Guys (and ladies)...I'm a little tired of hearing all of the negative comments about how the Lakers are going to do this upcoming season, aren't you? I know that some of you actually believe what you hear, or you're not expecting much out of our Lakers, now that they've lost Shaq. Well, if you're the fan that you say you are, then you should believe that they will shock the world and play great...not barely make the playoffs. To those who feel the word "success" won't be addressed this year from the Lakers, here are the positives that everyone should be happy with... <ul> [*]Kobe's charges are dropped. This is great news for Kobe and the Lakers, because now Kobe can begin his training. If he continues with his plyometrics and the 6-6-6 workout routine, he'll be more than likely known as the unstoppable force, adding in the fact that his desire to win is rushing through his veins. Kobe bleeds purple and gold...but not only Lakers' gold...he wants championship gold. [*]Lakers have depth. This new roster has alot of potential, and the depth is simply amazing in each spot. Plus, the versatility of these players is amazing. Considering that Vlade, Mihm and Medvedenko will play the paint, with the possibility of Brian Grant also able to if needed, the Lakers really don't need to worry about losing Shaq. A lineup of Mihm, Odom, Butler, Kobe and Atkins really looks good, and the backups are just as impressive...Vlade, Grant, George, Rush and Vujacic. Lamar Odom is a forward with point guard skills...to me, this is HUGE for Kobe. With the focus on more threats than just Shaq and Kobe, it will open up more options for Kobe when the ball falls into his hands. [*]Rudy T is our new coach. The guy has experience and he coached some of the best players in the league, from Hakeem Olajuwon, to Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley. He won championships in 1994 and 1995. He's going to love it in Los Angeles, and he'll also eat up the challenge that he'll be faced from the media and all of the Lakers' critics. He'll work with George, Rush, Vujacic, and a few other shooters to keep them on their toes and pulling up great, open shots. He brings a nice resume to the Lakers organization, so I'm glad he's here. [*]Miami did great last year. What does this have to do with us? Well...the Heat had Odom, Butler, Grant, Jones and Wade last year...and they nearly beat the Pacers out of the playoffs. We took away three of those players, and gave up Shaq...an incredible center, no doubt...but yet we still didn't win with him. Why fix something that isn't broken? The Lakers were broken, as a TEAM. Instead, we take three key players from the Heat roster, and give them a guy who couldn't win a championship with Kobe/Malone/Payton last year. I think we got the better end of the deal, after all. [*]Lakers are expected to lose. This is probably the factor that will play the biggest role this year. High expectations have really made the Lakers vulnerable to underestimating a team...such as the Pistons...and also playing with confidence, but no determination. The Lakers will soon find out that fighting these critics will only make them stronger as a team. Kobe loves the pressure...he's clutch...and he'll feed off of the negativity when they are on the road. Don't think so? Look what he did when the Lakers played in Denver. Better yet, look what he did when he came back from Denver? This year, there will be mixed reactions from the crowd...and he'll want to win more than ever, especially with Shaq continually trying to intimidate Kobe and the Lakers, gearing up for their Christmas meeting. This is Kobe's chance to shine, and I'll bet anything that he will do just that. [/list] So, don't have negative feelings towards our team. We have so much potential, and also the opportunity to turn things around and shock everyone. Kobe/Odom are prepared to become the Jordan/Pippen of the 90's...which will be scary if they do. In other words, the championship is in sight, no matter how far away we seem from it.
I agree with you 100%. All you have to do is look at last years Detroit Pistons. That team was not near as good the year before they won the championship as the Lakers were last year. They kept a core of role players with their star Rip H, in our case Kobe, added an experienced coach, Brown, Rudy T for us, and added a strong big scoring forward Rasheed, for us Lamar Odom. We have leadership and experience with Vlade, Karl Malone(most likely) and Grant, along with their muscle. As long as Atkins and Butler can play their roles in Rudy T's system we have every chance to win championship number 15. And if we add JKidd, you can start engraving the trophy!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting whatthef?:</div><div class="quote_post">And if we add JKidd, you can start engraving the trophy!</div> Hmm...that may be true, but did you know that Kidd isn't going to be playing until December? I don't think the Lakers want to risk grabbing Kidd, although if he's traded to any team, it'll be for cheap. I think the Lakers are making a run for some other PG...but I don't think it's for Kidd.
