Los Angeles Lakers: 8 Bold NBA Predictions for Lakers' Second Half

The Los Angeles Lakers have won three of the past four Western Conference titles and five of the past 11 NBA championships. They are also 16-12 this season, sitting in fifth place in their own conference and being written off by many "experts" as an over-the-hill group in need of wholesale change who can't possibly compete with the Heat, Thunders or Bulls as legitimate title contenders.

Are the Lakers legitimate title contenders due to having three all-star level starters, or are they doomed to experience a second straight early playoff exit due to their poor point guard, small forward and bench play?

Here are seven bold predictions for the Lakers' second half:

Prediction No. 1: The Lakers Will Aquire a Starting Point Guard

The Los Angeles Lakers have the worst point guard rotation in the NBA, period. Derek Fisher and Steve Blake have combined to shoot 36 percent from the field, 29 percent from deep, 78 percent from the free-throw line and score a combined 10.8 points per 48 minutes. Those are horrible stats, absolutely and utterly horrible!

If the Lakers had just an average NBA point guard running their team, they would most likely have a top-two record in the Western Conference and top-four record in the league. As is, just a short while ago, they were not even on pace to make the playoffs this season.

The Lakers need a quality starting point guard more than they need anything else, and the front office is well aware of this fact. General manager Mitch Kupchak was willing to commit the grave basketball sin of trading big for small at the beginning of the season when he offered Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom for Chris Paul. Commissioner Stern nixed that trade, the Lakers went to work with the Fisher and Blake duo and Chris Paul ended up with the Clippers.

The Clippers quickly took control of the Pacific Division, and the Lakers are still looking up to them despite losing Chauncey Billups to a season-ending knee injury.

The fastest and easiest option for adding a quality starting point guard would be to simply sign a current free agent such as Gilbert Arenas, Allen Iverson or Rafer Alston, and I personally would advocate the signing of Arenas. However, the Lakers brass may choose to acquire a point guard using the trade exemption they acquired in the Lamar Odom to the Mavericks catastrophe, or even making a more conventional trade.

Regardless of what decision Kupchak comes up with, the fact is, there is no reason whatsoever the Lakers can’t add a starting quality point guard to their roster by this year’s trade deadline, as options abound.

For example, the Lakers could use the trade protection, and in certain cases, one or even both of their first-round picks to acquire the likes of:

D.J. Augustin from the Bobcats

Beno Udrih from the Bucks

Ramon Sessions from the Cavaliers

Mo Williams from the Clippers

Kirk Hinrich from the Hawks

Andre Miller from the Nuggets

Goran Dragic or Jonny Flynn from the Rockets

Or even former Laker Jordan Farmar of the Nets or a combo guard who can man the point position in OJ Mayo of the Grizzlies.

The Lakers could easily get any one of the above point guards using nothing more than their trade exemption and a pick or two, and therefore, it is unthinkable to this writer that one of the above 10 point guards or a current free agent won’t be added to the Lakers roster by the trade deadline.

Personally, I would sign Arenas ASAP and give him a chance to prove himself. If it doesn’t work out, and work out fast, the Lakers could simply cut him and trade for one of the above 10 points, preferably Williams, Sessions or Mayo.

Prediction No. 2: The Lakers Will Acquire a Starting Small Forward

While the Lakers have the worst crop of point guards in the entire league, their small forward crop isn’t much better. It’s not the worst, but it’s far from the best.

Metta World Peace and Matt Barnes are both fantastic pests, solid teammates and gamers; they simply can’t put the ball into the basket very well, which amazingly, is quite important in this sport called basketball.

Devin Ebanks has promise and has earned the praise of none other than Kobe Bryant for his practice habits, but he seems buried on Mike Brown’s bench with little chance at receiving any meaningful playing time. Jason Kapono was a great long-range shooter years ago. He is now just taking up a roster spot that could be given to a more impactful player. Luke Walton is a wonderful water boy and great teammate who should have retired at the beginning of the season and joined the coaching staff.

