The Lakers are fine!

Why must everyone get so worked up over the Laker roster when the season has yet to begin. The Lakers will be fine this season, they will not win the championship, but I believe they will go to the second round or even to the conference finals. Teams have to learn to win, and the Lakers are getting there. Injuries and more injuries hurt the Lakers last year, but this is a new year and they start where they left off before the gimps got gimpy. Its true the Lakers are in bad need of another player, so how would trading Lamar fix that problem? The Lakers would still be a player short. The Lakers need another player like most championship teams. A three headed monster if you will(maybe even onebig headed monster, a meadium headed monster, and a smeduim two headed monster). What I think will happen, and this is truly the best thing for the Lakers at this stage in development, is there will be a couple of current players who will step up big this year. Players don’t happen unless they are named Michael, Kobe, or Labron, players develop into there stardom. Look for Bynum, Turiaf and maybe even Crittenton to do some damage this year. Player thoughts:

Bynum has busted his ass off this summer and he just might be taking this game seriously. If this is so, then watch out. There are very few centers in the league that can give you 15 and 10 a game, with good shot blocking skills. Bynum should be an all-star in 2 years at only 22 years young. Sure his heart, toughness and conditioning has always seemed to be an issue, but this offseason he worked, and worked hard. He is now a man, and that type of discipline shows a lot about his maturity, and toughness not to mention his heart and dedication. 15 points,10 boards, 2 blocks, 30 minutes, and solid defense might be all tall order, so lets see how it plays out. We shall see.

Turiaf will be a factor this year. Jackson is already planing on starting him. If he gets enough minutes, he will easily be a 10 and 10 guy. 25-30 minutes a game of solid hustle, hard battles, enthusiasm, and infections behavior that every team needs. He can shoot the midrange jumper, boards like a beast, and gives it his all. He is very underrated offensively.

Odom will give the same thing he always does, everything! OK first for you Odom haters out there. You have no idea what a team needs to be successful. What Lamar has that very few teams have is a guy who can give you 17 points, 10 boards, 7 assists a night and you dont even have to run plays for him. Most his points come in the offense, or garbage plays. Lamar is a3rd option player. If the Lakers had another 20 point performer on the team, Lamar would still average 17, believe it. All this from a 6′10 small forward/power forward who handles the ball better than most point guards. Bottom line, Odom is a unique player with tons of heart and the Lakers are lucky to have a player of his skills. HE MUST STAY HEALTY!

Kobe is what Kobe is. Listen, all you have to know about Kobe to understand him, is to know that he is the hardest working player in the league, and wants to be the greatest player ever. All he wants to do is win, and if shooting 30 times a game will give him a shot, then he will take them. How much Kobe produces is not determined by Bryant, but by the rest of the team. Look for Kobe’s points to drop a little to 28 points a game.

Fisher is back in LA. With Fisher in the backcourt he will bring some stability and maturation to the team. I look for his biggest impacts to be in the locker room and on defense.

Walton will be a nice addition off the bench. His court vision is perfect to cover for Lamar or Kobe when sitting. Mihm should get some time and could be a huge bonus in the middle if his ankle survives the long season. Farmar is in a tough situation. As much as I like his game, I don’t think he can play with Crittenton. I think Farmar will be a solid contributer in his NBA career, but never a big time player. Crittenton on the other hand will be an all-star. This guy just simply has "it". A slasher and a disher with good size and quickness. When he can hit his jumper consistently, he get some floor time. Cook needs to play bigger, and Radmanovic needs to play more consistently. Evans is a solid #2 two guard that can explode on some nights and even get you a few boards. Kwame can play big at times, then other times he just seems…..well dumb. His head is not in it and he makes to many poor mistakes. He is a big body and can bang….the jury is out on him, needs to show me something.

So here is what the Lakers have - 2 solids, some good rolls, and a few up-n-comers. Look for good things from the Lakers this year and remember winning cures all, and makes names of players. So freak out at the all-star break, now is a time for optimism.