The Reigning Champions

The Los Angeles Lakers came into this season as the odds on favorite to win the NBA championship after they had won the last two. The Lakers have the same core players from last year and really only added reserve forward Matt Barnes and backup point guard Steve Blake and let backup point guard Jordan Farmar go. The team still has the same starting lineup as last year including Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum (who started the year on the Injured Reserve, but is now back and starting), Ron Artest, and Derek Fisher. The team also has its most important reserve players including the versatile Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown. So the question is why are they 41-19 and third in the Western Conference by a whopping 8 games, when they have finished the last 3 years with the best record in the Western Conference.
The naysayers (and there aren't many naysayers) say that the team, which is old, is finally showing that it is getting old. The naysayers have a point the team is old as most of its players are upwards of 30 year old. Kobe Bryant, the team’s best player, while still very good, is no longer playing at an MVP level and that is causing a ripple effect throughout the team. Also Ron Artest is absolutely abysmal, he used to be a good player but now he a killing the team on both ends of the court.
The funny thing is that for a team that is playing so questionably, many analysts still pick them to win the Western Conference come playoffs time. Some even believe they will still win the NBA Championship; I am surely not one of them. I do know that whatever the outcome we all can't wait to see what happens to the Lakers come playoff time. Will they show their age in the playoffs or will they "Three-peat” the way they did earlier this decade. For more information about the Los Angeles Lakers visit their website here.