Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss says this is possibly his best Lakers team yet and he thinks they can beat the Miami Heat ... The question is do you believe him?
Is this the best Lakers team ever?
Frankly I don't know but that's saying a lot and that's definitely not a conversation I want to have today on this blog. I mean if you just compare this team to the Laker teams that featured Shaq and Kobe, they may not even be better then that particular team let alone the teams of Showtime! That Lakers team featured a Shaq and Kobe Bryant in their primes.
The Lakers don't have a Kobe in his prime anymore but what they do have is a Pau Gasol in his prime and he's going to be expected to carry the offensive load this season I believe. I'm sure he's up to it but more importantly the Lakers are going to need Kobe to be at his best in the playoffs and Finals when it counts and that may mean limiting his minutes during the regular season.
What this current Lakers team does feature which I really like and you've never seen before from previous dominant Lakers teams is a tough and tenacious defense... This team is, in my opinion, the best Lakers team defensively I've ever seen.
Say what you want about him but Kobe Bryant is still one of the best defenders ion the league and what I love about him is that he asked to take on the other teams best scorers a couple of times in the playoffs.
The Lakers still have Ron Artest another one of the best defenders in the league and now they've also added tough and fiesty Matt Barnes who I think was their best pick up of the off season. I think Matt Barnes is going to be big for the Lakers this season... He's coming back to LA (he played at UCLA) and he's already hit some big 3's for Orlando in big games so he's battle tested in big games and I can see him hitting some big three's for the Lakers as well. But Back to defense...
If you ask me I woulda traded Andrew Bynum for Chris Paul for so many different reasons but I believe the Lakers keep Bynum around because he's a true center and he take a lot of defensive pressure of off Pau Gasol. If Pau had to play the center spot I think it would wear him down and I'm not sure he would be the offensive player he is today. Bynum clogs the lane, he defends the other teams big and he's getting better and better at blocking shots.
So is this Lakers team better then all the other ones?
Defensively I think you can say that... I mean just look at how long this team is and look at the number of quality defenders on the roster.
Offensively I think it just depends on what Kobe looks like but the one positive that has come from Kobe's deteriorating skills is that the Lakers are more of a team now then ever before. Does that translate into the best Lakers team ever? Honestly I'm not sure but all I'm concerned about is the Lakers being the best team in the NBA this coming season...
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