Breaking Down the Lakers' Three Seasons

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Breaking Down the Lakers' Three Seasons
Published 3/26/2008 by David Friedman at 20 Second Timeout
... fair to say that they have had a good season. The truth, however, is that the Lakers' have had "three" good seasons: a 24-11 "season" with Andrew Bynum playing center, a 15-4 "season" with Pau Gasol playing center and a 10-7 "season" without either player available. Kobe Bryant has played an essential role in making each version of the Lakers a winning team. In my newest "Courtside View" article for ProBasketballNews.com, I take a close look at the Lakers' three seasons in one: Breaking Down the Lakers' Three Seasons

Technically Speaking, Kobe Bryant Needs to be Very Careful
Published 3/28/2008 by David Friedman at 20 Second Timeout
... like some voters are looking for reasons to vote for Chris Paul instead of Bryant; Paul has certainly legitimately moved himself into MVP contention with his torrid performance in March to top off an already impressive season and if a Bryant suspension results in a Lakers loss that moves New Orleans permanently ahead of L.A. in the standings that could be the deciding factor in the minds of some MVP voters. Frankly, I think that the way Bryant has carried the Lakers in each of their "three seasons" is a more significant qualification for a season-long award than what happens in ...

Wages of Wins Weighs in on the MVP Race
Published 4/2/2008 by David Friedman at 20 Second Timeout
... 1) When looking at the Lakers’ record with various player combinations (with Bynum, with Gasol, etc.) did you factor in the home/road balance of those various schedules and the quality of the opponents that the Lakers faced? As I pointed out in my article about the Lakers’ "three seasons" (Breaking Down L.A.'s Three Seasons), their schedule without Bynum and Gasol has been heavily slanted toward road games and/or games against good teams. Their 11-9 record with Kobe and without either Bynum or Gasol is very impressive considering that fact, even with the two recent losses to ...

Jazz, Hornets, Lakers Excel Against the Best of the West
Published 4/7/2008 by David Friedman at 20 Second Timeout
... As I have mentioned before, injuries and trades have effectively turned 2007-08 into three seasons in one for the L.A. Lakers. While Utah and New Orleans have enjoyed great roster stability, the exact opposite has been the case in L.A. The Lakers started out 24-11 with Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum providing a nice inside-outside punch. Then Bynum suffered what has effectively turned out to be a season-ending injury. Bryant kept the Lakers above water (6-5) until G.M. Mitch Kupchak brought in Pau Gasol; the acquisition of the one-time All-Star meant that teams could no longer ...

Wages of Wins Weighs in on the MVP Race
Published 4/7/2008 by David Friedman at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
... 1) When looking at the Lakers’ record with various player combinations (with Bynum, with Gasol, etc.) did you factor in the home/road balance of those various schedules and the quality of the opponents that the Lakers faced? As I pointed out in my article about the Lakers’ "three seasons" (Breaking Down L.A.'s Three Seasons), their schedule without Bynum and Gasol has been heavily slanted toward road games and/or games against good teams. Their 11-9 record with Kobe and without either Bynum or Gasol is very impressive considering that fact, even with the two recent losses to ...

The Score, the Key Stat, the Bottom Line: Playoff Positioning
Published 4/13/2008 by David Friedman at 20 Second Timeout
... the idea that the winner of the regular season MVP award should be largely decided by what happens in a handful of games at the end of the season; the MVP should honor a body of work produced in an entire year. However, all the Chris Paul advocates who have been saying for the past month that if the Hornets get the number one seed in the West then he should win the MVP should now admit that Bryant deserves to receive this year's MVP. Bryant has successfully steered the Lakers through "three" seasons, overcoming not only injuries to his team's two best centers but also his own ...

Choosing This Season's NBA Awards Winners
Published 4/15/2008 by David Friedman at 20 Second Timeout
... I doubt that anyone is surprised to hear that my choice is Kobe Bryant. I have explained my reasoning in several posts and articles: Bryant is the league's best and most complete player, he has led his team successfully through three seasons in one in 2007-08 and the main thing that "disqualified" him in previous years--his team's record--is no longer an issue. The San Francisco Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins concisely makes the case for Bryant in an article titled ...

Friedman: Choosing This Season’s NBA Awards Winners
Published 4/22/2008 by David Friedman at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
... I doubt that anyone is surprised to hear that my choice is Kobe Bryant. I have explained my reasoning in several articles: Bryant is the league's best and most complete player, he has led his team successfully through three seasons in one in 2007-08 and the main thing that "disqualified" him in previous years--his team's record--is no longer an issue. The San Francisco Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins concisely makes the case for Bryant in an article titled ...

Los Angeles Versus San Antonio Preview
Published 5/20/2008 by David Friedman (noreply@blogger.com) at 20 Second Timeout
... Other things to consider: The Lakers went through three different seasons in 2007-08--one with Andrew Bynum at center, one with Gasol at center and a couple different stretches without either player being available. They only played the Spurs once with their current team intact, winning 106-85 at the Staples Center on April 13, a victory that ultimately decided homecourt advantage in this playoff matchup. However, Ginobili did not play in that game. ...

Lakers Edge Mavs, Improve to 6-0
Published 21 days ago by David Friedman (Doc319@yahoo.com) at 20 Second Timeout
... bottom of the league to first in defensive field goal percentage, a key element in the Lakers winning the 2000 championship? There is a misconception that the Lakers were a bad defensive team last year but the reality--as Bryant has mentioned in several interviews--is that they were a good but inconsistent defensive team and that their defense was not up to the same standard as Boston's. It is easy to understand why the Lakers were inconsistent defensively; they actually had to play three seasons in one or, more precisely, they had three different teams during the course of ...