Lakers Win 15th Championship, Season in Review

So it's been quite some time. Life caught up with me over the last two weeks and limited my blogging ability. A lot has happened since I have written a post. Derek Fisher secured his spot as a Lakers Legend with his two huge shots in Game 4 (and in the process he erased his horrible overall postseason from the minds of Lakers fans), and the Lakers won easily in Game 5 to win their 10th championship since moving to Los Angeles. I was in Massachusetts for my cousin's wedding, and I was able to spend Sunday night and Monday celebrating the championship in Celtics country. Needless to say, it was poetic justice for the way the Finals ended last year. Walking through Boston on Monday was amazing. Moving on, I think the timing is right for a season review. To help me look back on the Lakers amazing season, I enlisted the assistance of Matt Stong. We bring to you the 2008-2009 World Champion Los Angeles Lakers season in review:



Position by Position Breakdown:



PG- Derek Fisher

Regular Season Grade: B

Postseason Grade: C+



Fish was a solid fifth option all season long, until a horrible shooting slump began in April and continued until the NBA Finals. His ability to stretch the floor and make open jumpshots, as well as provide leadership was valuable. However, his (relatively) old age began to show in the postseason as he couldn't stay in front of any point guards. He also started forcing bad shots, and on top of that he couldn't knock down the open jumpers either. He became a liability. However, in the NBA Finals he came up huge in Game 2 with a steal in overtime that helped seal the deal. That paled in comparison to the huge 3's he knocked down in Game 4 that helped break Orlando's back.

Final Stat Line: 9.9 PPG, 3.2 APG, 39.7 3PT%



SG- Kobe Bryant

Regular Season Grade: A

Postseason Grade: A



At the risk of sounding too much like a Kobe homer, it's amazing how he kept up his incredible level of production night in and night out in this, his 13th season in the NBA. After a stellar showing in the Olympics, Kobe was able to lean on his teammates more than usual this season. Kobe was in cruise control most of the year, picking his spots to dominate games (61 points in Madison Square Garden the game after Andrew Bynum injured his knee). Kobe led the Lakers in scoring and assists (again) and just missed shooting a career best in FG%. In the postseason, he was stellar once again. Kobe averaged over 30 PPG, and had a six game streak with 8 or more assists per game. Kobe did have his faults though. He struggled to get good shots against Houston, and in Games 2 and 4 against the Magic, his tendency to take on the entire defense nearly cost the Lakers two pivotal games. Yet, he had the types of games where was able to get going enough to carry the Lakers to victory in vital road games. The Lakers didn't lose consecutive games in the postseason, and Kobe is the number one reason why. Kobe was 75 for 150 in FG attempts in the seven games following Lakers losses this postseason. Mighty impressive.

Final Stat Line: 26.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.9 APG



SF- Trevor Ariza

Regular Season Grade: A-

Postseason Grade: A



Ariza played well all season, but he really came on after moving into the starting lineup for the final 19 games. Initially his impact came mostly on the defensive end (tied for 6th in the NBA with 1.7 SPG), but as the season progressed, the former Bruin took on a bigger role on the offensive end. In the playoffs, he made nearly 50% of his three-point attempts, and overall he made 61 of his career 70 three-pointers this season alone. Ariza had two huge steals late in games against the Nuggets, and his offensive outbursts against the Magic in Games 4 and 5 were overshadowed but incredibly important.

Final Stat Line: 8.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.7 SPG



PF- Pau Gasol

Regular Season Grade: A

Postseason Grade: A



This one is pretty easy. Pau Gasol is awesome, yet I don't think people really understand his greatness. As a 7-footer who can play in the low post, high post, handle the ball, make great decisions, block shots, and rebound, he is about as versatile a player as the NBA will see. We all know he is not incredibly strong, but can we officially remove the label "soft"? Gasol is the perfect compliment to Kobe, and it seems as if he will be a perennial All-Star as a Laker. Pau was the most efficient Laker all season, shooting an amazing 57% from the field. He improved his rebound rate as the season progressed, and he played much better defense in the playoffs as well. Pau was a godsend for the Lakers, and Mitch Kupchap must thank Memphis GM Chris Wallace every day for setting the Lakers up for the next six years. While we're at it, thank you Chris!

