Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics: One Rises As The Other Falls

Over this past year, many players have changed the color of their uniforms, the most significant being Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Pau Gasol. 

Their respective teams, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers went from barely playoff contenders to championship contenders, virtually overnight.  In the case of the Boston Celtics, not even playoff contenders.  This team hit dirt bottom last year. 

There was even some suspicion regarding the theory that this team threw games in order to receive a better chance at receiving the first round draft pick, and coveted college standout Greg Oden.  However, life is never fair. 

The Portland Trailblazers surprised everybody by winning the draft lottery and therefore picking up Oden.  Not only that, but the Celtics got their first pick at number five.  That’s a long ways away considering that the Celtics finished by far the worst team in the NBA, and in one of the shallowest draft years too.

As time would tell, the Celtics picked up Jeff Green, but shipped him off in a package with Wally Szcerbiak and Delonte West for Ray Allen and the 35th overall pick.  Using that pick, they chose “Big Baby” Glen Davis, a 6’9” forward from LSU. 

Not only did the Celtics trade for Allen, but they also sent Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, a 2009 first round draft pick (top three protected) and a return of Minnesota's conditional first round draft pick previously obtained in the Ricky Davis-Wally Szczerbiak trade for 10-time All-Star Kevin Garnett.

On the Lakers side of the ball is a different story.  This team was still reeling in the wake of the Shaquille O’Neal trade.  Superstition was that the team would never be able to win without Shaq again. With many a great game by none other than Kobe Bryant, the Lakers settled for a rematch with the Phoenix Suns, who had obligingly demolished them the year before and unfortunately, did it again. 

Going into the new season, the Lakers were looking at another long year of claiming the seventh seed in the West yet again.  With the doing of Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak and team owner Dr. Jerry Bus traded Kwame Brown, sandwiched with rookie Javaris Crittenton, and two first round draft picks for Memphis Grizzlies 7-footer Pau Gasol.  With the earlier maturation of Andrew Bynum, the Lakers looked set to go from perennial No. 7 seed to a so-called pure championship contender.

Now, with stacked teams, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers are the NBA’s projected image and are currently Commissioner David Stern’s favorites to play for the NBA Championship this summer.  But can they each go the distance in their own respective conferences?  Probably not. 

The Lakers, talented as they are at the moment are counting on the return of Andrew Bynum to fuel their last push for the first seed in the Western Conference.  That is all good and fine, but the only problem is, Bynum and Gasol have never played a game with each other.  While this combo, along with Kobe Bryant might look daunting, a large part of being a successful team is having team chemistry. 

No team in the NBA will ever win a championship without trusting each other to the fullest extent.  In addition to this, the Lakers play in the very talented Western Conference, which boasts perennial winners, the San Antonio Spurs, and perennial contenders in the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks. 

Not only that, but there are several teams starting to emerge from obscurity, the New Orleans Hornets, the Golden State Warriors, and the Houston Rockets.  Even if the Lakers somehow manage to finish in the top of the conference, there is the question of having enough strength to battle through several rounds against the premiere teams of the conference. 

There is no doubt that the Lakers have the potential to make the NBA Finals, but the question stands at whether they can make it this year, before they develop the chemistry.