One thing sticks out above all after reading the above paragraph: The Lakers are loaded at the small forward position. Five of the 14 players on their roster are small forwards, yet none of them are starter quality, and the position is the second weakest link on the team. The time for change is now.

Just as with the point guard position, the Lakers front office has the ability to add a starting quality small forward to the roster without trading a single current player and merely using their trade exemption, as well as one, or even both, of their first-round picks in the upcoming draft.

Below is a list of small forwards the Lakers could easily acquire ASAP without giving up one current player:

Marvin Williams from the Hawks

Tayshaun Prince from the Pistons

Stephen Jackson from the Bucks

Michael Beasley from the Timberwolves

Grant Hill from the Suns

This writer would personally make a play for Stephen Jackson, as I believe he could be acquired on the cheap, and his warrior mentality and friendship with Metta World Peace, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard would be a perfect fit. I would also advocate acquiring the ultra-talented Michael Beasley, though it is clear that any of the above small forwards would be an enormous upgrade at the small forward position for the Lakers.

Prediction No. 3: The Lakers Will Trade Andrew Bynum And/or Pau Gasol

If the Lakers do the smart thing and quickly sign Gilbert Arenas and J.R. Smith to contracts, as they should, this prediction may fail to come to pass, and rightfully so. This writer personally believes that adding Arenas and Smith are the only moves the Lakers truly need to make to guarantee their fourth Western Conference championship in five seasons.

However, he also believes that if the Lakers were to immediately sign Arenas and Smith and play solid ball with the two of them leading up to the trade deadline that Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic would forget all about the New Jersey Nets and demand to be traded to the Lakers and the Lakers alone. The Lakers could then trade Andrew Bynum,

Darius Morris, Devin Ebanks and both of their first-round picks in the deep upcoming draft for Howard and field a starting five of Arenas/Smith/Bryant/Gasol/Howard

If the above plan, which we can call “the Jefferson plan,” unfolds, David Stern can start making plans to hand the Lakers their 17th NBA championship trophy.

This writer personally believes the reason the Lakers have not acquired a free agent or made a trade for a starting quality point guard or small forward to date can be summed up in two words. Those two words are “Dwight” and “Howard”.

This writer believes the Lakers are trying their hardest to convince Dwight Howard and his agent that the Lakers are the best fit for him and that the Lakers will make a major play to acquire him just before the trade deadline, offering Gasol, picks and cash for Howard alone and agreeing to trade Bynum, Ebanks, Kapono, Walton, picks and cash for Howard and Hedo Turkoglu if the Magic play some real hardball.

Once this trade is completed, the Lakers would turn their attention to adding Arenas, Sessions or another point guard and just start Turkoglu at the small forward spot. Not a bad plan at all…if it works.

Prediction No. 4: The Lakers Will Win the Pacific Division

At present, the Lakers sit 1.5 games behind the Clippers for not only city bragging rights, but the top spot in the Pacific Division; that will change.

Losing Chauncey “Mr. Big Shot” Billups was a devastating blow to the young Clippers team. Billups was the consummate pro, a stabilizing force both on and off the court, and with him healthy, the Clippers most definitely could have won the Western Conference.

Billups is not healthy, won’t be healthy until next season, when he could be wearing a different team’s jersey, and the Clippers are no longer a legitimate title contender in this writer’s opinion.

Of course, all of that could change if the Clippers manage to sign J.R. Smith, as he would be a perfect fit with Chris Paul and provide the long-range shooting the team lost when Billups went down with his season-ending knee injury. However, it seems that Smith is leaning towards signing with the Knicks or Lakers instead.

As is, the Clippers are slipping, the Lakers are gaining ground and while the Clippers have turned to Randy Foye to rescue their shooting guard position, the Lakers are set to acquire a starting quality point guard and small forward and overtake the Clippers as division champions by the end of the season, if not much sooner.

