The Lakers are back to being the Lakers: they’re the preseason favorites to win the NBA championship. Hallelujah! Anything less and this season will be deemed a failure... by the fans, by the pundits, and most importantly, by Kobe. He’s got an opt-out in his contract this summer and anything’s possible. I heard an Internet rumor that the Treasury department has $750 billion to offer Kobe if he’ll come work for them…
So what’s it going to take for this team to live up to its great expectations? Aside from the givens (Kobe playing like the One True Kobe and the team avoiding any devastating injuries), three movie-inspired plot lines will control this team’s destiny:
1) Walking Tall starring Andrew Bynum
For a magical 15 games last season, Andrew Bynum looked like the league’s next dominant big man. Clogging the lane, altering shots, scoring from the low post. He gave the Lakers the missing piece to their championship equation. Then he got injured. This year, he needs to walk tall and show that he’s all grown up. And he needs to do it for a lot more than 15 games. Put simply – that’s the season. If it doesn’t happen, nothing else really matters. Sure, the Lakers can make it to the Finals again, but will the result be different than last year? Not likely without Sheriff Drew policing the lane.
2) The Sixth Sense starring Lamar Odom
Trying to predict which Lamar is going to show up on any given night can be a whole lot like deciphering an M. Night Shyamalin movie. Now that Lamar’s coming off the bench, will he embrace the 6th Man Extraordinaire role with passion? While the starters are on the floor, Lamar needs to watch the game and sense what the team needs on that night. He’s capable of doing it all – scoring, distributing, rebounding, ball handling… He can make the All-Star team as the Lakers’ 6th man. Or he can be gone by the trading deadline. Which way will it play? It’s a mystery.
3) Young Guns II featuring Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, and Trevor Ariza
The Bench Mob, led by Farmar and Vujacic, energized the team last year. The two young guards leapt forward in their careers and turned themselves into gun slinging game changers. If they can elevate their games again this year, along with Trevor Ariza who teased us before his injury last year, the Lakers’ second unit is going to win a lot of shootouts with rival gangs.
The season premieres tonight!
Andrew Bynum is playing well this season.. With Gasol is back, the Lakers looks unbeatable..
Posted by: fioricet | December 03, 2009 at 08:17 PM