Without Dwight Howard, Metta World Peace, Earl Clark and Antawn Jamison in the rotation, Kobe Bryant is going to have to carry a much heavier burden on his surgically repaired Achilles tendon than he has in recent memory.
While Bryant will definitely be up for the challenge once he returns, there are a cornucopia of mysteries the Lakers will have to iron out in order to have any sort of success.
What kind of offense will Mike D'Antoni run?
D'Antoni's offense has two main facets to it.
Initially, the transition game is emphasized. Even if his team isn't able to defend against a basket and use the rebound to initiate a fast-break attempt, D'Antoni will still want to push the ball from the inbound.
Once initiated, the goal is shoot the first available shot. Whether it's finishing at the rim or utilizing three-point shooters, D'Antoni wants the first open shot to be taken.
If the transition game fails or if his team is forced into a half-court set, then D'Antoni wants floor spacing by his three-point shooters so that his point guard and a designated big man can run the pick-and-roll.
This system couldn't be fully implemented last season for a variety of reasons.
Dwight Howard, a physically dominant center, wasn't the pick-and-roll player that Amar'e Stoudemire or even Pau Gasol were.
Even as an interior post scorer, Howard had his limitations.
Couple that with a myriad of injuries to Steve Nash and the lack of a full training camp from D'Antoni and you get an offense that seemed stagnant and ineffective at times. Having inconsistent three-point shooting didn't help either. The Lakers only shot 35.2 percent fr...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