Prediction No. 5: The Lakers Will Win Their First-Round Playoff Series

While this prediction may not seem to be very “bold,” seeing as the Lakers have advanced past the first round of the playoffs the past four seasons and in 12 of the past 14 postseasons, the Lakers are currently on pace to finish fifth in the Western Conference and go on the road to play the Mavericks, a team that swept them out of the playoffs just last season, if the postseason were to start today.

This writer personally believes that by the trade deadline, the Lakers will have added a starting quality point guard and small forward at worst and strengthen those two positions while also adding Dwight Howard at best.

That said, this writer believes the Lakers will finish the season with a top-four seed in the Western Conference and have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, which will lead to a first-round victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Prediction No. 6: The Lakers Will Win Their Second-Round Playoff Series

Despite winning three of the past four Western Conference titles, the Lakers have also failed to advance past the second round of the playoffs in three of the past six seasons. If the playoffs were to start today and the Lakers were to somehow defeat the Mavericks in the first round, they would find themselves going on the road to play the Oklahoma City Thunder and their league best overall record, as well as 10-1 current home record. Not many “experts” would give them a chance in such a series.

This writer is one of the few who actually believe that even as is, the Lakers would indeed defeat the Thunder in a seven-game series, even with the Thunder having home-court advantage. However with the addition of a starting quality point guard, small forward and perhaps even Dwight Howard, the Lakers will be too much for the young Thunder to handle.

Regular season records are nice, and the Thunder look amazing up to this point of the season, but if you’ll recall, the Spurs had the best record in the West last year and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

In short, regular season records mean little in any professional sport. The postseason is all about matchups, and the Lakers are just a bad matchup for the Thunder.

Prediction No. 7: The Lakers Will Win the Western Conference

“Experts” such as Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley have made no bones about saying the current Lakers team is anything but a legitimate title contender. In fact, Johnson has made it extremely clear that he believes the Lakers as currently constructed are finished being title contenders and should do whatever it takes to trade for Dwight Howard. That could mean dealing both Andrew Bynum, a player that is two years younger than Howard, has two championship rings and is already the second best center in the league, and Pau Gasol, a player who is a lock for the Hall of Fame himself and still a top-five power forward in the game.

Barkley has gone so far as to say Kobe Bryant will never average 30 points in a mere playoff series again (never mind the fact that he has averaged over 30 points per game for most of this season and is still leading the league in scoring to date), let alone lead these current Lakers to a title and that the team is more a “pretender” than a “contender."

This writer, however, feels that even as is, the Lakers should be the odds-on favorite to win the Western Conference, primarily because the only team that seems to be head and shoulders better than them is the OKC Thunder, a team that doesn’t match up well with the Lakers.

This writer also feels that the Lakers will make major moves before the end of this season, and after defeating the Clippers and Thunder in the first two rounds of the playoffs, defeat the Dallas Mavericks in the Conference Finals, exacting revenge on the team who swept the heavily-favored Lakers out of last year’s playoffs.

Prediction No. 8: The Lakers Will Play the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals

As this writer made clear above, the Lakers as is can and should win the Western Conference, and it seems a near guarantee that the Lakers will add at least one and possibly two or more quality starters to their unbalanced lineup before the season is finished, re-establishing themselves as the cream of the crop in the Western Conference.

The Miami Heat, however, have been a bit under the radar this season after being followed by the paparazzi as if they were the basketball Beatles last season. Currently, the Heat have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, and many “experts” feel the Bulls are the better team even if they don’t have as many superstars as the Heat.

This writer, however, couldn’t agree less and feels the only way the Bulls could beat the Heat in a playoff series is if one of the Heat’s Big Three of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were injured for multiple games.

This writer will also stop his prediction short of naming a winner, but will say that if the Lakers have Dwight Howard and a new starting quality point guard and small forward, they will defeat the Heat. If, on the other hand, they make it to the Finals as is or even with a new quality starting point guard “or” small forward, but not both, they will lose to the Heat.

If the Lakers, however, follow “the Jefferson plan,” which is to sign Gilbert Arenas and J.R. Smith and then trade Andrew Bynum, picks and cash for Dwight Howard, hand them the title now!