7 Reasons 2010 Was the Los Angeles Lakers' Perfect Preseason
The Lakers won a dream NBA Finals. then came July and Miami was crowned--without even stepping on the court. The rich got richer, small markets suffered, and the balance of power shifted to the East. The stat-freaks were sweating Kobe's 28.2 percent.
I'll bet Kobe regrets ever saying his knee was 60 percent after the London game.
Oh no! Bynum's dragging along in his rehab! How selfish of him to take 10 extra days off before going under the knife, again.
What? He's not coming back until December? As a role player? Plenty of grist for the mill.
The Lakers ended their pre-season 4-4... the perfect pre-season. Click the Next button to see why.
The Los Angeles Lakers' 2010 Pre-Preseason
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2010 will be remembered as the year basketball did not end--at least for me. The finals were an absolute Lakers fantasy wet-dream, capped off by Ron Artest’s interview for the ages.
In July came the "LeBron Show," culminating in “The Decision,” in which James demanded that the basketball spotlight shine on South Beach, leaving L.A. to quietly enjoy life at the top and leaving Kobe somehow transformed from villain to hero, overnight.
Free agency brought a power shift to the Eastern Conference, making the Lakers' road to the finals a bit easier. The Celtics fine-tuned their formidable team with some serious bulk. The Lakers' acquisitions of Blake, Barnes and Ratliff were strategic, valuable additions that will energize the bench.
Draft day for the world champions is usually a pretty ho-hum affair, but the Lakers came away with a couple of great second-round steals in Caracter and Ebanks.
Finally, of course, Odom got his two-fer, winning the FIBA World Championships and playing himself into the best shape of his career, mentally and physically. I found it odd that Lamar was starting center for Team USA, while on the Lakers, he would be fourth, behind Bynum, Gasol and Ratliff.
NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers' European Vacation
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Are you kidding? How does disrupting your entire preseason make it perfect? There are several aspects to this apparently wild theory, involving PJ, Kobe and Pau, and the younger Lakers.
For Phil, he’s typically a bit of a curmudgeon during the preseason, sometimes insufferably so. The Lakers Eurotrip basically gave him carte blanche to be at his most crusty, even to the Barcelona team that just beat his guys up.
Kobe blossomed into a global ambassador for basketball, the NBA and the USA on the trip, no doubt paving the way for a gold medal game in London in 2012.
Pau returned home a champion, and he took the opportunity to show his teammates a good time in his home town.
Andrew Bynum’s Rehab: Are the Lakers Sweating It?
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The Laker Faithful fretted and sweated over Bynum’s rehab stretching out towards 2011. He’ll be back, dominating the middle before anyone is even talking about home-court advantage.
In Bynum’s defense, comparisons to Shaq’s preseason attitude are grossly unfair. Let’s just think about it for a second. He was cruising along in the playoffs until he tore his meniscus in the first round against the Thunder. The team doctors told him, incorrectly, that he couldn’t damage his knee anymore, so he took one for the team by playing through the injury to get the O’Brien Trophy. During the operation, the doctor made the decision to repair rather than snip, resulting in a longer rehab process.
Also, can you possibly imagine playing with Kobe Bryant as your teammate through an entire season and then the playoffs? No, of course not, but I’m sure it’s not your typical stroll in the park. Anyway, at 20-something with a chance to go to Europe with Kobe and Gasol for the World Cup… how do you pass that up? And this is going with the rare happy, relaxed, smiling Kobe that lasts only about a month, and only after he gets another ring. Not to mention that Pau is personal friends with many players on the Spanish team, the eventual winner of the World Cup.
If Bynum’s fate is to be injury prone, perhaps the later start to his season will allow him to last throughout the playoffs. In any case, we got a nice look at Caracter and Ratliff with Andrew’s absence.
Kobe Bryant’s Rehab: Even Diehard Laker Fans Have Had It
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When we weren’t worried about one knee, it was the other knee.
These were shocking numbers coming from the Mamba; 60 percent strength in London, 28.2 percent shooting for the preseason.
Kobe’s knee became the Laker news black hole, feeding endless speculation of Mr. Bryant’s eminent decline. As a result of the additional minutes available because of Kobe’s limited action, a rejuvenated Sasha and a healthy Shannon are providing a spirited competition for Kobe’s backup. Both are powered by upcoming nuptials.
Miami Heat: A Lot of Talent in South Beach
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We’ve all read countless articles about how the Heat’s triumvirate will motivate the Lakers to achieve their three-peat and take the pressure off them, as well.
The Lakers do not need motivation. Look at Kobe. He wants to win, period. He wants to destroy whoever happens to be going up against him on the court. He would play just as hard if it cost him $300,000 to play each game. That’s just Kobe, the way he’s wired.
How Kobe rolls, the Lakers roll. They’re not looking over their collective shoulders to see who’s coming up on them. But what the Heat do provide is another obstacle to greatness. Along with PJ’s mind-blowing quadruple-triple during his “final” year as coach, Kobe and Fish’s sixth rings, and the prospects of another Laker three-peat, the Miami Heat will prove the ultimate foil by which Kobe’s greatness is judged--the ultimate quest.
The Longest Preseason: The Lakers' Overtime Finish against Golden State
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It’s hard to get excited about a preseason game, but the comeback victory to finish the pre-season was perfectly exciting.
At least, that’s what I heard.
I unfortunately turned off the TV and headed out to a full moon party on the beach with a couple minutes left and the Lakers down by 9. Apparently they came back and tied it up, giving us (the collective us, not me personally) five extra minutes of basketball and the longest preseason game in recent memory. And did I happen to mention the finish?
Barnes’s Domestic Non-Issue Won't Derail the Lakers
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This was the most negative Laker news story during the offseason.
Lakerdom held its collective breath last year to see what Ron-Ron would do in Tinseltown. When his worst was showing up on late-night TV in his shorties, we all breathed the sigh of relief. If that’s the worst...
The same feeling came over me with that 911 call and Matt Barnes’s arrest. It could have been a lot worse. It could have broiled into a month-long series of articles covering every aspect of Matt’s personal life, dragging him through court and the papers. Fortunately, it did not happen and has quietly gone away. This is the one little flaw that makes the preseason a perfect one for the Lakers, just ask the Zen master.
