Well what a roller coaster ride we've been on this season. We've gone from unrealistic expectations of besting the bulls 72-10 record, to the atrocious attempt at the Princeton offense that led to a double digit losing streak, to the Lakers sending Mike Brown from the sideline to Chik-Fil-A, to the Phil Jackson debacle (still a mistake) to Steve Nash being hailed as the savior, before returning and us still sucking, to there being a point where the Lakers actually making the playoffs seemed like an unrealistic expectation.
Much has changed this season... Most within the last month.
-Dwight is slowly becoming the Dwight we expected him to be, apparent with an impressive streak of games with 12+ rebounds. He also seems to be slowly maturing off the court and legitimately appears happier (although this is easier to disguise when the team is winning)
-Kobe continues one of his most impressive seasons ever and would be a legit MVP threat (behind only Lebron) if the Lakers were any higher than a 5 seed. Although I sincerely think Kobe should get serious consideration and comfortable land in 2nd place in the MVP race should the Lakers land the 6 seed.
-Mike D'Antoni has improved, but is still iffy. I won't lie, the thought of this Lakers team missing the playoffs and being labeled the biggest failure in team sports history had me calling for his job both before and after the return of Steve Nash. But the Lakers have improved and I won't go as far as to say it is in spite of Mike D. Although if he doesn't hire a defensive coordinator in the offseason I might steal all of his personal documents and scratch off the D in his last name with a permanent marker before returning them.
-Steve Nash is fitting in pretty well as a spot up shooter. Now he's Steve Nash and he's a 2 time MVP and that's a lot less than we expected, but in retrospect..... He's almost 48 years old and I'm really not sure why we ever expected him to be the main ball handler and relegate Kobe Bryant to a spot up shooter (yeah right). It may not be the ideal spot for someone of his skill, but it is what it is, and what that is is much more than where he was at the start of the season. And to his credit, he controls the ball when Kobe isn't out there and has been running the pick and roll more lately And besides, if we're gonna have out PG be a spot up shooter, why not have it be one of the BEST SHOOTERS OF ALL TIME? The only way Steve Nash being a spot up shooter being better for us would be if it were in the Tria..... You know what? Never mind...
-Our bench only sucks when more than 33% of the bench players get to play. I know we've got injuries, but as of TODAY, there are only 3 players on the bench that contribute when on the floor (I know the rest don't get a chance, but that's a discussion for another day). Steve Blake, Jodie Meeks, and Antawn Jamison. These are the only 3 players that play at the moment, which means that they all play with the starters and they've all excelled mostly with their outside shooting. Steve Blake has been moving the ball well and Jamison has been able to find looks near the basket as well. The real question now is whether Pau Gasol will fit in seamlessly and not mess up the rhythm the bench has created in his absence.
-Kobe's absence opens the door for the rest of the team to create confidence, chemistry, and cohesion. We all know Kobe could literally get both of his arms cut off and figure out a way to be back as long as he had some Gary Vitty, some super glue and a magical Nike shooting sleeve. In Kobe's absence we're getting a look at a Steve Nash/Dwight Howard run team and it hasn't looked bad so far. If the players can gain the 3 C's in Kobe's absence, that'll do wonders for the players once he gets back and could hopefully give them what they need to play better when he sits so that we don't blow leads and need KB24 to play hero ball and bail us out later in the year.
Before the all star break the popular sentiment was that the Lakers had fallen so much that they would need to make almost impossible strides and would be the hottest team in the league if they ended up making the playoffs. Aside from Miami (Damn them!) it's pretty close to happening. Although the Lakers probably won't enter as the favorite, ask any of the top 5 seeds in the West if they want to face the Lakers. Aside from the Clippers who already said they want to (they don't...assholes), I guarantee SA, Memphis, OKC, or Denver would rather see GS, Houston, or Utah.
If the Lakers can continue their momentum for the last month, SOMEHOW IMPROVE THEIR DEFENSE, Dwight continues playing more like Superman instead of Earl Clark Kent, Kobe continues being Kobe, and Gasol or Antoni don't do anything to screw it up, this could be a very exciting up coming month (or 2............or 3?)
