LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Advanced Stats:
PACE #18 93.3
OFFENSE: #07 107.9
DEFENSE: #06 101.3
The last season of Phil Jackson as coach didn’t go
very well for him and for the Lakers as they were humiliated and swept by the
Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs.
I won’t waste a lot of time with the Lakers last
season other than saying that they were one of the few teams that were in the
top 10 in both defensive and offensive efficiency and as an introduction for
this season, the Lakers are coming from a season in which they were “incredible
healthy” except Andrew Bynum as usual: Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Metta World Piece, Lamar Odom and even Kobe
Bryant played all 82 games of the regular season!!!
A lineup Fisher – Bryant – Metta World Piece –
Odom – Gasol was by far the most used lineup of all teams of the league last
season and this shouldn’t be a surprise because they all played all games of
the season! I can’t imagine the same happening this season, as no way a team
can go two seasons in a row without any injury on so many key players.
Unless the Lakers front office pulls some
miracle, the Lakers offseason was a complete disaster from the start. Their
need for a PG is a long time issue because Fisher simply hasn’t the legs to
compete against the young guns anymore, so the Lakers tried to get Chris Paul
and apparently they didn’t/don’t have a plan B. Going for this season with
Fisher and Steve Blake is a considerable risk for a supposed contending team.
The Lakers had arguably the best frontline of the
league in Gasol, Bynum and Odom and they decided to let go Odom for the NBA
Champs Dallas Mavericks for basically….money! Don’t forget that Bynum is
suspended for the first 5 games of the regular season and his injury history is
very long and this season is full of b2b games and bad physical spots, so the
Lakers have an incredible thin frontcourt. Josh McRoberts and Troy Smith aren’t bad
players, but when we compare them to Lamar Odom, well we just can’t compare
them because it’s unfair.
Kobe Bryant didn’t have a good season for his standards, as his multiple injuries slowed him down all season long. However even though Bryant had pretty good players as teammates that didn’t stop him to have the highest usage rate since the Lakers acquired Gasol! In fact, only Monta Ellis attempted more field goals per game than Kobe Bryant and that’s was obscene not only because the Lakers don’t need Bryant to play like he was in 2005 but also because he was “injured” and obviously his athletic ability wasn’t the same. Fortunately, it looks like Bryant is healthy for this season and the Lakers will need him to carry the team more than ever.
Kobe Bryant didn’t have a good season for his standards, as his multiple injuries slowed him down all season long. However even though Bryant had pretty good players as teammates that didn’t stop him to have the highest usage rate since the Lakers acquired Gasol! In fact, only Monta Ellis attempted more field goals per game than Kobe Bryant and that’s was obscene not only because the Lakers don’t need Bryant to play like he was in 2005 but also because he was “injured” and obviously his athletic ability wasn’t the same. Fortunately, it looks like Bryant is healthy for this season and the Lakers will need him to carry the team more than ever.
After a great start of the season in which he was
clearly one of the best players in the league, Pau Gasol looked completely
exhausted at the end of the season and in the playoffs he really couldn’t do
anything. Gasol is still one of the best big players of the league but fatigue
could be once again a problem and I’ve already mentioned that the Lakers don’t
have good depth on the frontcourt.
Mike Brown is the new Head Coach and likely the
“Triangle Offense” is gone for the Lakers. These are good news for Metta World
Peace because he never realize how to play in that scheme so in a more traditional
system, Metta World Peace can be a big factor for this season. Brown is a good
defensive coach, as his Cavaliers team were always good on D but on the
offensive end, he is little creative.
This season has everything to be a disaster for
the Lakers. They won’t have such an injury-free season like they had last
season and in a league that is thriven by great point guards who are explosive
and ultra athletic, the Lakers have now the slowest rotation of the league in
this position. Their premier size advantage is now gone with the departure of
Lamar Odom and finally, they also have a new head coach that will have to
adjust on the fly. There are just too many issues for them to consider the
Lakers as a top contender for the title, unless something happens…
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