We've already considered the best- and worst-case scenarios for Byron Scott's debut season as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
For the tl;dr crowd, the Lakers can hope for, say, 45-48 wins if everyone stays healthy, Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash regain some semblance of their prior form, Julius Randle is a stud from the outset, the team finds an actual solution at small forward and the frontcourt isn't a total disaster.
On the flip side, the Lakers could careen toward 20-win territory (if not below) if everyone gets hurt, nobody plays defense and Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss hold a yard sale in front of Staples Center at the trade deadline to sell off what few valuable, moveable, veteran assets they have.
Neither of those scenarios, though, addresses the more crucial question at hand: What can Scott's Lakers do in 2014-15 to have the season deemed a success?
In politically correct Lakers parlance, success can only be defined by banners, trophies and cartoonishly extravagant jewelry.
"This organization is all about championships, period," Scott said at his introductory press conference on Monday. "We don't look at Western Conference Finals, Western Conference championships. We look at championships."
It's no secret, though, that the Lakers have a long way to go before they can so much as sniff another Larry O'Brien Trophy. The talent to do so just isn't there right now, and the top teams in the West are too far ahead of L.A. in that regard to afford the Purple and Gold any leeway.
But a "championship or bust" mentality doesn't necessitate a complete commitment to the latter. Nor would the Lakers and their fans be in any way satisfied with another season that resembles (or undercuts) the 27-55 debacle into which the team devolved in 2013-14.
More than the losing, though, what made last season so frustrating to watch for fans and observers of ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
