Did the Los Angeles Lakers do anything this offseason?
Dwight Howard and Steve Nash? Oh, that's a lot.
That's right, the Lakers acquired the best center in the league and a two-time
MVP point guard. And, it essentially only cost them Andrew Bynum.
Kobe Bryant remained, of course.
The Lakers didn't even have to part with Pau Gasol to bring in these two
future Hall of Famers.
That is a productive offseason.
But it brings about a few questions.
Yes, this is most talented starting five in the NBA, including Metta World
Peace at the small forward. Everyone will need their touches and there will be
a lot of All-Star votes cast for players with "Los Angeles Lakers" next to
their names.
Could that be too much?
No one is suggesting this is anyone but Bryant's squad still, even at the age
of 34 and with quite a few miles on his knees. But the offseason acquisitions
of Howard and Nash, coupled with Gasol's spot, and that could be a lot of
cooks in the kitchen.
Not really.
"I don't want to get into the, 'Well, we share ...' No, it's my team," Bryant
said. "But I want to make sure that Dwight, when I retire, this is going to be
his. I want to teach him everything I possibly know so that when I step away
this organization can ride on as if I never left."
It is a lot for head coach Mike Brown to manage.
Bryant can be tough on a coach, Gasol can get pouty, Howard burned every
bridge between Orlando and Los Angeles and World Peace can be less than
peaceful.
"I look forward to working with these guys as individual humans first and on
top of that they can play a little bit," said Brown.
And Howard will only play a little bit at first.
After back surgery in mid-April, Howard wasn't ready for 5-on-5 contact at the
start of training camp. He is not expected to miss any regular-season time.
He better not, because the hopes of the Lakers, at least defensively, rest on
his broad shoulders. Howard has to own the paint for the Lakers to challenge
the Thunder in the West.
2011-12 Results: 47-25, first in Pacific; Lost to Oklahoma City in West
semifinals.
ADDITIONS: C Dwight Howard, G Steve Nash, F Antawn Jamison, G Jodie Meeks, G
Chris Duhon
PROJECTED STARTING FIVE:
PG- Steve Nash
SG- Kobe Bryant
SF- Metta World Peace
PF- Pau Gasol
C- Dwight Howard
KEY RESERVES: F Antawn Jamison, G Chris Duhon, G Steve Blake, C Jordan Hill, G
Jodie Meeks, F Earl Clark.
FRONTCOURT: Howard is obviously the key to this group. He is a three-time
Defensive Player of the Year and five seasons running, the First Team All-NBA
center. They don't grow on trees.
He is the game's premiere rebounder and shot-blocker. Howard can own the paint
and he will need to. Nash was a horrendous defender in his mid-20s and now,
being close to 40, he's putrid.
Bryant is average at this point, contrary to how many All-Defensive teams he
makes.
Howard will have to patrol the paint and he's more than capable.
World Peace is still a decent defender and he'll have to improve his 3-point
shooting. He should get a lot of looks from the corners the way the Lakers are
constituted.
Gasol is a wild-card. Offensively, he should still be the No. 2 option. He can
knock down the elbow-jumper and Nash instantly improves any offense. But if
Gasol doesn't get his normal touches, morale could be a concern. Also, if the
season progresses and the lack of shooting and athleticism becomes a true
concern, Gasol could be once again on the trade block.
BACKCOURT: Bryant and Nash are the best starting backcourt in the league. They
are older, but Bryant is still an elite scorer, narrowly losing out on last
seasons's scoring title to Kevin Durant.
Bryant once again represented the U.S. at the Olympics, but assured everyone
he's fine, heath-wise and that he got "in game shape right from the
beginning."
Nash will be relied on far less than he ever was with the Dallas Mavericks or
Phoenix Suns. He's one of the best shooters, both 3-point and free-throw, in
the game. It will be a joy to watch him find Howard flying through the air on
pick-and-rolls.
BENCH: This group is thin and at first glance, with that starting quartet, you
might not think you need the bench that much.
Howard is the youngest starter by almost six years. Nash is 38, Bryant is 34
and Gasol and World Peace are both 32. That's an old group and Brown wants to
limit minutes as best he can, especially for Bryant.
"If I can, I'd definitely love to keep his minutes down and not have them up
to 38," Brown said of his star's minutes. "But I'm sure he'll tell you he can
play 48, which is probably true if he needed to. But we feel like we have a
deep team this year and hopefully at the end of the day it leads to reduced
minutes for him."
Meeks is the primary back-up for Bryant. He's a shooter who doesn't shoot the
3 particularly well. Duhon and Blake are both serviceable bench point guards
and may play some together.
Hill is high-energy big.
Jamison is an intriguing pick-up. Fitting in the Lakers mold of being older,
Jamison is not done yet. He averaged 17 points per game with the woeful
Cleveland Cavaliers last season and can spell either forward spot.
COACHING: Brown had some difficulties with Bryant in his first season with the
Lakers. Anyone who replaced Phil Jackson was going to be scrutinized, but
Brown had his moments of strange decisions.
Brown is a very controlling coach, but with this group, it's best to let them
be for stretches of time. If you can't trust Nash and Bryant to run your
offense, who can you trust?
Juggling minutes for each starter will be tough. No matter how deep Brown
thinks the Lakers are, they aren't. Gasol needs a hug every now and then and
World Peace can be a bit tough to handle sometimes.
Brown brought in Eddie Jordan as an assistant to help implement more facets of
the Princeton Offense.
On paper, this looks like an easy team to coach, but it might not be.
OUTLOOK: The Lakers are in that group where the title aspirations are
legitimate. The starting five is the best in the NBA and if the Lakers jell, a
run at the ring is not far-fetched.
Problem is, in almost every sporting instance where a team gets infused with
several All-Stars in one offseason, it doesn't work right away. It takes time
for personalities to click and for everyone to get a grip on where they fit in
the offense.
And where they all fit is still directly behind Bryant.
"I think this is Kobe's team," said Nash. "But anyone who's ever played on a
basketball team, it's also our team. The team needs to share in that
responsibility. Kobe can't do everything. He's going to be great at what he's
great at, and the rest of us got to pick up the pieces that get to us."
Count me on the side that thinks this project is a little too in its infancy
to net a world title. The Pacific Division and No. 2 seed in the West are easy
goals.
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