T Replies with Laker Analysis

Rod:

Anytime you need to start a Laker thread you know I'm willing to oblige.Yes - this team is as good as they looked last night.

They are deep:

They are at least 2 deep at every position - and when Mihm and Kwame get back they will have a serious front court to deal with - think in terms of having Mihm, Kwame, Bynum, and Ronny Turiaf to take on the Duncans, Garnetts, Nowitzkis, of the west.

Bynum:
I was even surprised by the progress this kid has made in the offseason. He bulked up and has shown some great moves around the basket (thanks to Kareem). He is the next great center of the Laker future - this is a guarantee. In the next 3-5 years he will be a consistent 20-10 guy and he will only be 23-24 years old. Shaq who?

Kobe:
I know ya'll like to rag on Kobe - but he plays to win. In the past he needed to hoist up dozens of shots for them to win. They just didn't have the talent and depth to deal with the rest of the league. Now they are at a point where he doesn't have to be the spotlight on each possesion and the triangle -I know you don't believe it - but he is OK with this. If the Lakers win and he contributes, whether it be scoring, passing, rebounding, Dfence - he will do it. MVP.

Smush:
Rod, you're very accurate with your assesment - in fact I wrote about the same issue on the Lakers blog after the loss to Seattle on Sat night. Smush is just not good enough to start on this team. He is a great athlete that makes terrible decisions - and the triangle is all predicated on great decision making. He will have to go - and they will need to speed up the development of Jordan Farmar who will be the point guard of the future.

50 wins:
This will happen.

They are a much better team than last year - they have the best coach in the business (can anybody argue this) - and they are playing deeped and with more poise. It's early - but keep this in mind: They have 13 of their next 14 games at home - this will help them get off to a strong start and give Kobe some time to get back to full strength so that he can help carry them down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Bleed Purple and Gold.
T