NBA: Will the LA Lakers make it to the Play Offs?

Kobe Bryant – Can he inspire the Lakers?

Kobe Bryant’s health is improving each day as he recovers from the Achilles injury he suffered in April but will he be ready for the opener against the Clippers on Oct 29th?

Pau Gasol has successfully recovered from his knee surgery but would he be as effective as he was during their championship run from 3 years ago?

Does the waiving of Metta World Peace and Dwight Howard trade to Houston increase the defensive liabilities of the team?

How much does Steve Nash really have left in the tank for this season?

Lakers have signed 8 new players and re-signed Ryan Sacre – how good would their team chemistry be?

Lakers fans have a lot of questions waiting to be answered. However, the biggest question that remains to be answered – Do the Lakers have enough to make it to the Playoffs?

Here’s the answer to that question:

Offence:

Lakers lost Antawn Jamison to the Clippers and Earl Clark to Cleveland – two huge forwards who helped the Lakers on offense off the bench during Pau’s injury this past season. So, Lakers have fallen short in terms of replacing the two with Nick Young, Wesley Johnson, Elias Harris, and Marcus Landry.

So, this season Lakers would have a hard time at the offensive end with Nash and Gasol carrying the load till Kobe recovers. Past season’s back court of Steve Blake and Jodi Meeks shared the scoring load last season but were not consistent and cannot be depended on each game to reduce the pressure off Nash and Gasol. The return of Jordan Farmar to the purple and gold is not going to make a major impact in their chances of making it to the playoffs, either.

However, the acquisition of few young back court players like Farmar and Xavier Henry would bring a youthful look to the bench which they certainly lacked last season. It would mean more fearless offense and more fast-break offense to look forward to. Nick Young and Wesley Johnson have lot of expectations from them this season, bringing the youthful and fearless nature back to the team.

They would be at their shooting best from the perimeter on feed’s from the guards and finishing at the rim on fast-breaks. Jordan Hill would be the X-factor when it comes to the Lakers offense. If he had played the full season, he would have been among the top 10 offensive rebounders in the league and would continue playing a big role for the team on the offensive glass with his rebound and put backs. With the departure of Dwight Howard, he need not restrict himself to perimeter shooting; instead can make a difference to the team around the rim.

But Lakers offense would hugely depend this season on when Kobe makes his return. Once he reaches his prime fitness and gets his game back, he would reduce the burden off Nash and would also contribute to the team in assists. His mere presence would lift the team’s spirit and act as a morale boost for the team.

Defence:

Dwight Howard cannot be replaced when it comes to being a presence in the paint but Lakers have put their faith in Chris Kaman. In the 2006-2007 season, he averaged 2.8 blocks and 12.7 rebounds per game for the season with LA Clippers – a stat that has just been going downward since.

He is not known to be a major factor in the Laker defense, however playing well in tandom with Pau is what he will have to adapt to. The young bench would play a huge role in terms of playing defence. They would be expected to increase the defensive energy in the team with more steals and good defence on the perimeter and on jump shots.

It would be once again the defence that will hold the key to how the team chemistry stands. However, even with a great team chemistry, Lakers would definitely miss Dwight Howard and will be weaker at the defensive end rather than the offensive side.

So, with this team, Lakers would have a less than satisfactory season with them finishing the season between the 8th and 12th spot with them grabbing the final spot into the playoffs being the best case scenario.