Can the Los Angeles Lakers tie the Boston Celtics in terms of championships? Mike D’Antoni seems to think so. 5-time NBA champion, Kobe Bryant seems to think so too.
It’s clear to see that much better teams are in the running for this upcoming year’s title, but let’s examine why the Lakers may be possible contenders.
As we watched Dwight Howard leave Los Angeles, we recently saw the Lakers bring in a replacement big man, Chris Kaman. Kaman is no Dwight Howard, but he can get the job done, and there is no question that his free throw percentage is much higher shooting at 78.8%. With Pau Gasol by his side, Kaman will learn a few things on how to dominate the post.
Jim Buss decided to make some extra room in his wallet by amnestying Metta World Peace. There are a couple of factors into why he should have and why he shouldn’t have. Amnestying MWP will open options for the Lakers 2014-2015 season. World Peace ran all the defensive assignments for the Lakers, knowing D’Antoni had no chance of it. MWP, being a former Defensive Player Of the Year, was not hard for him to get a job somewhere else, which led him to the New York Knicks. It’s pretty safe to say, unless the Los Angeles Lakers pick up Lebron James or Carmelo Anthony in the 2014-2015 season, it was an idiotic move by Lakers owner, Jim Buss, at least for now.
Two of Phil Jackson’s, the 11 time NBA champion, best assistant coaches that he had, Kurt Rambis and Johnny Davis, are now working behind Mike D’Antoni. These were great coaching decisions, probably influenced by Phil Jackson himself. D’Antoni’s ego is sky high which means he won’t take advice from anyone – not Phil Jackson and not Phil Jackson’s assistants.
Kobe Bryant is moving along with his injury so rapidly that some are even calling him “superhuman.” Bryant expects himself to return by opening day as others are not expecting him to return until somewhere around Christmas. Bryant has played 17 years in the NBA and should take his time to returning back on the court. Kobe Bryant being a 5-time NBA champion, has already proved his legacy to all of us.
Much better teams are in the running for this year’s title way over the Los Angeles Lakers such as the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder and even the Indiana Pacers are rising up with the best of teams. After all is said and done, will the Los Angeles Lakers win their 17th championship this year? Probably not, but with Kobe Bryant on your team, anything is possible.
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