The Lakers Are Contenders

World Peace has a large part to play with this years Lakers team.

I'm a member of the camp that believes any team with Kobe Bryant has a chance to compete in the playoffs. Not necessarily a title, but a team with Kobe is always competitive. In order to contend for a title you need a little more. You need a good supporting cast, a good second option, and maybe even a third good option if you're lucky.

Look at the Lakers. Tell me what they have.

Once you get past Kobe, they have a newly emerging second option in Andrew Bynum (someone who I believe could quickly evolve into the best Center in the league), and a trusty third option in Gasol (who has been the number two option for the past four seasons). If MWP formally known as the formidable Ron Artest continues to play with the same inspiration that I have seen glimpses of so far this season, then the Lakers have yet another class player to add to the mix.

MWP can easily soften the blow of losing Lamar Odom, and gives the Lakers a potent scoring threat off the bench. As long as he's playing his game, World Peace can still play a pretty effective offensive game.


I know the Lakers still have the problem of point guard play, the problem being that they don't have one of the top thirty point guards on their team. Don't get me wrong, I love Derek Fisher, but he's getting old, and his ability to slow things down and get the triangle started isn't as useful now that we don't run the triangle as often. Steve Blake looks like he wants to shoot better this season, but I won't forgive him for all the things he's done to me (goes back to shooting Denver out of playoff games) until he proves he's here to play.

Add Troy Murphy and Josh McRoberts to this team and you've got a pretty good eight man rotation. The two have helped improve the Lakers rebounding, and their level of intensity. Murphy and McRoberts are guys you don't have to run plays for, but they still produce in positive ways. They hit open shots, especially Murphy, and they create points off of offensive rebounds.

This doesn't even include Devin Ebanks (or Matt Barnes), who starts at the three for the Lakers, and is someone who I can see following the developmental pattern of Trevor Ariza. In addition to his style of play, don't tell me you haven't taken a quick glance at the screen and instinctively thought "What is Ariza doing on the floor?" only to remember that it was actually Ebanks. Ebanks is a solid defensive player with a lot of room for improvement. I think his jump shot is ahead of where Ariza's was before he started making improvements, which points to the fact that he may have a more natural knack for shooting the ball. If Barnes can contribute in a bigger way than he did last season, it only makes this Lakers team harder to beat.

Barring any huge injuries, I think this is a Lakers team that can take most teams to the limit. Of course, its early in the season, and I have do have LA goggles on, but I really do think this team can contend. No one will know exactly how good any of the top teams are for a another few weeks, and until then it isn't ridiculous to keep the Lakers in the hunt.


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