The Lakers Have Come A Long Way

Remember when the Lakers were a dysfunctional unit, and everyone was wondering whether they could survive with their current construction of personnel? Ya, neither do I. In what has been one of the most competitive conference races the NBA has ever seen, Kobe Bryant has somehow willed his Lakers to the top of the Western Conference, just months after demanding a trade from his supposed incompetent GM, Mitch Kupchak. However, calling Bryant the sole contributor to this remarkable turn from seventh in the conference last year to first now would be erroneous.

An imposing bench, a suspiciously one-sided trade, and another impeccable coachng job from the Zen master has helped Los Angeles reach the summit of the standings where their work isn’t anywhere close to being complete. Each team in the West is capable of making it to the Finals where the Dallas Mavericks, a team that won 67 games last year and was two games from the Championship two years ago, struggled to even make the playoffs, while the Hornets, a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in four years, was contending for the top spot in the conference right until the end of the season. It will be a long and grueling road to title number 15 in Tinsel Town, but it goes without saying that this has been a special season for the purple and gold.

Even before the heist of Pau Gasol, the Lakers demonstrated an air of greatness, not only from the wonderful play of Kobe Bryant, but with the emergence of Ronny Turiaf, Jordan Farmar, and Sasha Vujacic, just to name a few of the usual suspects. All have proven to be instrumental members of what has become a deep bench for Phil Jackson, the one thing that most irritated Bryant about this team during the preseason. Turiaf has thrived as the team’s garbage man, making the hustle plays behind the scenes, unaffected by his heart operation. Farmar has become the perfect back-up point guard, learning the ropes from a tremendous mentor in Derek Fisher. Vujacic, meanwhile, has always been a great shooter, at least in practice, but this year his pure stroke has finally translated into game action. Add to that the suddenly imposing presence of the improving Andrew Bynum and the opposition has plenty to worry about outside of #24.  

That’s not to say Kobe hasn’t been anything less than spectacular over the course of the season. Bryant has put together a brilliant resume during his time in LA, but an MVP is the one hole. This year may finally be his year to claim it, despite the array of worthy candidates. His scoring may be down, but its come with a much more mature game that has utilized his improving resources in the right way. With less shots, Bryant has become much more efficient with his production, and now opposing defenses have to be ready for when he dishes it out to his suddenly capable teammates. Above everything else, Kobe’s suddenly unselfish game has helped the Lakers win more than any other team in the West, something that hasn’t been done since 2000 when Shaquille O’Neal was MVP.

No teammate has been more important than Gasol, who came over to LA from Memphis for deadbeats Kwame Brown and Aaron McKie, among others, including Pau’s younger brother, Marc. His arrival in February couldn’t have come at a better time, just two and a half weeks after Bynum went down with his foot injury. Gasol entered the perfect situation, and LA got just what they needed. In Memphis he couldn’t handle being the main guy, let alone one that was on a perennial cellar dweller. With the Lakers, Gasol entered a situation where he fit in just right as Kobe’s sidekick, and filled out a ridiculously tall frontline that will be a chore for any of the Lakers’ playoff opponents to handle.

The upcoming playoffs still pose many different challenges, with the most important one being how the Lakers will handle playing with Gasol and Bynum together for the first time. Bynum has essentially no playoff experience, and having to deal simultaneously with two other 7-footers will be an interesting challenge. All things considered, though, the Lakers must really like the position they are sitting in as the postseason starts, especially with the adversity they’ve had to overcome to get there.