2nd Half of the Season

[vinnycorleone]

Alright guys the All Star Game is done and Kobe/Shaq wrapped up the MVP award.

Now it's time to shift focus back on the Lakers. We have played 52 games with a record of 42-10. That means there's 30 games left in the season. What do you guys predict our record will be for the next 30 games.

I think if we can go 20-10 (but end the season on a hot-streak) we should be fine. What do you guys think.

Who knows we might go 25-5 but realistically 20-10 because historically Kobe likes to lay low 2 months before the playoffs to rest up for the late surge.

[AceFresh]

Perfect article for this:

Their triumphant reunion complete, Shaquille O’Neal revealed that Kobe Bryant let him keep the All-Star MVP trophy they shared.

Bryant doesn’t need it. He’s got his eyes on a much bigger prize.

His Los Angeles Lakers bring the best record in the league into the second half of the season, giving Bryant a realistic chance to finally win a championship without O’Neal.

“We hit the ground off and running,” Bryant said after leading the West to a 146-119 victory over the East on Sunday. “It was a fun weekend. As soon as I leave this podium, it is time to get back down to business. Looking forward to it.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=a ... &type=lgns

[That Nicka]

I think between 66 and 68 wins... so between 24-6 and 26-4... I think they can do it

[Sedale Threatt]

Keeping Gasol fresh is going to be key, maybe the key. We've got a tough extended schedule coming up, and I'm hoping we don't overload him. I hope we pursue home court with all vengeance, but it might not mean much if Pau is out of gas for the playoffs.

[Asianiac_24]

when is Andrew Bynum coming back? If he could come back 1-2 weeks before the playoff starts, it would be a huge boost to the Lakers

[Erik Eleven]

I'm sticking to my 65-17 prediction.

[hermes]

30-0 seems about right

[semi-sentient]

I predicted 66-16, so we would need to finish 24-6 to accomplish that. I believe this will be enough to get us homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, so let's hope everyone can stay healthy from this point on.

[joe.linnen]

I wan at least 68-70 wins

[supaflash]

Well if we play D early and get lots of blowouts Pau and Kobe can get all the rest they need

I don't think the final total is all that important, I think Phil and Co will have an eye on that east race. Its a tricky game because you don't want to pull a Dallas and rest too much but you don't want to burn out either. Look at the Celts last year, they cut huge minutes the last two weeks or so and it nearly cost them in the first few rounds. With how strong the west is top to bottom I don't think we can take too many chances. If these guys are following Kobe's routine, they will be good to go the whole way, between Kobe and Fish and Lamar our vets are as well conditioned athletes as there are in the league. Basically I think our guys will do whatever it takes to stay a few games ahead of the Celts and Cavs. I can see us having games here and there where Kobe, Fish and Pau's minutes decrease significantly if the Cavs or Celts drop a game. I think our biggest thing is not to get into too many physical chippy games with teams that are out of it like GS and the Clips. Our intensity should not let down too much though, one thing I've noticed is that injuries seem more common when you are more lacksidaisical and half assing things then when you are really focused and intense.

My prediction... 1 game ahead of Cle and Bos 65-17. Orlando getting Alston should help them get back into that 3 way race, overall that trade helps us

[realfung]

Lakers will have a tough second half.

[supaflash]

I would hardly call our remaining schedule tough, especially in light of recent events.

We have one game left with SA and it looks like it may be without Ginobli

2 games with the Suns sans Stoudemire...

NO game is at home and no Chandler...

No McGrady or Alston for our Houston games...

Mavs won't have Terry...

Our big east coast road trip is mostly bad teams

Honestly our toughest games will probably be at Portland, Denver, and Charlotte.

KG going down should help some of the pressure off us. We are effectively 3 games in the loss colum ahead of Boston now since we own the tie breaker.

We should be fine, I'm sure there will be an unexpected loss or two in there to teams we just don't get up for and maybe a loss or two to some of the tougher teams. Looking at the schedule I really don't see how we lose more then 5 or 6 of those games and even that is a stretch given how focused we are lately. My only concern is Pau playing heavy minutes with Bynum out. He's a savvy vet, he doesn't put too much strain on himself and doesn't really rely on athleticism though so I think he should be ok but at some point Phil is going to have to trust to leave him on the bench at times and let Powell do some work.

[snaquille oatmeal]

27-3 or if you like 69-13. book it!

[Dr Aki]

i want 70 wins!

[semi-sentient]

We have an excellent shot at 69, IMO. Some of the games I was a little worried about where the upcoming Suns (we play them twice in the next couple of weeks) and Hornets games, but both teams are under-manned (Amare, Chandler) so we should be able to knock those out. The Rockets have lost McGrady and Alston (we play them 2 more times), so our chances shoot up against them as well. The Spurs will be without Ginobili in our final meeting with them, and I'm putting my marbles on Oden missing both games @Portland (we could very well have Bynum back for the final meeting). That means Denver, who we play twice, is going to be our toughest opponent from here on out, assuming we don't lose focus and put up stinkers against garbage teams (and we play quite a few of them as well).

The only possible way we can get to that many wins is to go on a very long win streak (15+) and close out strong after that. 70 would be great, but that's going to be damn tough to do with a road heavy schedule. Heck, 69 would be spectacular.