Just one thing, if the Lakers were 'broken' last year, what does that make the Heat, or any other team that didn't make the Finals last year? Btw making the Heat out to be better than the Lakers last season, you sure are good with words
they won't be the jordan and pippen of the 90s, they'll be the bryant and odom of the 00s' I am and i'm sure everyone is real excited about the Lakers vs. heat matchup, and the bigger coincidence is that it's on christmas. I know what some people want for their present
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting heatfan83:</div><div class="quote_post">Just one thing, if the Lakers were 'broken' last year, what does that make the Heat, or any other team that didn't make the Finals last year? Btw making the Heat out to be better than the Lakers last season, you sure are good.</div> No no...in regards to their success last year, they weren't broken. However, as a TEAM, they were. They just weren't united. It was a good thing that Kobe and Shaq put Payton and Malone on their shoulders, because that's exactly what was going to happen, and I made the call last summer. I knew the Lakers were going to have problems running the triangle with Payton, and I knew that the Lakers were going to have trouble between their egos. Working as a team, getting everyone involved, the Heat were better...obviously, alot of teams were...but the Lakers had two of the best players in the league, who took the team through the playoffs and into the Finals. Then again, to win a championship...you have to be the best team, and the Lakers lost chemistry and focus.
If Kidd isn't ready to play until December, that just makes him cheaper on the market and the Lakers can afford to wait for him. If he can't play right away for the Nets, they will be more likely to take a few of our excess role players and a veteran's salary that they can dump next year. We have Atkins and Sasha to fill the position while JKidd rehabs and when he comes back in December he will give us a boost like Rasheed did for the Pistons last year.
I'm going to try and stick with realdenalbneal's points which were excellent I amy add, and here goes my two cents.... Excellent news us Laker fans heard yesterday afternoon. Now that these charges are dropped, he no longer has to look over his shoulder, have sleepless nights and nightmares, and can now concentrate on focusing his mind with the Lakers for a full 82 game season. With the extensive training and the full body workouts I expect him to put a lot of time and dedication on, Kobe will be back better and stronger than ever in a new distinguished role as the leader on the 2004-05 Laker team. Our Lakers may have lost Shaq, but the players we got back in return gave us some excellent versatile players in Lamar Odom and Caron Butler. Instead of years past, watching Kobe and Shaq carrying all the offensive load, and our role players standing around like spectators in awe only contributing 5-10 points total from the bench, we now have players at the three and four positions that can help out Kobe in their best way possible, and can also provide balanced scoring on the offensive side. We all Kobe will be the unstoppable shooting guard in this league no doubt, but with the established scoring of Odom, who averaged seventeen points a game, and Caron Butler, as long as he can stay healthy and have critics talking like in his productive rookie season, the Lakers will have some serious depth to look out for at the forward positions. I'm still doubting the guard and center spots knowing that Gary Payton and Derek Fisher have both departed from the Lakers and their veteran experience will be missed tremendously, but if there is still hopes to land Jason Kidd my doubts will be erased completely. It'll still be a while to accept Vlade Divac as a Laker, but if he can provide the leadership and amazing vision and passing ability in the low post and look for cutters to the basket, then he will be accepted in my book sooner or later. It was going to be difficult to replace Phil Jackson, a man with a tremendous resume and is arguably the best coach in the league, but who can doubt Rudy T? Two championships back to back in 1994 and 1995, and has the championship experience neccessary to handle such a historic and successful franchise in the Los Angeles Lakers. It's unfortunate he wasn't going to be able to work with Shaq, but he gets the golden opportunity to coach arguably the best two guard in the game today in Kobe Bryant. Miami now may have Shaq, and all the bandwagoners might have sprouted from their closets, but sooner or later Shaq will be Shaq and that tremendous ego of his will erupt like a giant volcano, and soon enough hell start pointing fingers and blaming others just like he did while he was with us for seven whole seasons. Miami, enjoy the 360 pound beast because sooner or later, the honeymoon will be over. I think we understand we'll always have the Laker haters and the critics that'll always try and write this team off no matter what happens. But does anybody feel Kobe has pressure? If our team leader doesn't feel pressure, why should any of his teammates? They should be able to feed off on Kobe and just go out there and play Laker basketball and take care of business on every given night. Kobe on pressure? How about two buzzer beating shots to beat Portland in the series finale? How about his fallaway shot to beat the Denver Nuggets? How about those playoff games in which he scored 35-40 points? And people talk about pressure? Nah..not Kobe. His teammates should and will feed off his intensity. I'm very excited about this upcoming Laker season. I don't see a championship this year, but I could be wrong who knows? I can't predict the future. But if the front office can improve on future transactions to add more quality depth and to make this team much better, then the future is really looking bright for the future of the Lakers with more championship rings hopefully to come.
