Who in the world would have expected this to happen at the start of the season? It's just amazing how this season has played out. Granted, we probably won't be staying at #1 for very long, you can't help but to enjoy it while it lasts. I have a lot of faith in this team (something I didn't have in the past seasons) and come playoff time, with Bynum back, I am positive we will do a lot of damage
Man that is nice to see . I hope that Bynum can get well soon so the Lakers can stay up in first place.
The way it's looking now, we're going to be a VERY dangerous 5-8 seed if our players stay healthy. I'm confident we can beat any team other than San Antonio. We can beat them, too (Phil Jackson makes legendary adjustments in playoff series), but they're a tougher nut to crack.
If Bynum could get back soon and play like he was playing then the Lakers might be a contending team in the playoffs, but we won't be at 1# for a long time.
Though I am counting down the days to Bynum's return, I am not entirely worried. We have the same team we have last year, true, but now we have Ariza, a better Jordan Farmar, and Fish. Also, Kupchak seems confident that we'll be signing a big soon. We will decline a little bit, but I see us at the 4th seed when Bynum returns. Also, younger guys tend to heal faster, and I think Bynum wants to return to the court ASAP. I'm going to say 5 weeks is my prediction.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (lakerman34 @ Jan 15 2008, 09:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Though I am counting down the days to Bynum's return, I am not entirely worried. We have the same team we have last year, true, but now we have Ariza, a better Jordan Farmar, and Fish. Also, Kupchak seems confident that we'll be signing a big soon. We will decline a little bit, but I see us at the 4th seed when Bynum returns. Also, younger guys tend to heal faster, and I think Bynum wants to return to the court ASAP. I'm going to say 5 weeks is my prediction.</div> That's an interesting perspective, but last year's team was a .500 win team once the injuries caught up with us. We started out 26-13 before the injury bug and finished with a 42-40 record. After the injuries the team went 16-27 and we limped into the post season. Currently we're 26-11 and Bynum will miss the next 22 games. If the Lakers can win 50% of their games it would give us a 37-22 mark before Bynum returns with 23 games left in the season. Lakers have the potential to get 50+ wins, but we need guys to play above their heads for the rest of the season. I'm hoping last night's ugly game was due to the team being down about Bynum and playing a back to back. Based on current win%'s here's how teams win totals would project: Suns - 58 wins Spurs - 57 wins Dallas - 56 wins Hornets - 55 wins Portland - 51 wins Nuggets - 50 wins Warriors - 47 wins 50 wins should be enough to get us in the playoffs, but we'd be the 6th or 7th seed again. Lakers need to get into the 55 win territory this year.
Actually I recounted and it's 27 games Bynum will miss. If the Lakers go .500 the rest of the way they would be 39-26 before Bynum returns. We would have a .600 win % with a projected win total of 49 games. 49 games only gets the 7th seed and potential 1st round meeting with Phoenix again, or those damn Spurs.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ Jan 15 2008, 11:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Actually I recounted and it's 27 games Bynum will miss. If the Lakers go .500 the rest of the way they would be 39-26 before Bynum returns. We would have a .600 win % with a projected win total of 49 games. 49 games only gets the 7th seed and potential 1st round meeting with Phoenix again, or those damn Spurs.</div> If they do go .500 the rest of the way before Bynum returns, if they continue to play the way they did with Bynum, which was at .702. That would put the Lakers at 51-31. Last year that would have put them tied 5th place in the West.
