Hi fanatics! Welcome to my season preview for the Lakers.
Here we go again down the road less traveled: a season that
more than likely will end with the Lakers missing the playoffs for the third
year in a row (a Los Angeles Lakers first!). Most experts have pegged the
Lakers to be one of the worst teams in the West, and Las Vegas has us at 300 to
1 odds to win it all.
Well to h@ll with that! There’s more to this year’s team than those dire predictions of them ending up in the league basement. This season has potential in different ways. Specifically:
*The swan song of Kobe Bryant. “He may stick around” rumors aside, this is probably everyone’s last chance to see the future Hall of Famer in action. I, for one, am hoping for a few more highlight moments.
*The future younglings are loose! I am looking forward to watching the young guys learn their chops. Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., Anthony Brown and Jordan Clarkson could very well be our starting lineup next year. Think about it: youth, speed, athleticism…and a league that has very few true centers. I’d love to see them all on the court at the same time and have Coach Bryon Scott let them run free. These kids might be the modern day version of Showtime!
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| Russell, Brown and Nance Jr. |
*Metta World Peace is back! Anything goes with this guy, and with him and Nick Young on the same team, there’s going to be some colorful, in not numerous, technical fouls.
Okay let’s break it down further:
GUARDS
The starting guards on opening night will probably be
Clarkson and Russell, two young thoroughbreds that were born to run. Clarkson
earned his position, but D’Angelo, despite being the #2 pick in the draft,
needs some seasoning. I wouldn’t be surprised if Coach Scott starts NBA-newbie
Marcel Huertas at times. Huertas is 32, and he has years of pro ball under his
belt, albeit not in the NBA. If pre-season is any indication, he’ll do fine at
the point.
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| Marcel Huertas |
Clarkson’s back up at the shooting guard position will Lou
Williams. This savvy veteran is the reigning 6th Man of the Year. I
think he’s going to be great spark plug off the bench for us. And unlike
pre-season, he won’t have to handle any point guard duties, which should allow
him to light it up.
Rounding out the core of guards is rookie Anthony Brown and,
veteran Nick Young. You know what you get with Swaggy P, now we would like a
little more. Specifically I want more defense, and so does Scott. I think Nick
knows that if he’s not playing defense, he’ll have to watch out for splinters while he’s riding the pine.
Brown is a rookie from Stanford who excels at three point shooting and defense. He looks pretty confident out on the floor. I think he’ll eventually be a nice fit for this team.
FORWARDS
The starting forward should be Kobe and Randle. For Kobe,
sliding up to the three spot should be a blessing. It will be a little easier
for him guarding small forwards as opposed to speedy shooting guards. If he
stays injury-free, Kobe will give us a solid numbers across the board. If this
indeed his final season, I doubt he’ll allow himself to go out with a whimper.
Randle might be the most exciting player on the team. There’s
loads of potential everywhere on this squad, but watching this guy sprint out
on a break and finishing at the rim has me smiling. Since he only played one
game last year, there were those who felt he might not be ready. I think this
kid, before season’s end, will be in the top 25 in at least two offensive categories.
Hopefully it won’t be turnovers and fouls.
Rounding out the forwards we have core veterans Brandon Bass
and World Peace, a youngster jack-in the-box in Nance, and man-bun holdover
Ryan Kelly. Bass will be a nice addition to the front court. He’s solid and
works hard. With World Peace, it’s a crap shoot. I think he can still do a few
things out there, but I like that he’s mentoring Randle. The Lakers been soft
as a team these past few seasons, and we could use a tough veteran on the bench.
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| Man-Bun-Hairdo Kelly |
As for Ryan Kelly……really? Is the free agent pool so dry that we had to bring him back for a third season? I have yet to see anything from him that proves he deserves to be on this roster. Can him and save some salary.
CENTERS
Tarik Black was brought back for his 2nd year. I
love his energy, toughness and activity level. I just wish he were a little
taller, and wasn’t as foul prone. Otherwise, he’ll be an adequate back up at
the five and four positions.
Robert Sacre is in the same boat as Ryan Kelly: he just keeps
hanging around and somehow makes the roster. Apparently it’s an impossible task
finding a quality backup center. Sacre will loom in the paint and lumber down
the floor again, while occasionally having a solid game. Even if he could
double his output from previous seasons, I’m not sure that would be enough.
So what should we, the diehard fans of the Lakers, expect? Don’t expect a post-season appearance. While I
haven't completely ruled it out, I find it hard to believe that this team will qualify.
They're better than last year, and I think they can win 30 to 35 games, but
there is too much youth, and not enough star power.
So what I want is fast, fun entertaining team. One that can
defeat the lower dregs, and compete with the league's elite. Give me a
great effort for 48 minutes while sowing the seeds for the future, and honoring
the greatness of number 24.
You're tired of this missing the playoffs, I get that. But
barring a huge trade, or an over-achieving season, I think we're headed for
another season ending in April. If they don't sign any big free agents next
year to go along with our maturing youth, a regime change will be in order, as
promised by Jeanie Buss.
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