Four Reasons the Lakers Won't Win It All

Four Reasons Why The Lakers Will Not Win it All
A LayupDrill.com Exclusive

There are a number or analysts, so-called experts, and prognosticators that will tell you all the reasons why [fill in NBA contender here] can win the NBA title.

Here at LayupDrill.com, we tell our readers the facts and never sugarcoat them.

We all can agree on the half a dozen legitimate title contenders out there. Each one of those teams has many strengths, and if the chips fall their way, you could see any of them hoisting the NBA Championship in June.

However, we want to take time out to break down the top four reasons why each team will not win it all as well. We continue this series looking at the reigning Western Conference Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers.

1. The curse of Andrew Bynum

The very talented, yet injury-prone big man went down over a month ago with a knee injury, and fans all over the country held their collective breath. Yet, since the injury, the Lakers have not missed a beat.

Like NBA TV analyst David Aldridge said shortly after the injury, L.A won’t miss Bynum in March or April, but potentially in June, if they see the likes of Dwight Howard or the Celtics big men again.

All signs are pointing at Bynum being back by the playoffs, but the Lakers have to prepare and adjust their play without him. The re-insertion of Lamar Odom back into the starting lineup may be a permanent one for Phil Jackson’s crew, as even when Bynum is ready to come back, he may be brought in off the bench.

2. Kobe shoots too much

It was proven last year that (statistically speaking) when Kobe Bryant scores less, the Lakers win more. There have been games this year when the Lakers have lost games they could have won (most recently at Phoenix), the supporting cast stood around, while Kobe went crazy, scoring nearly 50 trying to will his team to victory.

3. Lessons learned last year

While the Lakers were labeled by some as being “finesse” last season, others said straight up they were soft against the Celtics.

Will the playoffs be any different?

Los Angeles may not face adversity until the West Finals, where they will have a very formidable foe en route to a possible Finals birth. The aggressiveness of Pau Gasol and Odom will be the reason the Lakers succeed or fail this postseason.

4. Making a Point

The play of the point guard position for Los Angeles was key in last year's playoffs, as both Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar made key plays at key times.

This year will be no different, and for the Lakers to advance far, they will expect great things from them. The regular season production has been respectable by the duo, however, the matchup edge against nearly every Western Conference playoff team at that position will go the other way.

Whether it’s Chauncey Billups, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Tony Parker, point guards who can make you work on both ends of the floor could prove to be costly, especially if Bryant has to spend time guarding them.