As if the Los Angeles Lakers didn't already have enough question marks heading into the 2011-12 NBA season following the retirement of long time head coach Phil Jackson, the team will get set to hit the hardwood for a Christmas showdown tomorrow afternoon against the Chicago Bulls with more concerns than ever. Following a strike shortened pre-season which saw the Lakers get beat, bullied and downright out played against their L.A. rivals -- the Los Angeles Clippers, the 16-time World Champion Los Angeles Lakers will head into the season not being dubbed favorites to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals this year for more reasons than one. Though the most obvious remains just how well the team will do without the zen master for the first time since the 2004-05 season, replacing him with the newly hired Mike Brown at the helm, there could be bigger concerns outside of the head coaching position.
One of the main reasons the Lakers have seen success the last few years, making three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals before falling short last year, is that they've caused numerous problems for the opposition due to their size. Having three 7-footers in Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, the Lakers have had one of the more formidable lineups in the entire league since 2008. That lineup was dealt a blow several weeks ago, however, when Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak traded Odom to the reigning World Champion Dallas Mavericks following a collapsed blockbuster trade that would've sent Chris Paul to the Lakers. Odom was dealt after being angered with the Lakers front-office about being included in the trade for Paul which eventually led to a trade request that Kupchak soon granted. Since Odom's departure, the Lakers have welcomed a new cast of players with the signings of Troy Murphy, Josh McRoberts, Gerald Green and Malcolm Thomas, joining Jason Kapono, Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock as the teams newest members, but none of L.A.'s latest acquisitions are expected to impact the team quite like Odom did who was named Sixth Man of the Year for the first time in his career last season.
One of the few bright spots for the Lakers during their two preseason games against Blake Griffin and the Clippers has been the stellar play by center Andrew Bynum who finished with a combined 41 points and 23 rebounds. And while the 24 year old is coming into the season looking better than ever, unfortunately for L.A. he won't be able to contribute on the court during the regular season until the team's fifth game because of a suspension issued out by the league following a flagrant foul on Dallas' J.J. Barea during game 4 of the Western Conference semi-finals. The Lakers' woes continue with the recent news of Kobe Bryant's torn ligament which was suffered in the first preseason game against the Clippers on Monday. While driving to the basket, Bryant was met by Clippers center DeAndre Jordan who blocked the shot, causing Kobe to lose his balance and land on his right wrist.
Kobe finished the game, but sat out of Wednesday's preseason finale and was seen on the Lakers bench supporting the team wearing a cast. Though most injuries of this magnitude require several weeks to heal, Kobe has expressed that he intends to tough it out and play through the injury, something the former MVP has done a lot of throughout his career. For Kobe, the most frustrating part about the injury has to be that it was sustained after an off-season in which he was injury-free which has been rare for the 33 year old veteran who's got a lot of tread on his tires. If Bryant was to sit out and let his wrist heal, his absence would be detrimental to the team granted the lockout shortened season demands less days in between games. More games with less rest could also play a factor and could be a huge test to an aging squad like L.A.'s. And although I don't believe it has the slightest bit of significance regarding the way he'll perform on the court, Kobe's wife Vanessa recently filed for divorce, adding to the already lengthy list of distractions that comes with playing in Tinseltown.
Something else that deserves mention is whether or not the Lakers should continue to pursue another marquee player once the season begins. While Dwight Howard's name has been the most popular when discussing trade possibilities, another name that's been brought up is Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks. With all of these questions surrounding the Lakers, one question that will be answered several weeks into the year will be whether or not they can run up and down the court and compete with other young squads within the conference such as the Thunder, Grizzlies and Clippers with the talent they've got right now. One thing that's certain is that the first week of the NBA schedule won't be the walk in the park Lakers fans have grown accustomed to in years passed.
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