I Think that the Laker fans shouldn't concentrate on what happened to Kobe now on what happened in the last year.now that he's been cleared,you guys can focus on another good year for the Lakers.Kobe will do well,since he's no longer under this mess,and now he can focus more on helping the Lakers now,that the distraction is no longer there.
Well stated Emo, you are right on the Laker pulse. But I have a little more faith in the center position. I think that Mihm is going to have a bigger impact once he starts working with Vlade, and don't forget that Grant will also provide some minutes when they play teams with small centers. The Lakers will have good muscle and depth. I have seen how Vlade makes players like Pollard and Brad Miller better when they practice with him and he also will give the Lakers some of the much needed European influence that we saw in the Olympics.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting realdealbneal:</div><div class="quote_post"> Lakers are expected to lose. </div> That's what I love. We're FINALLY the underdogs. Kobe's never been in that position before and we all now how goes all Superman-like when his team is in danger. The only problem I see is that I don't know how well Kobe will play since he'll be double-teamed more often. He had trouble in the Detroit series when they were doubling him so it makes me kinda wonder...but then again, if Kobe gets doubled, we could always give the ball to Odom.
Growing up, I was as diehard of a laker fan as u could find. However, I'll be honest, and as blasphemous as this may sound, I lost a lot of interest after the 2nd title. I mean, I watched the games and rooted for them, but it just wasn't the same. I didn't take a loss as hard, and I didn't celebrate a win as much. In my own little selfish way, I was happy about the Lakers tearing apart the team, because frankly, I was bored with the team we had. Not saying we should tear apart a championship team, but the truth was that they were no longer champions (two years departed from the last title). This is as good as anytime to start all over again. The run is over, and instead of trying to stretch it out (probably in vein), it's time to work on a new "dynasty." That's y i'm looking foward to this season. That's my "positive" thinking... but if u think we're gonna make a run in the playoffs with Chucky Atkins at the point, you're kidding yourself...we need a quick PG who can shoot the ball (i.e. not Ason Kidd, missing the "J")
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Lakerland:</div><div class="quote_post">That's what I love. We're FINALLY the underdogs. Kobe's never been in that position before and we all now how goes all Superman-like when his team is in danger. The only problem I see is that I don't know how well Kobe will play since he'll be double-teamed more often. He had trouble in the Detroit series when they were doubling him so it makes me kinda wonder...but then again, if Kobe gets doubled, we could always give the ball to Odom.</div> Well, I actually don't think he'll be doubled as much as he was when Shaq was around, and here's why. Kobe/George. This was the duo that played the SG/SF, and everyone knows that George just sits around at the three and waits for an open shot. Now, Kobe/Odom is a huge threat...considering that Odom can play 4 spots on the floor and has the passing skills of a PG and the scoring skills of an SF/PF. Jordan was hardly double-teamed, and when he was, Pippen was cutting to the hoop and getting the easy bucket. This was why Jordan/Pippen won 6 rings. I doubt any team will want to leave Odom open...it's way too risky...but George was different. This is exactly why I think the Kobe/Odom duo will be successful.