Final Stat Line: 18.9 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 3.5 APG, 56.7 FG%



C- Andrew Bynum

Regular Season Grade: Inc.

Postseason Grade: C-



Andrew Bynum is the biggest question mark going forward, but he also is the biggest reason why the Lakers have the chance to sustain their success into the next decade. Bynum showed flashes of briliance (17.3 PPG in January, his 42 points and 15 rebounds against the Clippers), but also struggled mightily in the postseason. Bynum has had major knee injuries in two straight seasons, and in order for him to develop into a star, he must stay healthy for an entire season. A big issue for Andrew is his attitude. When he feels his is not involved, he tends to pout and slump his shoulders. For him to get better, he must show more passion and be able to overcome adversity. The talent and the skill set are there. I don't think he was close to 100% in the postseason, as he couldn't stay on the floor for extended minutes without getting into foul trouble. But he is 21. He barely played in high school, and he has missed significant time so far in his pro career. Everyone needs to stay patient. The sky is still the limit for Bynum, and I would still bank on him playing a huge role on future Lakers teams.

Final Stat Line: 14.3 PPG, 8 RPG, 1.8 BPG



Bench Mob:



PF- Lamar Odom

Regular Season Grade: B

Postseason Grade: B+



Lamar Odom is possibly the most polarizing figure on the Lakers, save the obvious Kobe Bryant. Analysts and fans label him as the "X" factor for the team's success. The amount of skill he has for someone 6'10'' is deadly. As Jeff Van Gundy illustrated several times during timeouts in the playoffs, Lamar Odom has the ability to block a shot, get the rebound, dribble the ball upcourt and either dish it off for an assist or finish strong. He even shot 51% from 3 in the postseason, making him the complete package. Yet, the "Candy Man" still has spurts where he is enigmatic and disappears. When he is ineffective and Bynum is in foul trouble, too much pressure is on Gasol to carry the load down low. However, when he shines (as we saw Game 6 against Denver and Game 2 against the Magic) he makes the Lakers virtually unguardable. Now that he has proven himself to be an asset for a championship team, lets hope the consistency will continue.

Final Stat Line: 11.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.26 BPG



PG- Jordan Farmar

Regular Season Grade: D+

Postseason Grade: C



Farmar took a step back in his development this season. It might have been his midseason knee injury, or it could have just been a down year. Either way, Farmar needs to play better. He shot below 40% from the field, and appeared to lose confidence in the latter part of the season. He played better in the postseason, but being part of a three point guard rotation made it difficult for everyone involved. The good news: Farmar is only 22 and showed in 2007-2008 that he can be a good NBA point guard. Now the question is whether or not he will play next year like he did two years ago or like he did last year. Let's hope for the former.

Final Stat Line: 6.4 PPG, 2.4 APG, 1.8 RPG



SF- Luke Walton

Regular Season Grade: C

Postseason Grade: B



Many forget that Luke Walton played sparingly for about half this season. The infamous Vladimir Radmonovic started the season at SF for the Lakers, only to have his inconsistent shooting and lackadaisical defense replaced by Luke in early December. Luke then took over the backup SF job when Ariza was moved the starting lineup and Vlad Rad was traded. Although Walton's defense is at best average (see: last year's Finals guarding Pierce), you can't deny his effort (battled and arguably did a decent job staying in front of Melo despite ticky tack foul calls). But Luke's greatest contributions are his intangibles. His passing is excellent, he understands his role, and he always plays hard. Granted he is vastly overpaid for a wing that isn't athletic at all and struggles to knock down shots, Walton played a big part in maintaining energy and effort off the bench.

