The NBA season opened this past Tuesday night. And the question on everyone’s mind is, ‘Can The Lakers Repeat?’ Well, what do you think? Do you think the healthy and extremely improved San Antonio Spurs can knock the Lakers from atop the Western Conference? With the addition of Richard Jefferson, and Manu, Duncan and Parker healthy, the Spurs have upgraded immensely. But so have the Lakers. With the addition of Ron Artest, the Lakers have a defensive stopper who can score when needed as well. Not to mention a healthy Andrew Bynum who is only going to get better. And never bet against any team that has Kobe Bryant. The one thing that might hurt the Lakers though is the marriage of Lamar Odom. What was he thinking? Will he be ready to play every night, or will his mind be on the fact he didn’t take out the trash before he left for the game and wifey was nagging the hell out of him? It remains to be seen.
In the East, you have the dreaded Boston Celtics who have upgraded with Rasheed Wallace and getting a healthy Kevin Garnett back is a huge boost. Orlando lost Turkolu, but they did go out and acquire Vince Carter. It remains to be seen if Carter will be an upgrade or a hindrance. Cleveland went and got Shaq. My comment. Big deal. He is still 70 lbs over his Laker playing weight and is another year older. Will he slow down Lebron or complement Lebron’s game? Shaq could not co-exist with Kobe or Duane Wade in Miami. I give Lebron and Shaq two months before Shaq tries to steal some of Lebron’s press. Lamar Odom’s marriage will last longer than Lebron and Shaq will. All in all it should be a great season.
And yes, Automated Man is picking the Lakers to repeat.
Labels: automated man, Cleveland Cavaliers, Duane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Shaq
