, & 07 when kobe's lakers STRUGGLED, well, lebron's taken teams similar to those much further
  • Bob
    If you haven't noticed yet, Adam, the NBA is all about matchups. For the 3rd time, Parker and Moon are both ABOVE AVERAGE perimeter defenders with length and a good 3 ball, filling the void which ultimately cost the Cavs their season last year.

    "mind numbingly average players" - Mo Williams (All-Star) is far from average. Delonte West is above average. He is a complete player. Great defender, good shooter, can create his own shot, dish the rock. Can play PG or SG, very versatile. Anderson Varejao, as goofy as he is, is better than 'average.' 'Average' players don't get $50 million dollar deals.

    And my final point: WE HAVE LEBRON JAMES. LeBron DOESN'T NEED a supporting cast like Kobe has. The offense revolves around him. Play LBJ 1 on 1, he'll take it to the tin. Double team him, and he's got a plethora of good shooters to kick it to or Shaq, and after the acquisitions of Parker and Moon (I know, LOOK OUT NBA!), they can match up defensively with any team.

    Don't be fooled by the names on the back of the jersey, there's a lot more to it than that.

    To wrap this up briefly: LeBron simply doesn't need a roster comprised of big names, just good role players. He's that good.
  • Adam
    Jamario moon and Anthony Parker huh? Wow you're right, look out NBA, The cavs are fully loaded with one great player and a plethora of mind numbingly average players. I guess i need to study harder to see just how this group of joe's got so much better this offseason.
  • Bob
    @Dolemite "As for the Cavs… well they looked terrible against the Magic and Shaq is too old to truly contribute"

    Apparently you didn't read my comment. Yes, they looked terrible against the Magic, that is because they couldn't match up. So what did they do this offseason? Went out and got Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon (also picked up Leon Powe for verrrry cheap, who will be a valuable body to bring off the bench come playoff time). Sure, these aren't big names, but these acquisitions were crucial. Both players are good defenders and have the size they lacked last postseason. If we had Parker and Moon against the Magic, that series would have been completely different. Great perimeter defenders with length (and Moon is a freak athletically, can't wait to see some of the dunks he and LeBron will be throwing down this season), and they can both knock down the open 3 pointer (Parker is a 40% 3 pt shooter).

    Shaq is definitely not too old to contribute, did you watch him with the Suns last season? If you did, you would know that he is still very capable (led the league in FG%). He certainly won't play 40 minutes a game, but that is neither here nor there. Contrary to Big Z, Shaq can D up opposing big men. This too was exposed in the series vs the Magic...I'm not sure any human is capable of completely canceling out a force such as Dwight Howard, but he could certainly give him some problems, or any other big for that matter.

    Basically, last postseason was a learning experience. The Cavs' weaknesses were exposed, and as a result, they went out and fixed those problems.

    Sure, the Lakers roster has some sexier names than the Cavs roster, but as a true fan and student of the game of basketball, that really means nothing to me. We have LeBron James, the best player in the league. He turned Mo Williams into an All Star. He doesn't need extraordinary talent around him, just role players who do what they're supposed to do, and the Cavs now have that.

    Bottom line is this: NO team is going to make it look easy come playoff time. Cleveland, LA, San Antonio and Boston are all extremely talented, and not one of those teams will go away quietly, not to mention Denver and Orlando.

    If any knowledgeable person thinks LA is just going to breeze by these other great teams, well, frankly, you don't know shit. That, or you're extremely biased.
  • Dolemite
    The Celtics are way too old, look for injuries to really wear down their squad.

    As for the Cavs... well they looked terrible against the Magic and Shaq is too old to truly contribute.
  • good comments, bob
  • Bob
    They definitely will not make it look easy. They might not even be the best team in the West! After acquiring RJ, I'm not so sure the Spurs aren't the best team in the West.

    Andrew Bynum is a bum. He did absolutely nothing in the postseason.

    If healthy, the Celtics are not going to go away easily. After picking up 'Sheed, they are legitimate contenders.

    And then there's the Cavs. Although I disagree that players like Varejao and Delonte are average, I will say that they don't really need a handful of superstars to contend. They have the best player in the game, and all the Diesel does is win championships. Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon were crucial acquisitions, great defenders with length who can knock down the trey ball. Call them 'average,' but they are the perfect role players. The Cavs lack of size was exposed against the Magic when they couldn't matchup with Shard and Hedo, so we went out and fixed that problem.

    The King is hungry, and he's gonna eat. Shaq's motto "win a ring for the King." What happened when he promised a title in Miami? Wait for it.......
  • Dolemite
    "The only way the Cavs can beat the Lakers is if Delonte West brings his guitar case to the finals." LMAO

    I think you maybe discrediting the Spurs too much.. I do think they are worse than the Lakers but they do have a boat load of talent and a mind set of winning.
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