Final Stat Line: 5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.7 APG



SG- Sasha Vujacic

Regular Season Grade: D

Postseason Grade: F



The Machine was not working this season. I like Sasha. He annoys the other team, he amuses me, and he legitimately loves being a Laker. But he was awful this year and there is no other way around it. Sasha shot 38.7% from the field, and it's beginning to look as if his breakout 2007-2008 season was an aberration. During the playoffs, Sasha was non-existent. To be fair, I think Ariza's emergence hurt Sasha more than anyone else on the team. During the 2007-08 season, Sasha played alongside Kobe a great deal. But in 08-09, Sasha was relegated to backing up Kobe exclusively. His minutes were cut and I don't think that helped him. But either way you slice it, he needs to be much better going forward.

Final Stat Line: 5.8 PPG, 1.4 APG, 36.3 3PT%



PF- Josh Powell

Regular Season Grade: B-

Postseason Grade: Pass



Powell played sparingly until Bynum's knee injury in January. He stepped up and played decently as the third big man in the rotation during Andrew's absence. He was able to fill the departed Ronny Turiaf's role all the while making about $3.5 million less. Not bad for a 4th big man. My only gripe: He had a Vujacic-like shot quota he had to fill each time he touched the court.

Final Stat Line: 4.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG



PG- Shannon Brown
Regular Season Grade: B
Postseason Grade: A-

Shannon Brown was a throw-in in the Adam Morrison/Vladimir Radmanovic trade. However, he stepped up down the stretch for the Lakers. He played great defense against Deron Williams, and was a part of the series turning run in the second half of Game 5 against Denver, including a sick slam dunk over Chris "Birdman" Andersen. Brown shot the ball well, played solid defense, and provided at least one highlight-reel play every time he got on the court. A very pleasant surprise and a fan favorite.
Final Stat Line (Lakers only): 3.2 PPG, 1.1 RPG

SF- Sun Yue, C- DJ Mbenga, SF- Adam Morrison

All three players played sparingly. Mbenga played a little bit as the 4th big man when Bynum went down. Morrison played in blowouts but never got into the rotation. And Sun Yue is years away from being an NBA player.

Lakers Awards
MVP: Pau Gasol
6th Man: Lamar Odom
Most Improved: Trevor Ariza

Looking Forward to Next Season

Key Free Agents: Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Shannon Brown

Ideally, the Lakers will be able to sign all three of these guys. It doesn't seem like any teams with cap room will offer Lamar a deal larger than the midlevel exception of about 6 million dollars. It seems as if he wants to stay with the Lakers too. He knew he was hurting his market value when he agreed to come off the bench, and he means more to the Lakers than he could to any other team.
Prediction: Odom signs for 4 years, 27 million

Ariza was incredible during the second half of the season. He increased his value exponentially. It seems as if Trevor is a perfect midlevel candidate for many different contenders. The Lakers will face intense competition in order to resign the local product. After much flirting, I see the Lakers resigning him.
Prediction: Ariza signs for 5 years, 28 million

Shannon Brown needs to parlay his nice run with the Lakers into a big contract elsewhere. I would love for him to resign, but I just don't see it making much financial sense. Shannon should sign a multi-million dollar deal elsewhere.
Prediction: Brown signs a 2 year, 4 million contract elsewhere

Viable Alternatives:
PG- Jason Kidd
PF- Antonio McDyess
PF- Rasheed Wallace
SF- Ron Artest
SF- Grant Hill

Draft Needs:
If Ariza or Odom leave, the Lakers will need to add an athletic swingman which is easier said than done picking so late in the draft. Also, PG is always an area of need with Fisher getting closer to the end of his career and Farmar struggling last season. Size is always a plus too, so the Lakers should look to add a big man.

The Lakers had a "magic"al season in 2008-2009. Although they were frustrating at times, they put it together when it mattered. The Lakers still have not lost more than two games in a row since aquiring Pau Gasol on February 1, 2008. If the Lakers are able to resign Ariza and Odom, then I think there is a good chance that they will be in this same position come next June.