Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 9:00 am  |  124 responses

Some Ready to Hand Lakers 2010 Title in July

by Marcel Mutoni

To the joy and relief of the vast majority of Laker fans, including yours truly, Lamar Odom rejoined the band yesterday, more or less officially kicking off the title defense for next season. Logic and history indicate that it will be a long, arduous, and possibly even disastrous journey for the Lakers, but not everyone thinks so.

According to some folks, this re-signing all but guarantees gaudy championship jewelry next June. Take this OC Register story for instance:

Ron Artest or Shannon Brown might have to run down the pass and save the playoff game and give Kobe Bryant a chance to grand-marshal his own parade again. But the Lakers, according to Thursday’s reports, know that Lamar Odom and his telescoping tentacles and his fastball jumper and his locker room sweet tooth and his general lovin’-life vibes will return to El Segundo. Along with another Lawrence F. O’Brien trophy. Yeah, it’s about that simple.

Without Odom, the Lakers were still going to win the Western Conference and make the NBA Finals for a third consecutive season. Then they would be crash-test dummies for Eastern powers who have buffed up…With him, and with no cataclysmic injuries, this budding junta cracks down on its opposition. NBA champions tend to repeat themselves, especially when they’re as young as are the Lakers.

The arrogance in the above is almost as stunning as it is insane.

Any number of things could go wrong for the Lakers in their quest to repeat: Injuries, complacency, locker room turmoil, Ron Artest doing something Artest-esque at the most inopportune time, etc. And what, are all of the other championship contenders in the League who’ve reloaded this summer simply going to lay down?

In life, there are no guarantees (least of all, when sports are involved.) So, let’s not get too excited with the L.A. title talk just yet.

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  • tecneek

    i’m not gonna sit here and say they’re gonna win a championship….the title contenders all made moves that made them better celtics got sheed and garnette back from injury…cleveland got shaq ……big z parker and moon off the bench
    magic got carter barnes bass and nother big man shooter ryan anderson……..lakers got back odom….spurs got RJ….and ginobli back….nuggets aint made a big splash but got back birdzilla lost dantay but got afflalo

  • anti-crust

    Hey clockwork….if Jefferson slamming one down on Gasol is going to give you the jollies…you’re easily satisfied. Name me one player who hasn’t been slammed on. The league is filled with quality players with quality games and personalities, Richard Jefferson happens to be one. Look at his friendships with his college teammates …..a Laker, Luke Walton (who isn’t the most intimidating player in the league but has happened to have played in 3 championships already), Jefferson and Arenas….Arenas is a fun guy…..if Richard Jefferson happens to get the opportunity to slam one down on Gasol so be it. Gasol is probably one of the most underrated players in the league. His height and length, his court vision, his ability to mesh with a team that he has been with for only 1 and 1/2 years. His international play. Look at the NBA game as a ballet, where the players go through their steps not as swans but as probably the most highly tuned athletes in the world. It’s not a shoot-em-up video game….it’s an act of beauty to see the best go at it, over 100 times a year for some players. Appreciate the game for the quality of the people, their play, the business aspects it takes to assemble a team. I’ll tell you this. Jefferson moving to the Spurs, I believe did make me stop and think, is this a threat to the Lakers, a team I have followed since the 60′s. Look at Popovich’s “trade committee” comment when the Lakers got Gasol. Pop is a class act, PJ is a class act who walks to the beat of a different drummer. Let the best team win, and let that be decided by good play and good reffing on the court. We are lucky that we are fans of 2 of the top teams in the league. Enjoy while you can, because some teams fall from the elite for long periods (see Boston Celtics)…so don’t think of the game as RJ posterizing Gasol, Spurs are the greatest…think of it as “Did you see the game, man, those are two great teams out there, I hope my Spurs can get past the Lakers this year!!!” Good luck and 2 months and a week or so and we’ll be starting up again. Peace, brother!!!

  • Pancho

    cosign tecneek… thats the point, ALL the other championships contenders are even better.
    I am sure this is the most excited Ive been for a season to start.
    Tarzan said coulple days ago… can the season start today? I could not express how I feel better than that…
    I wish I could take a two month nap.

  • ripriprip

    Come on, they essentially have the same roster as last season (Ariza more or less = Artest), while powerhouses like Boston, Orlando, and San Antonio have all improved. Every key player on the Lakers is 30 or older: Artest is 30, Kobe, Pau, and Odom will be 31.

  • http://sportzin.com Joey E.

    ^kobe will be 31, artest will be 30, odom will be 30, pau just turned 29 early july

  • Drew

    It aint g’teed that the lakers are gonna repeat, but they won 65 game last season and got better with the artest/ariza swap. The Celts bench is still pretty weak outside of Sheed, the Cavs moves are “bandaids over an axe wound”, and we need to wait and see how Orlando gels together. Gettin LO back in LA clearly makes them the heavy favorite when if they really want they could run Kobe, Artest, Odom, Gasol and Bynum at you at the end of the game….

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    That’s pretty crazy, Drew, I agree. But until Andrew Bynum cuts down on his cheap fouls, he ain’t playing at the ends of games. Also, the real reason to even HAVE Fisher (besides leadership) are his crunchtime plays.

