With the Lakers remaining winless this pre-season (0-4), we can expect controversy to arise. Of course the Lakers possess the greatest team on paper in the league right now, and Metta World Peace thinks they can go 73-9 in the regular season, but they haven’t seemed to click during the pre-season. Shall Lakers fans begin to worry? Heat fans start celebrating already? No, quite the opposite in fact.
Not so fast…
Dwight Howard remains yet to play a minute in the pre-season games, and both Kobe and Nash have had limited time. Nash has been playing incredibly well, showing the Lakers fans and management exactly why he is the perfect fit. Kobe has had individual moments of greatness, including his third quarter effort against the Utah Jazz scoring twenty-three points. Management is going to try limit time for the aging superstars on the rosters anyway, which leads me to my next point, the secret behind the Laker’s failing preseason; depth.
The Lakers are trying to develop a second starting five unit that can cater for or replace injured stars in the priority unit. With incredibly talented players such as Jodie Meeks, Antawn Jamison (who actually hasn’t performed very well this pre-season, admittedly) and the currently inured Jordan Hill, the Lakers have the potential to create a massively deep team. The pre-season is the ultimate way to test and develop the second unit, so dropping four games in a row is a mere sacrifice for winning a championship come the end of the season. Regardless, you will not see these players without at-least two of the big five playing at any time. And quite honestly, I would pick Dwight Howard and four bench players over eighty percent of NBA teams today.
Worry not Lakers fans. The biggest concern right now is Jordan Hill’s injury which may see him side-lined for a few weeks. Is that enough to stop the Lake Show come October 31st? Don’t even dream of it.
… and that is the last word.