this kind of situation is what Kobe loves, he loves pressure, he loves being he underdog. i think Kobe didnt feel challenged during the last two seasons because everybody thought that they were gonna win, but now that everybody thinks otherwise he's gonna feed off that negative energy and turn it into his fuel or something. were gonna see great thing from Kobe this season... mark my words
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting notMuchgame:</div><div class="quote_post">Growing up, I was as diehard of a laker fan as u could find. However, I'll be honest, and as blasphemous as this may sound, I lost a lot of interest after the 2nd title. I mean, I watched the games and rooted for them, but it just wasn't the same. I didn't take a loss as hard, and I didn't celebrate a win as much. In my own little selfish way, I was happy about the Lakers tearing apart the team, because frankly, I was bored with the team we had. Not saying we should tear apart a championship team, but the truth was that they were no longer champions (two years departed from the last title). This is as good as anytime to start all over again. The run is over, and instead of trying to stretch it out (probably in vein), it's time to work on a new "dynasty." That's y i'm looking foward to this season. That's my "positive" thinking... but if u think we're gonna make a run in the playoffs with Chucky Atkins at the point, you're kidding yourself...we need a quick PG who can shoot the ball (i.e. not Ason Kidd, missing the "J")</div> When he was healthy, Atkins shot really well...and he's a deadly three-point shooter. The problem is..."when he was healthy." I have faith that the Lakers will go after Kidd, and who says we need a scoring PG in the first place? We need a passing one. We need someone that can start an effective ball movement that puts defenders off-balance, to set up a nice bounce pass off of a screen, and to play defense on transition. We already tried a scoring/shooting PG in Gary Payton, and it didn't work. He wanted the ball too much...and a guy who tends to shoot well will always want the ball. Give us someone who doesn't care about scoring...and I'll be happy. Kidd, when healthy, will look to make that terrific pass than to hit a jumper in someone's face, and that's why I'd love for him to come to Los Angeles...play Atkins for a while until Kidd is recovered, and then throw him in the lineup in December and let the three stars do their job (four if Malone re-signs).
Good observations. The Lakers have depth at every posistion except for the Point. They need to address that whether its via trade or sign and trade. Preferrably, it'll be a swingmen who leaves the team if they do get a point, like Devean George or F Luke Walton. Their aren't many points on the market. McInnnis is the only decent PG FA left, and the only way they could get him is in a sign and trade with Cleveland. Kidd is out until December, though he wouldn't be a good fit in LA anyways, cap wise atleast. Him and Kobe alone will put the Lakers over the cap for the next 5 years until 2009. If they want to better their chances in getting into the Playoffs, they'll have to address the PG spot, because unless Atkins can break through at age 29, then I can seem them have a tough fight for the last couple of spots in the West.
I did not know Kobe's charges were dropped. That is great news. Now he can focus soley on baskeball and the Laker organization no longer has to worry about his future with them.
I think they will definetly surprise a lot of teams. With all the attention being focused on Kobe, teams will need to realize that Odom/Butler are very talented basketball players who don't stand around and watch while other players try to score. (i.e- last year's Laker role players) The Lakers are very deep in depth. You guys are also forgetting about Kareem Rush. Rush/Odom/Kobe in the same lineup will be really effective IMO. They have an excellent coach, they dont have to rely on Shaq's "I need to touch the ball 9 times every posession" offense, and since Kobe will be double teamed more often, I don't think he'll force up shots. It's like T-Mac's old situation in Orlando, only with MUCH MUCH better role players. Kobe will get his points, no doubt, but the key to thier sucess (season-wise) lies in passing and distributing more often. They need to put Shaq behind them and I'm sure Rudy T will guide them to a sucessful seasonal run. However...to get deep in the playoffs, they are in need of a better, more stable point guard. I think they will try out Atkins/Sasha at PG till the All-Star break or so and if they are in playoff contention, go for a pickup of a solid point guard, which I think is smarter to do then just trade 4 of our players for a hobbling Kidd.
