Will the Lakers win 30 or 35 games next season? Discuss...

[UA_Stapler]

I hope people saw Charles Barkley embarrass ESPN for their ridiculous boostering of the Lakers

Barkley to Stu Scott wanna-be: "The Lakers stink bro"

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkzwrf6suOA]"Lakers stink bro" Charles Barkley - YouTube[/ame]

One of the greatest off-season moments to date.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

I hope people saw Charles Barkley embarrass ESPN for their ridiculous boostering of the Lakers

Barkley to Stu Scott wanna-be: "The Lakers stink bro"

"Lakers stink bro" Charles Barkley - YouTube

One of the greatest off-season moments to date.

hahahaha! This is awesome

I love Chuck.

 

[Bonekeep]

Lakers will definitely be under .500, I'm guessing around 38 wins. I think their record will be the same whether Kobe comes back or not. If he stays out most of the season, I think Nash can run the team the way he's accustomed with a very mediocre team. If Kobe comes back and plays like Kobe, his usual ball hoggin' "I'm the center of the universe" play will put them around the same place. I'd rather they make the playoffs and not be in the lottery, but I think that's practically impossible now.

 

[ChrisperJ10]

I can see that team beeing the Dallas Mavericks of last year. About .500 with a chance to make the playoffs.

 

[GMATCa]

I hope people saw Charles Barkley embarrass ESPN for their ridiculous boostering of the Lakers

Barkley to Stu Scott wanna-be: "The Lakers stink bro"

"Lakers stink bro" Charles Barkley - YouTube

One of the greatest off-season moments to date.

... excellent.

The problem for the Lakers is that even if they prove fairly efficient offensively, they could be disastrous defensively, one of the most inefficient defensive teams in the NBA. Last season, LA ranked twentieth in Defensive Rating (points allowed per 100 possessions):

2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com

Now remove Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace defensively (even if they were physically compromised or past their prime), plus the young, long, and athletic Earl Clark, and the Lakers should be even worse defensively. Who is going to defend the likes of Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, and Jrue Holiday (or, hell, Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe)? Is it going to be a thirty-nine-turning-forty-year-old Steve Nash, in his eighteenth NBA season, or a thirty-five-year Kobe Bryant coming back from a ruptured Achilles tendon, also in his eighteenth NBA season? And how effective is a thirty-three-year old Pau Gasol going to be in defending the pick-and-roll/pop against all those quick point guards and their athletic or floor-spacing big men?

In retrospect, Mitch Kupchak really made a mistake in signing Nash because that acquisition frequently forced Kobe Bryant into defending the likes of Paul, Parker, and Westbrook, something that he should not have been doing at his age and after so many years in the NBA. Indeed, the reality that Nash's presence forced Kobe Bryant into greater defensive responsibilities may well have contributed to that ruptured Achilles tendon. Kupchak obviously imagined that Nash's presence would alleviate Bryant's offensive burden, but the problem was that the two of them could not naturally mesh. At this point in his career, Bryant is not going to start emulating Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley, Raja Bell, or Quentin Richardson. He wants and to some extent needs the ball in his hands in order to dribble, shoot off the dribble, and find his rhythm, something that he's not accustomed to doing as an off-the-ball, catch-and-shoot player. Thus Bryant's presence rendered Nash a redundant, overpaid offensive player (a sort of upscale Steve Blake) who on that particular team was not worth his defensive vulnerabilities and the defensive burden that he basically forced upon Bryant. To be successful in the NBA, you really need balance, which meant that the Lakers needed to balance Bryant with a younger, faster, more explosive guard who could allow Kobe to save his breath defensively. Instead, Kupchak opted for a 'Dream Team' approach that has now left the Lakers in a defensive dungeon.

 

[FORKWDEVIL]

Let me just say this: "Lakers are the Lakers"

 

[UA_Stapler]

Now remove Dwight Howard

Great post. The Nash move was a disaster for the Lakers. I really question how much we will see of him on the court this season. I would think he will definitely retire after this season.

I was really hoping the Lakers would have kept Howard, he's an immature liability who would have chained the Lakers to 2nd Round Playoff exits for the rest of the decade.

I'm worried that after 1 or 2 years the Lakers will position themselves to make a splash in free agency on James or Durant, and will be a contender once again. Hopefully they will be spurned by each and drift toward the purgatory of .500 basketball.

 

[The Derski]

Lakers will finish around 10th or 11th in the West.