LAKERS: Some people were shocked at my glass is half full approach to my post about the Lakers the other day, do lets look at the downside of this years Laker team: Well the most obvious problem is that the team is playing without their best player, Kobe Bryant, who is out indefinitely with a major injury. He will most likely return to the lineup sometime this year, and hopefully sooner rather than later, because after seeing these first few games, it appears they are doomed without him. They also need to hope that Kobe can come back to close to how he played last year. Because if he plays significantly worse than his normal play, they still may be screwed. Now lets take a look at the other two star players on the team: Steve Nash is done. Period. By his own admission, his injury from last year still isnt healed, and he admits he is feeling old. He was a fantastic player in his day, and its unfortunate that we got him on the Lakers right when he was no longer effective, but thats the case. Some people speculated that Kobes ball hogging was holding Nash back from doing what he does, but that excuse is gone. There has been no Kobe this season, and not once for even one second has Nash played anything like his former self. He is too slow too guard any point guards in the league (and he was never a great defender to begin with), his amazing passes are gone, and he doesnt even hit his shots any more. I hate to say it, but he helps the team the most when he is sitting on the bench. And the worst part, is next season, when all the other players come off the books and the team has the money to start adding new players, the team will still be stuck with Nash for one more year, eating up $10 million valuable dollars. And $10 million can get you a pretty good player. Someone who can contribute a hell of a lot more than Nash does nowadays. As for Pau Gasol, I really thought getting rid of Dwight Howard and moving Pau to the center position would elevate his game back to his elite level of their back to back championship days. Nope. Without Kobe, the team is depending on Pau to carry the offensive load. He used to put up 20-25 points a night, even with Kobe dominating the ball. Now he gets 10-20. That just wont cut it. Any center in the league can get you 15 points a night. Chris Webber said the other day that Pau is no longer an elite big man in this league. I hate to say it, but its true. I doubt Gasol is re-signed to a new contract next year. If he is, he will have to take a huge pay cut. He can still contribute, but at this point in his career, he is probably only worth half if what he is earning.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 03:49:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015