Los Angeles Lakers Are Still The Team To Beat
The Lakers have won back to back championships, strengthened their bench, added defensive tenacity, made great off-season acquisitions, and have secured the services of the greatest coach of all time for one more year.
These reasons alone, along with the fact that they are the two time defending NBA champions, should be reason enough to predict yet another Laker victory parade in downtown Los Angeles. However, new forces have emerged which could possibly pose a threat to the Lakers. Nonetheless, a thorough evaluation of the Lakers is warranted if claims are to be made of a three-peat.
The Lakers have made crucial pickups this off-season: Steve Blake, Theo Ratliff and Matt Barnes. Furthermore, it is expected that the Lakers sign their two draft picks, Devin Ebanks and Derick Caracter.
The acquisition of Steve Blake fills the void of a strong and consistent point guard to come off of the bench for Derek Fisher. Despite being smaller in size, Theo Ratliff is a considerable upgrade over DJ Mbenga, bringing to the team rebounding, shot blocking, and above all, defense. Matt Barnes is another strong defensive piece. He supplies the team with toughness, intensity, and an opportunity for Kobe Bryant to save his legs for the offensive end.
The five off-season acquisitions significantly strengthen the Lakers bench, which was a serious issue this past NBA season. Theo Ratliff, Matt Barnes, Steve Blake, Lamar Odom and one other bench player or starter can serve as the Lakers second unit, while the majority of the starters are resting. This is a significant upgrade over DJ Mbenga, Josh Powell, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic. Furthermore, if on instance, Phil Jackson decided to go with Kobe Bryant, Matt Barnes and Ron Artest in the back-court, and Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum in the paint, serious problems would be posed for any team in the league attempting to run their offense past these five players.
Devin Ebanks and Derick Caracter are virtual steals in the second round. Both have dominated the summer league, and both could develop into strong role players for the Lakers as the season progresses.
Kobe Bryant has found his niche as a leader. Over the past three seasons, he has learned to dominate not only by scoring, but more so by getting his teammates involved and playing strong defense when his shots are not falling. Bryant has not lost his ability to score at will - he recorded a career high six game winning shots during the regular season. He scored 20 points in one quarter during the NBA Finals. He has learned to trust in his teammates more, and Bryant's level of play with Pau Gasol is only developing with experience. There is no indication whatsoever that Kobe is on a decline, and NBA fans worldwide impatiently wait to see what Kobe Bryant is going to do next. Along with successful knee surgery and an opportunity to let his finger heal in the off-season, there is no reason to expect nothing but championship caliber basketball from Bryant.
Pau Gasol has become more physical. His finness play and well developed post-up game have never been called into question, but since the 2008 Finals versus the Celtics, the toughness factor was a constant and debilitating monkey on Pau's shoulder. In the last Finals however, Pau showed that he can be tough and rough, and grind for 48 minutes when necessary for the win. Also, although under the radar, Pau has shown serious signs of a strong jump shot from the perimeter. He had obviously been working on after the Lakers first championship with this squad, and watch for him to develop it even further this offseason and bring it to the court.
The entire Laker team now has two three years of NBA Finals experience. When considering that there are younger members of this Laker team - Andrew Bynum, Sasha Vujacic, Shannon Brown - this is a valuable asset. This team as a whole has experienced being down 3-2 in the NBA Finals, on the brink of elimination, only to come back and win it all. This is an invaluable factor when considering team chemistry and experience.
Andrew Bynum has earned the respect of his teammates. Although the entire Laker organization, along with fans and players, understand how important Andrew is to this Lakers squad, his ability to play through serious injury during the postseason, especially the Finals, has earned him major kudos from his teammates, especially from Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Although still injury prone, he exhibited toughness and sheer will and understood how important his role was to the Lakers chances of a repeat. This will not be overlooked, and will manifest itself into more trust and respect from his teammates.
Above all, Phil Jackson is once again coaching the Lakers. Phil is undoubtably the greatest coach of all time and his services are the single most important factor if the Lakers are to attempt a repeat. Phil's achievements, coaching style, and overall personality are the reason why players such as Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest are able to play team ball and blindly oblige by his demands. If Phil were not back with the Lakers, chances of a three-peat would be significantly lower.
There are several teams that have also gotten stronger in the off-season: The Dallas Mavericks, The Oklahoma City Thunder, The Miami Heat, The Chicago Bulls. And others, like the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics continue to remain very deserving contenders, but none have the same make of the Lakers, thus, making them the team to beat in the NBA in the 2010-2011 season.
