now that the party is over what do you expect?

[snaquille oatmeal]

my hangover headache is going away after the parting over the Gasol trade it is time to figure out what do we expect from our team.

I don't see us going all the way this year because there is not enough time in the season to aclimate Pau to the offense and the return of Bynum properly. I would not be disappointed if we don't go to the final, but would be if we don't get get pass the first or second round. what do you expect?

[Phil Jackson]

We were winning the title before we got him.

[SnakeEyez]

I think this is the perfect year for us to all the way. No one expected us to be this good. Now with Pau we might be better. I expect the Lakers to be a 5th or 4th seed. Make it to the WC finals. After that I have no clue. Depends on which Spurs team shows up.

[SnakeEyez]

That pic and stat of D-Wade is the best. I guess that puts behind all the talk that D-Wade is better than Kobe. Lets see Kobe atleast won more than 9 games lol at this point of the season with Smuck Parker too lol.

[Lost Angel]

Ker-Pau!

[Kirk Moon]

honestly, with the injuries and the trades we had this season, i dont think Lakers had the chance to play as one unit, something that is crucial for a contender.
I dont see us going past the Spurs in the WCF, and even if we do, Celtics/Pistons will be very hard hurdle to overcome.

my prediction would be to expect for WCF.

[Gerald3Wallace]

kobe with 26, 6, 7

lamar with 10, 9, 6

gasol with 16, 8, 2

bynum with 13, 11, 3

oh yeah....finals

[CITYOFANGELSX3]

honestly, with the injuries and the trades we had this season, i dont think Lakers had the chance to play as one unit, something that is crucial for a contender.
I dont see us going past the Spurs in the WCF, and even if we do, Celtics/Pistons will be very hard hurdle to overcome.

my prediction would be to expect for WCF.

Nice sig, can i join?

[Kirk Moon]

-= original quote snipped =-



Nice sig, can i join?

sure

[Teen Girl Squad]

Add me too. Iv wanted gasol over both JO and Garnett(because of price). I cant believe we landed him.

[EHL]

Anything less than 2 titles would be a disappointment, IMO. That's how good I think they are.

[Kr3w]

2nd round exit this year is decent expectation, but they can go all the way. Remember when the Pistons added Rasheed in 04, then they ended up taking it so it is possible. Anyways, I see the Lakers competing for atleast the next 8 years.

[Erik Eleven]

I expect it to take a while to get Pau used to the tri and then a while to Pau and bynum to get used to each other and then, where exactly does Odom fit in the picture.

We have enough talent to win games right away, but it'll take some time, sacrifices and smarts to get them to play as a solid unit as soon as the playoffs.

[second_coming32]

I don't expect the Lakers to win it all this season, all though I'm not gonna say they can't do it. But I do expect after this season to see a run of three titles in four years, and possibly 4 out of 4.

Bynum hasn't even scratched the surface of what he can become....remember? He's only 20 years old. Farmar hasn't even scratched the surface of what he's going to become. We've become a very attractive landing spot for veteran free agents looking for a shot at the title. And we have three players on our roster that any young team would love to build their franchise around (Kobe, Bynum, Gasol).

I'm not sure we fully understand the magnitude of what happened yesterday, but we're gonna be a beast the likes of which this league hasn't seen in a long time. I honestly think we can be better than the 99'00, 00'01, 01'02 Laker championship teams.

C Bynum (will become a perennial all-star)

PF Gasol (is already an all-star and is no longer burdened with having to carry a team, he can be a role player now which is perfect for him)

SF Odom (He's the best 4th option in the league, and the perfect complimentary player to our big three)

SG Kobe (Best player on the planet, now that he doesn't have to score as much, expect his defense to skyrocket

PG Fisher / Farmar (Fisher will hold the fort for the next couple of years and by then, Farmar will have developed into an all-star caliber PG that we will enjoy watching for the next decade)


Bench

Vujacic - An outstanding shooter and perfect complimentary player for the triangle offense. He'll never have to take a contested shot with our big three on the floor

Turiaf - Our garbage man who can score, a great chemistry player...a bigger version of Rick Fox

Radmanovic - A serviceable big man who can score, who is not vital to our success

Ariza - We can start him over Odom and not feel it, matter of fact we might be better off. He's a lock down defender who is the most athletic player on the squad. A great piece to the championship puzzle.

Walton - He doensn't really have to do anything, just don't turn it over when playing with the 2nd unit, make some nice passes, and knock down open shots

The 11th and 12th spots will be filled with veteran free agents who can still play and help a championship contender.

Guys, we're set up for a dynasty.

[0HeadAche0]

i'm skeptical, things sometimes just don't work when they are this good and there is a little part of me that thinks its too good to just click. However I thought this about Boston so i'm probably wrong again, i'm probably cautiously optimistic.

The problem I have is that I pretty much love all of the players on our roster. As I said in another thread I think our team is too big like Houston, we need to get down to a nice consistent 8-9 players like the Spurs, Pistons etc.

I think we already have that in:

Fisher/Farmar
Kobe
Odom/Ariza
Gasol/Turiaf
Bynum

That means i'm leaving out Walton who really helps our offense our 5m/4 year man in Radmanovic, Sasha who has been a bright spark off our bench. This won't be a problem in the immediete future but might be somewhere down the line.

[milesfides]

We can win it this year. Gasol is a smart player, and the triangle offense isn't complicated for the offside forward. He goes to the high post, shoots when he's open, passes to cutters if he's overplayed. He doesn't need to facilitate the offense or anything.

No excuses at all.

Chemistry really relies on playing unselfish, and that's not a problem with our team. It's a matter of who can play which roles, and Pau just filled a major one.

[hermes]

one step at a time
get past the first round

hopefully we can get to the finals
and win but with injuries and time to gel i'll take what ever comes

[LA]

this season: probably WCF

next season(s): Finals/Championship


there's no reason why this team shouldn't be able to compete for at least the next 5 years.

[davidse]

well, it's round, smooth around the edges, and it goes on your RING finger...

[Triangle Theory]

I will take the general answer and say they will reach the WCF. This is what i expect. What they do from there, is beyond expectation, imo.