After an eventful offseason of moves and transactions around the NBA, most teams are just about set for the upcoming season in terms of filling out their rosters. At this particular time, all that leaves us with is an opportunity to break down those moves and predict how each team will do, since league activities don’t officially begin for another six to seven weeks.
ESPN did just that, putting out a quick “Summer Forecast” of the teams in the Western Conference on Tuesday. One particularly interesting placement on the list were the Los Angeles Lakers – they were the 12th best team, better than just three other teams. When you actually look at the teams in the West and the moves they have made over the summer, though, putting the Lakers as one of the bottom feeders of the conference doesn’t sound nearly as crazy, given their current situation.
The Lakers barely made the playoffs last season, and that’s after going on a 28-12 tear to end the season, with Dwight Howard on the roster. With Howard bolting to the Houston Rockets, their one reliable source for defense is all but gone. Actually, make that two with the loss of Metta World Peace. The team did add some useful pieces like Chris Kaman, Nick Young, Jordan Farmar and Wes Johnson, but are any of them significant enough to help the team be anywhere near as good as they were last season? More importantly, this forces the team to develop chemistry all over again with a couple of significant changes in the starting lineup.
The biggest question, of course, is how Kobe Bryant will come back from his ruptured Achilles tendon. It’s well known by now that the guard has been well ahead of schedule in his rehab, and that gives us hope for him to return on time for the start of the regular season. Still, there is no telling how he will look even if he shatters the record books on how early you can come back from such a devastating injury. He will also be a step slow compared to his competition from having to rehab, rather than working on his game and strengthening his body like others are doing to prepare for the season.
As of right now, the best the Lakers can hope for is the return of an angry and motivated Bryant to prove the doubters wrong. He did, by the way, see where ESPN ranked his team:
12th I see..
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) August 14, 2013
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James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.
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The more angry and determined Kobe gets, the more minutes he plays at 110% and has another season ending injury.