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The 2008-2009 season ended with a bang for the Los Angeles Lakers as they brought home the NBA championship trophy. Kobe Bryant scored the fourth title of his career and Phil Jackson just added to his case as the best coach of all time.
Everything seemed to come together at the perfect time for the Lakers as they cruised to victory. Although they had the perfect mix last year, that chemistry rarely transfers from year to year. Just look at how difficult it has been for teams to repeat at any professional level. Did the Lakers do enough in the offseason to reclaim their spot on the top of the league?
Let’s take a look with these Free NBA Picks for the 2009-10 season.
The biggest thing that the Lakers have going for them is Kobe Bryant, as always. It seems like he’s been around forever and he is still a formidable force in the league. No one in the league can stop him when he truly wants to score. His game is complete as he can drive to the basket, shoot the three, pull up for the jumpshot, post up, and play killer defense.
The one downside to his game has been his selfishness at times and his attitude.
The Lakers are at their best when Kobe distributes the ball and chooses his spots to score. When he tries to do it all, they tend to struggle. If he plays like he did in the playoffs last year, they will again be a very tough team to beat.
In the middle they still have big man Pau Gasol. The Spaniard has put up some fantastic numbers in his career and this season should be no different. He has a good overall game for a big guy and he is extremely talented.
Besides Gasol, they also have Andrew Bynum in the middle. If he can regain the form that he displayed before his injury, it will spell trouble for the rest of the West.
They also have one of the best sixth men in the league in Lamar Odom. The long and multi-talented Odom can do it all and his game has really evolved in the last couple of years. When Odom plays well, the Lakers seem to go to another level.
The biggest acquisition of the offseason for the Lakers came in the form of Ron Artest. Artest is a very talented player when he stays under control. As evidenced by the incident at the Palace a few years back, he can explode at any moment. Last year, he put up a good campaign for the Rockets, and his defense and timely scoring should add another dimension to the Lakers.
While they definitely have the horses to make another run, the proof will not be provided until the games are played. You never know until things play out how things will end up.
As far as expert NBA picks go, if they can stay injury-free and gel as a unit, they will be a scary team come playoff time. Regardless of what happens, it should be an exciting season in L.A.
Check out Vernon Croy’s Expert NBA Picks this season.
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