One of the things that makes the Lakers one of the league's best teams is the size and skill of their two biggest frontcourt players, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. But Gasol has yet to play a game for the team in this young season, and now it looks like Bynum will miss some time as well with an elbow injury.
Both players are listed as doubtful for Friday night's game against Memphis, and if neither ends up being able to go, the Lakers will be forced to use some rather interesting lineups.
The Lakers are coming off of a championship season, and are the favorites to take home the title again in 2010. But with the virtual trade of Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest, along with the media circus created by Lamar Odom's whirlwind marriage to a reality television personality, they've certainly inserted enough wild cards into their stacked deck to make even the most die-hard of fans question the team's ability to repeat as champions.
The Lakers opened the preseason on Wednesday, and while the story lines going in were mainly about Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum (who both looked fabulous), when it was over, all anyone was talking about was Shannon Brown.
Since most teams in the league haven't even played two preseason games yet, I don't think it's an exaggeration to call Brown's insane dunk over the seven-foot tall Mikki Moore the highlight of this very, very young season. And judging by the reaction on the internets, this play might stay at the top of the list for quite some time.
There was a time when you couldn't ever find a photo of Andrew Bynum on a practice court with that hulking icon of Lakers lore, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, right behind him. When the Lakers drafted Bynum in the lottery in 2005, they attached KAJ to his hip, to be a mentor and basketball sensai.
Bynum has otherworldly talent, and a dominating physique. He has shown glimpses of pending stardom. But it never seemed like his spirit or head were fully on board with the Kareem Sessions, at least from the armchair vantage point. Bynum has always seemed preoccupied with proving he doesn't need help than with actually accepting it.
Who doesn't like a list, especially on a Monday morning when that's about all you can handle until your third cup of coffee?
As the opening of NBA training camps approach, we'll start breaking down the league by position, presenting our biased opinions with an eye on personal prejudices and the upcoming season. Remember, it's not who the best was last season -- that's history -- but who will be the best over the next 82 games and into the playoffs.
Since we're starting with centers, we'll have to begin by discussing those we don't like this season.
There's a good chance that at some point during the NBA Finals -- or likely before they even start -- there will be talk of whether or not the Lakers are tough enough to win a championship.
And there should be that kind of talk. But it wasn't even an issue against the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers are going to their second consecutive NBA Finals because their big players were more skilled and more talented than the Nuggets' big players were tough and physical.
Darn right I want to see the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals. And, yes, some of it has to do with the significant subplot of LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant.
For a few reasons, that's the series I want. And I'm not going to feel guilty about it or apologize for it or pay any attention to the backlash. I know Orlando's Dwight Howard feels disrespected because everyone seems to be pulling for Cavs-Lakers and LeBron-Kobe, but he shouldn't take it personally.
DENVER -- For all the weird smack-talking from those Nike puppets, all the relentless marketing pushes by a sports-drink firm that suggests Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are on "a collision course," guess what? They might be headed for a Porsche-Hummer crash instead, which would be a colossal waste of ad-world brainpower and, when you consider the megastars excluded, our great entertainment loss in June.
No one is pondering a Denver vs. Orlando matchup, least of all ABC, which would watch in horror as a compelling postseason marked by fat cable ratings suddenly fades to black in the NBA Finals. "I'm sure the world does want Cleveland and the Lakers, the best two players in the world and the chance to see them in a seven-game series," said Nuggets star Chauncey Billups. "But I don't want to see it. And I'm trying my best to make sure it doesn't happen."
One of the things that makes the Lakers one of the league's best teams is the size and skill of their two biggest frontcourt players, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. But Gasol has yet to play a game for the team in this young season, and now it looks like Bynum will miss some time as well with an elbow injury.
A to Z.
There was a time when you couldn't ever find a photo of Andrew Bynum on a practice court with that hulking icon of Lakers lore, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, right behind him. When the Lakers drafted Bynum in the lottery in 2005, they attached KAJ to his hip, to be a mentor and basketball sensai.
Who doesn't like a list, especially on a Monday morning when that's about all you can handle until your third cup of coffee?
There's a good chance that at some point during the NBA Finals -- or likely before they even start -- there will be talk of whether or not the Lakers are tough enough to win a championship.
Darn right I want to see the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals. And, yes, some of it has to do with the significant subplot of LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant.
DENVER -- For all the weird smack-talking from those Nike puppets, all the relentless marketing pushes by a sports-drink firm that suggests Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are on "a collision course," guess what? They might be headed for a Porsche-Hummer crash instead, which would be a colossal waste of ad-world brainpower and, when you consider the megastars excluded, our great entertainment loss in June.