  • rikson

    Thank god – RonRon and Kobe play together! I cant take anymore of that premature “fighting”…

  • rikson

    WHERES MY COMMENT????

  • rikson

    WHERES MY COMMENT???

  • lennon4ever

    i see the Lakers getting to the finals and losing to the Celtics again…
    Go Celtics!! woot!

  • JamesL

    Ok Fellow NBA fans let me start by making onething PERFECTLY CLEAR, I AM AND ALWAYS WILL BE A DIEHARD LAKER! I have been a Laker fan since Elgin Baylor was on the team. But I am also a fan of the game and was a player til I was injured, now with that being said: the Lakers resigining Odom was the garuntee that With No Major Injuries they will make it to the Finals. People say Ron Artest is Volatile but forget that He and Odom are BEST FRIENDS, He is a hell of a defensive Player and can take people off the dribble or hit the 3. Lakers getting Artest was a Steal just like getting Pau. It makes them stronger and tougher. to say that Bynum is an Oden is an insult Bynum got hurt last year cause Kobe fell on his leg Prior to his injury Last year Look at Bynums numbers. If he can play the whole season those tacky fouls won’t happen. Its hard to be in a groove, then miss ALOT of time and try and get you game back in the Playoffs when refs call games more closely. the Spurs Have a deep OLD team, We all know that Ginobli will get hurt, the Rockets Have No yao lost artest, Mcgrady will get hurt. Dallas still has no D,Suns Have no team,Nuggets still have no D and Crymelo Anthony is the most Over Rated player in the league. The Celtics Let Davis Go,Let Powe Go,picked up Sheed the most Volatile Player in the league and Has a worse Temper than Artest could ever think of having. If ANY teammate on the celtics pisses him off in practice he won’t show up for the game,Garnets age is finally catching up with him thats why he got hurt last year and missed the playoffs. The Magic without Turkolou won’t have that clutch scoring at the end of games anymore,they also let Lee leave Barnes is no Lee, Vince is no where near what he once was he also has knee problems.
    Howard still has only Dunks to his offense. The Cavs have Old Shaq he intimidates NO ONE like he did when he was in LA 2 guards and point guards go at Shaq now, also you know he will miss games its in his contract to miss 17 to 19 games a season. His presence will SLOW the Cavs WAY down just as it did with the Suns. The team that will give the Lake Show a run is going to be Portland, and stop sleeping on The Bulls, The Lakers will make the Finals, but its hard to call the East. But whomever it may be the Lakers will repeat.

  • Justin

    I remember a lot of this same talk that Artest is getting when Rodman joined the Bulls. He’d bring them down, he’d be too much of a distraction etc. etc. How’d that work out for them anyway?

  • http://drexlerwasabeast.com nbk

    laker fans make me sick

  • George B

    laker haters make themselves sick

  • Reggie Bias

    This is speaking with 617 hate but LA aint goin back to back – wouldnt of got this yar if The Ticket didnt go down– Simple and Plain Timmy got Parker and Paerker got a new toy in RJ and I doubt the Lakers get past the Spurs and IF and thats a big IF they do make it out Rash,KG, And Perk gonna expose that soft Interior — GREEN 18 in 2010

  • http://slamonline.com MiguelKG5

    Lets face it Spurs are old and Tim Duncan is old. HAHA tim duncan carries the team haha funny. No disrespect to timmy but hes old and the lakers they dont have trevor anymore. trevor saved their a*ses in the finals. the most complete team out there is boston with new cast.

  • http://slam nyjoe

    I don’t know about Boston being the most complete after losing some great bench help that carried them in the playoffs with KG injured. As far as the Spurs, as much as I hate to say it there’s probably not a team in the West that would want to play them in a 7 game series. That being said, Trevor did save the Lakers, and that is going to be a huge loss for them this season.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    *taking a page out of idiocy a handful of comments above*
    ___
    It’s way too early to say that the Spurs are going to win it all…
    …I’m just going to hedge my bets and say I don’t like the Knicks chances, yet again…

  • Yesse

    Can’t really say that.Cavs got Diesel, Boston got Sheed, Spurs got RJ and Magic got VC.Lakers are probably the championship favorite again, but i wouldnt really bet on that.

  • http://www.NBHHCM.org Dunkadelic Kobe24

    The Lakers are the defending champs, they just added a former defensive player of the year, a # 2 or 3 option on offense. This team has a proven system, a 10-time championship coach and all I hear is about teams who made moves before the Lakers got Ron Artest and that they are the underdog. They have a similar setup as the 1996-98 Bulls, or 2000-02 Lakers. The Lakers organization is about championships and i pretty surethey will win 1-2 more with this team. This is the best 4-man unit since the Lakers and Celtics of the 1980′s.

  • http://erica@boldazmedia.com erica dacosta

    we will take the title again for all u laker haters lakers celtics or we see the cavs thats just my pred if lebron get his but off his back.

  • http://erica@boldazmedia.com erica dacosta

    lennon u are draming again jukai u need to wake up.

  • Big Kobe Fan

    go Los Angele’s they will win the 2010 champion ship and many more in the next few years.if ron can behave himself, kobe stays in LA,pau keeps up his form and lamar keeps doing what he is doing off the bench the lakers will make a long run in the 5/6 years in the NBA. Who needs ariza.

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