Los Angeles Lakers forward confident of new team roster; wants Lakers to do the almost impossible task of winning 73 games next season.
Metta World Peace is one basketball player who does not like to keep his comments to himself. The Los Angeles Lakers fifth offensive option coming into the upcoming season recently said that he does not see any team coming in the ways of the Lakers next season as they aim for their 3rd NBA title since 2008.
World Peace has always beem very confident in the capabilities of the Lakers, and the addition of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard in the offseason has taken him to the edge - literally. MWP is now claiming that this Lakers side can break one of the coveted records in the league, the 72 wins in one season record of the Chicago Bulls during the Phil Jackson era.
World Peace was talking to ESPN Los Angeles radio recently and said:
“We definitely want to beat the Bulls record and go 73-9, that’s definitely something that I want to do. Whoever is out there at the beginning of the season then we gotta get it. (Host: So that Bulls record is something you’re thinking about?) No question. You try to snatch records before you leave this earth. You gotta try to do a lot of great things so it’s definitely a goal. With Dwight Howard, (Steve) Nash, Kobe (Bryant), myself, Pau (Gasol) and then (Antawn) Jamison and a lot of great additions it’s something that’s possible.”
It is good to see that World Peace is full of confidence about the Lakers for next season, and set his aims high for himself and the team. However, going 73-9 in the Western Conference of today is not going to be an easy task. The Western Conference is too deep next season for any team to dominate it in that way, even the Lakers with their star studded cast.
The Lakers will face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs multiple times next season, and it is unlikely that they will be able to win a majority of those games. Then, there are teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves that are looking great after recent roster additions, and will give a tough time to the top tier teams in the West.
Hence, the Lakers have a great deal of competition coming their way next season, and every team will be wanting to defeat them as they are the team to beat after all the spotlight and media attention regarding the Howard deal.
Also, Phil Jackson, the coach of the Bulls under whom they set the record of 72 wins, once said that it is difficult for a Western Conference team to beat that record since the teams in the West travel a lot more than the Eastern teams and get worn down as the season drags on.
Then there is the fact that Dwight Howard may not be in the Lakers roster when they open their season. Howard is still recovering from a back surgery he underwent during the summer, and is likely to miss training camp and the start of the season. In his absence, the Lakers will have to make a few adjustments, making World Peace’s claim even more difficult to achieve.
However, it is always good to dream big and challenge oneself, which is what World Peace is doing here.
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