Lakers get stronger but so does the League – NBA Preview
If there is an empire in the NBA over the past decade it’s the LA Lakers. Already with six appearances in nine years and four titles, the LakeShow is as close to dominant as you can get without wearing pinstripes. And much like their mirror image from MLB the Empire has gotten stronger, with the addition of Ron Artest, LA finally has some ‘stank’ to go with all of that fineness. However it’s not going to be easy for them as the rest of the league, particularly at the top, has gotten better as well. The Cavs have added the Diesel, Boston adds to its age (and championship experience) with Sheed, out West the Spurs get a much need spark in the paint in Richard Jefferson, and should be in jail for stealing Blair out of the draft, as he could be the Charles Barkley of the next decade. Don’t forget the defending Eastern Conference Champs that added Vincanity to a very well balanced lineup. So the trip back up the mountain will not be easy for LA, and some say they’re not going to repeat the feat of the “Combo Dynasty” of early Zeros, particularly because of the strength out of the East. It’s clear that we’ve seen a shift in the balance of power over the past five years as early on in the decade 4 of the top 5 teams played in the Pacific time zone, now it’s the reciprocal as the powerhouses are on the right coast which bodes the question: will the winner of the East have anything left to take on LA if they get there? Can Boston stay healthy enough to make it through 82 games? Will Shaq and LBJ run into the same problems as Shaq/Kobe? How much has Vince’s skills diminished, and can he take the Magic to the next level? Will Tracy ever complete a playoff season where the Rockets win a series? All good questions that will be answered over the next six months. Let us know your thoughts here and in the chat rooms as we have a chat room for every game on the schedule. Also chime in on any of the quick links:
World Champions struggle to keep the core together
As soon as the parade was over, well actually during the parade, the questions were swarming if the Lakers were going to be able to keep their championship team in tact. Mainly free agents Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, and Shannon Brown. The feeling in LA is that they have the components to make another trip back (and win) a second consecutive NBA title. After Kobe stated that he would not opt out of his extension it appeared that the off season in La-LaLand would be as beautiful as the weather. Unfortunately there are some flaws in the planning of the “Purple Reign” sequel. Firstly, the Lakers need to get their house in order as they appear to be unclear on the Odom (10 million) deal and even further away from Ariza (5.6 vs. 8million) that his agent was looking for, and the Shannon Brown talks have yet to get off the ground. Even if LA can miraculously come to terms with all three that doesn’t ensure their ticket for a return engagement as the rest of the league has made additions in the draft the Lakers felt they had enough in the cubborad to stand pat, a major mistake. The move that may come back to haunt them is passing on the Pittsburgh twins (Blair and Young) who could have immediately helped their one blaring deficiency, getting out “physicaled” on the boards. They got plenty of firepower on offense what they need is an enforcer (aka Rick Fox, Coach Rambis). Although not complacent, perhaps too confident that their current hand will be good enough to withstand another flop, and even though they may be playing with house money as the last team to repeat, if the chips don’t fall into place USC can feel comfortable re-painting the Coliseum Cardinal and Gold again.
