Today marks the beginning of the post season for the Lakers. The team is entering the playoffs struggling and with lots of injuries. Here are the five things that the team needs to do to make it back to the finals (i.e. win the west). Once they get that far, I will reassess depending if they play the Cavs, Magic, Hawks or Heat (no chance the Celtics get there).
1. The Big Guys Need to Dominate- Bynum needs to play much better than last year. In the west, no one has two big guys like Gasol and Bynum. In a year when guard play has improved dramatically in the west (this is where the Lakere are weakest), they need to exploit the two big guys.
2. Farmar needs to Double His Steal Average-Farmar is the most inconsistent player on the Lakers bench and also can provide the biggest spark. The most value he brings is when he pushes the ball and speeds up the pace. The Lakers are most successful when the bench runs.
3. Artest Needs to Average Less Then Ten Shots a Game-Artest's value to the team is how well he shuts down the Carmelos, Durants and Ginoblis. In order for that to happen he needs to commit his energy to the defensive end. Artest is getting older and over the course of the season, his defense has lagged in games that he shoots too much (i.e. gets tired).
4. Walton, Brown or Vujacic needs to play the Role of Shooter-Every championship team has a 3 point shooter (last year was Ariza). This year no one has stepped up in that role. During the playoffs, 3 point shooting is that much more important. One of the guys needs average over 2 threes a game.
5. Kobe Needs to Average 6 assists a Game- The Lakers are best when Kobe is a distributor and his teammates are getting their shots. Most importantly, his teammates need to be confident in themselves and hit big shots down the stretch. Kobe will average 25-30 ppg, but the most important thing will be his assists.
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