What Los Angeles Lakers should do to be the championship favourites next season – NBA Special?
Despite of being the NBA title holders since the last two years, the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out in the Western Conference semi-finals by this year’s champions Dallas Mavericks.
Lakers, who have been running the show quite impressively for a number of years lacked the spark this time around which became evident in the play-offs. They were not at their best in the first round against the New Orleans Hornets
and crashed down significantly against the Mavericks.
The Lakers have a number of concerns that need to be resolved at the earliest if they want to be the championship favourites in the next season. Here is the list of the most important things Los Angeles Lakers should do to continue
their legacy.
A young point guard
The 36 year old Derrick Fisher is in the final phase of his career and there is no doubt that he carries a massive experience under his belt. However the agility and athleticism required at the position is a big concern for the
Lakers. Fisher is aging and he lacks the spark big time to keep up with the speed of the young and energetic point guards in NBA. Derrick failed to match the brilliance of Chris Paul of New Orleans in the first round and J.J. Barea of Dallas Mavericks in the
semi-finals.
The Lakers need a youthful talent at the position who can power the team with his agility and versatility from the top. Darius Morris, who was drafted by the franchise in this year’s draft, has the quickness and great passing abilities.
Derek will be an influential mentor for Morris who can teach him all the traits of the position and the Lakers need to bring Darius in action to carry the speed and athleticism in the next season.
A prolific scorer to support Kobe Bryant
In the last season, it was observed that the legendary Kobe Bryant was carrying the entire burden to stimulate the offensive system of the team. Whenever Bryant struggled offensively, the Lakers were always shot on a second scoring
option.
The team needs to bring in a young star player who can provide fireworks on the front court to support the superstar. Bryant’s role is very important in Lakers success and a lot of pressure definitely hampers him from providing
his best. Alleviating some pressure from the shooting guard will open more options for Bryant to lead his team.
Kobe Bryant should accept Mike Brown
Since the Lakers hired former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, Bryant has kept his silence and made no comment about the new head coach which makes it quite obvious that he is not happy with the decision of hiring Brown. The
major reason was that Kobe wanted Brian Shaw to be the next coach after Phil Jackson’s retirement who was the assistant of Jackson. Secondly, the franchise didn’t consult their superstar when they decided to hire Mike.
This is the biggest issue Lakers is facing at the moment which can turn things even worse. Bryant needs to accept Brown as a coach in order to keep the team favourite for the championship in the next season. Nobody can expect from
a team to clinch an NBA title whose best player and the coach have chemistry problems.
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