NBA 2008-09 Preview: Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers head into the 2008-09 season with far different expectations than they did a year ago at this time. Flashback to October of 2008 and all of the talk back then was about whether or not Kobe Bryant was going to get traded and to whom and for what he would be traded for. I dare you to find me a publication that projected the Lakers to finish higher than the seventh seed in the Western Conference and yet they managed to grab the conference’s top seed and earn themselves a trip to the NBA Finals. Of course, the addition of Pau Gasol in a mid-season trade for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, two first-round picks and Pau’s younger brother, Marc, had a lot to do with their renewed confidence. But even before Mitch Kupchak fleeced the Grizzlies the Lakers had shown the potential to finish in the top half of the conference thanks to the development of their young center, Andrew Bynum. Bynum’s injury had put to bed any hopes of the Lakers making it to the Finals, ... (link)