Are the Lakers Championship Contenders?
Frank Zhou
Issue date: 3/1/06 Section: Sports
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Despite the outstanding player that Kobe is, he is unlikely to bring the Lakers back to the NBA finals with his current Lakers roster. If we look at the December 20 Mavericks vs. Lakers game, not a single player other than Kobe scored in the double digits! Under the Lakers, the next leading scorer after Kobe would be Chis Mihm, with only a mere nine points. So, if Kobe ever has a bad shooting night, the Lakers will be doomed in having a competitive game against their opponent. The Lakers rosters are relatively new, and it does not seem like any players will have enough of Kobe's respect for Kobe to share the ball. If you look at the teams that have won championships, they usually have two or three dominating players in the game.
Let's look at teams that have won championships like the Chicago Bulls. Their three main players are Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. If Michael Jordan had an off night, then Scottie Pippin is capable of picking up the scoring load. They also have a defensive presence in Dennis Rodman; back in his prime, he was very capable of grabbing 15 rebounds a night. With their competitive nature and drive to win, they were capable of earning multiple championship rings together. Kobe still has not found his own version of Scottie Pippen, and there simply is not one in the Lakers roster right now.
There is a saying that goes, "Championship teams win inside out." It means that if a team wants to win a title, it needs to start around a center. This statement is particularly true for the 2003 San Antonio Spurs when they had power forward Tim Duncan and center David Robinson. Both Robinson and Duncan are worthy of being in the Hall of Fame. The Spurs were simply unstoppable because Robinson and Duncan were agile centers in the paint. These two seven-footers were very capable of blocking shots, grabbing rebounds, and putting up big numbers.