Dispelling Biggest Current Misconceptions About LA Lakers

There’s never a dull moment when dealing with the Los Angeles Lakers.

As always, L.A. has been one of the most talked-about teams in the NBA over the summer. The coverage of Kobe Bryant’s Achilles injury, Dwight Howard’s departure and Mike D’Antoni’s status on the sidelines has taken up much of the offseason buzz.

Right now, however, a heavy cloud of misconception surrounds the team.

 

The Lakers will be a postseason team




D12 left for greener pastures after a wildly disappointing 2012-13 campaign, and suddenly the team that was co-favored, per the Los Angeles Times, to win a title last year is now ranked 12th in the Western Conference by ESPN.

Let’s take a quick look at the roster Coach D’Antoni will be dealing with this season and determine whether or not L.A. will be as bad as it’s projected to be.

Bryant is one of the greatest players in the history of the game, and when he’s at 100 percent, he’ll be dominant. Pau Gasol is an elite post player and one of the best passing big men in the league (his 4.1 assists per game last season led all power forwards). And even though he’s approaching 40 years old, Steve Nash is a future Hall of Famer with some game left in him.

Wesley Johnson is a hungry, young and freakishly athletic wingman, while Nick Young is a swagger-filled three-point assassin who will thrive in D’Antoni’s offense. Jordan Hill is an emerging power forward who hits the glass like a madman, and Chris Kaman is a brutish center willing to do the dirty work outside of the spotlight.



Does this sound like a bad team?

No, it doesn’t—and that’s because the Lakers are going to be good.

The fact that they’re being blatantly disrespected by the media—CBS Sports also has Los Angele...

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