Last year's record? 57-25, won the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year.
Significant departures? Jordan Farmar, D.J. Mbenga, Adam Morrison, Josh Powell.
Significant arrivals? Matt Barnes, Derrick Caracter, Steve Blake, Devin Ebanks, Theo Ratliff.
Projected record, as predicted three months ago in time to publish in Yahoo! Sports' NBA Preview Magazine? 57-25
Why I think that sounds about right?
Because they're the defending champs, the best team in basketball until someone proves otherwise, and 57 is a nice middle ground between the best (everyone staying healthy, going all out and winning almost 70 games) and worst (injuries hit, teams hovers around the 50-win mark) case scenario.
This is a team without a weakness that cannot be overcome. And until I see them beat four times in a seven-game series, this is your championship favorite.
Why I think I might be terribly, terribly wrong?
Injuries could hit, even harder this time.
Kobe Bryant has proven that he will play through just about anything, and exceedingly well, but at some point this could catch up to him. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom all have significant injuries in their past, and while the bench has improved, the depth might not be enough to overcome things if everything goes pear-shaped.
But that's a major, major stretch. This is a worst-case scenario, and not something to consider or expect. This is the NBA's gold standard. Appreciate it while you can.
Step up or step off
Admittedly, this one's a bit of a reach. Seriously, though, look at the Lakers' roster, and tell me where else to go.
You can argue that if Kobe Bryant doesn't step up (in whichever way you choose to define "stepping up"), he won't three-peat again, which also means he won't notch a three-peat without Shaq, which also means he won't have six rings, which also means he won't get to check off another box on the "He needs to do this before we can seriously make the Jordan comparison" playlist. But I'm sick of, literally, every verse of that song. Also, honestly, how many people still doubt that Kobe will step up for Los Angeles when it's needed?
You can argue that if Pau Gasol is playing for immortality. That if he steps up -- if he once again proves an insolvable equation that keys the Lakers' run to a third straight ring, if he solidifies the claim he's staked over the past two years that he's the best big man in the world -- then he's officially a Hall of Famer. But again, haven't we squared away any and all Pau-related doubts at this point? We know who he is, we know what he'll give L.A., and we know to be awestruck. There's no more "soft" dude that might step off when the going gets tough. Those days are done.
It doesn't really feel like there are any identity-revealing stakes for the most of the rest of the roster. Against all odds, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest are no longer really wild cards; they're All-World role players, exactly where they need to be, comfortable in their own skins, still kicking up dust but no longer raging. Derek Fisher is still the team's cool math teacher, and Luke Walton is content playing for 20 minutes a night, then reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" for the other 28.
The children (rookies Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter), the elderly (Theo Ratliff) and the newlywed (Sasha Vujacic) will ultimately be irrelevant. There's nothing particularly moving about Shannon Brown trying to be more than "be exciting, then begone," or Steve Blake embarking on Year 8 of his "I Swear, I'm Way Better Than You'd Think Just By Looking At Me" world tour. So we're left with Andrew Bynum's struggle to stay healthy and Matt Barnes' search for a place to call home. Given the choice, I'll take the latter.
Barnes has been the quintessential journeyman throughout his career. A second-round draft pick of Memphis in 2002 who never suited up for the Grizzlies, Barnes spent 38 games with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2003, played 43 games for the Sacramento Kings in 2004, and split 2005 between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers before breaking through into league consciousness as a member of the "We Believe" Golden State Warriors in 2006, who were undeniably important, but also dipped out after one (glorious) round.
Barnes spent two years under Nellie, then one year in a rotation role on another people's champ, the 2008 Phoenix Suns (who didn't make the postseason), before joining a legitimate title contender with the Orlando Magic last year. So, really, while it feels like Barnes has been part of important league conversations for a while, this is only his second season being big-picture relevant. Now, he's going to play a top-eight role on a two-time defending champion, he'll be expected to assimilate his junkyard-dog attitude into an elite team's structure, and he's got Ron-Ron's road map on how to do it. Can he do it? Can he finally, at long last, stick and stay? It should be fun to watch. (You know, relative to all the other individual subplots to watch in Hollywood.)
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Five things about the Lakers that furrow Ol' Man Howard's brow
1. You still owe me a Buffalo nickel from "The Fight of the Century," Theo, and don't you think I've forgotten. What a fool you were to wager on James J. Jeffries!
2. Now that's just nonsense, Brown. You know good and well you can't jump that far. Who do you think you are, Sam Patch, the Yankee Leaper? Well, you're not.
3. Intensity's one thing, Blake, but looking like a psychopath's something different. Tone it down, young fella. Take a sip of that good Calm Down Juice.
4. It'll rot your teeth, Lamar, and toothless ain't no way to go through life. You need to ditch that garbage. Instead, consider the value of skeleton rings, Halloween pencils and pens, toy whistles or jack-o-lantern mazes.
5. Sasha Vujacic, just in general.
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What I like about Dr. Jerry Buss, by Ron Artest
"I like how much he likes science, and how he has a billion dollars, and how he looks like the confetti man and the Joker, and how he didn't mind when I talked to him for like a half-hour about how I thought Sir Mix-A-Lot was saying, 'Ooh, Rumpleshoekid' instead of 'Ooh, rump of smooth skin,' in 'Baby Got Back,' and how many copies of 'In Like Flint' he has on LaserDisc, and how he's pretty happy when we win, but also how he's more happy when he gets tasty applesauce."
George Mikan Earl Monroe Shaquille O Neal Hakeem Olajuwon Robert Parish
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