Do the Clippers Run LA?

Lakers, Kobe Still Run LA

The Battle of LA has been well documented over the last couple of seasons. With some bandwagon fans and Laker haters saying that the Clips have taken over as the city's number 1 team. 

That's an absolute joke. How can one or two seasons of better basketball be enough to knock the Lakers off the pedestal? The Lakers own LA, the Beat LA chants have started with the Lakers, people HATE the Lakers- a sign that you're doing something right. No one hates the Clippers because they have and will always be largely irrelevant. They will always be number 2 in Los Angeles. 

Take a look at who the Clippers had in their franchise best season: Barnes, Odom, Turiaf, Caron Butler all former Lakers not to mention that CP3 was traded to the Lakers in a deal that was famously vetoed. Signing players from your cross-town rivals isn't a way to become bigger than them. Despite having such a good record during the regular season it doesn't mean anything if you can't convert it into playoff wins and naturally the Clippers lost in the first round to Memphis. All those extra wins over the Lakers yet only find themselves going out in the exact same round. And supposedly they have taken over LA? Give me a break!

Best Clippers Player Ever: Bob McAdoo

Now let's look at the history. The Clippers in total have had eight winning seasons, yes EIGHT. Eight out of forty two, that is abysmal. They have had a 12-70 season, all-time regular season record is an appalling 1303-2175 (.375) and playoff record is 26-38 (.406). They have made the playoffs 9 times with their best performance coming in 2005-06 when they lost in 7 games in the Western Semis. Their best player for the franchise was Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo; they made the playoffs 3 times out of his 4 seasons with the franchise. He was the 1975 MVP with 34.5 PPG, 14.1 RPG 2.1 Blocks per game and 2.2 APG.  In only his second season he became (and still is) the only person to average 30ppg and 15 rbp in the same year. He ended up winning 2 rings and guess what team that was with? Yep, the Lakers as sixth man. 

The next best players would have to be Bill Walton although he spent his best years in Portland, Elton Brand, Danny Manning and Ron Harper. Dominique Wilkins also spent one season with the Clippers. As you can see the players here are no match for the likes of Magic Johnson, Kareem, Shaq, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, James Worthy, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Cooper, George Mikan and others.

Now let’s take a look at the rivalry itself:
Seasons with better record (out of 28): Clippers: 5 Lakers: 23

Head-to-head series in regular season won: Clippers: 2 Tie: 5 Lakers: 21
Overall head to head wins: Clippers: 33 Lakers: 97
Playoff Appearances in the 28 year period that the Clippers have been in LA: Clippers: 6 Lakers: 26
Championships (in this time): Clippers: 0 Lakers: 8
Pacific Division titles (in this time): Clippers: 1 (last season) Lakers: 14

So as you can see no the Clippers do not run LA.

2013-14 Preview

Potential Lineup

PG: Chris Paul, Darren Collison

SG: JJ Redick, Jamal Crawford, Willie Green

SF: Jared Dudley, Matt Barnes, Reggie Bullock

PF: Blake Griffin, Byron Mullens

C: DeAndre Jordan, Ryan Hollins

New Head Coach: Doc Rivers

The Clippers have again positioned themselves to make a run this year. The trade that sent Caron Butler and Eric Bledsoe to the Phoenix Suns allowed them to acquire two deadly three-point shooters in Redick and Dudley. Despite the loss of Chauncey Billups and perhaps Lamar Odom, free agency was kind to them, signing Darren Collison a young PG who was good in his first year at the Pacers and will be able to bring a spark of the bench and Byron Mullens who is a big man that can spread the floor. Their biggest acquisition however is replacing Vinny Del Negro with Doc Rivers. Rivers won coach of the year in 2000 while coaching the Magic after almost making the playoffs with a team that was expected to come last. He is more known however for his role with the Boston Celtics’ big 3 where he won his only ring in 2008. He will provide more stability than Del Negro did as the players trust his judgment more and also has proven he can turn a team of stars into a championship team. He has signed for 3 years, CP3 and Griffin have signed for 5. They will be good for years to come. 

With one of the deepest benches in the league and one of the best leaders in CP3 what is there to worry about with this team? The only weakness that I can spot is that the two big men (Griffin and Jordan) are both power players have a very limited range of post moves, bad free throw shooting and the inability to spread the floor consistently. I expect they will end up between 1^st and 3^rd seed in the West, I have yet to commit to a spot just yet but I will be and this will be revealed in my Western Conference Preview article.

Where will the Clippers Finish in the West?

1st Seed

2nd Seed

3rd Seed

4th Seed

5th Seed

6th Seed

Lower

poll creator

 

Pacific Division: Sacramento Kings the History and 2013-14 Preview

Oscar Robertson Era

The Sacramento Kings have had a tough history filled with mostly losing records and average players. There have been a few however that were beneficial to the franchise such as Oscar Robertson drafted in 1960. He was incredible averaging 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game (leading the league) in just his first year. In 1962 they finally had a winning season their first since 1954. There best showing during this period was in 1963 when they lost to the Celtics in game 7 of the Eastern Division Finals.

The Kings then acquired the duo of Jack McMahon and Jerry Lucas who averaged 49.1 ppg 27.3 rpg and 13.6 assists combined. To go along with Oscar Robertson who averaged a career high 31.4 ppg and 11 assists per game and winning the MVP award. The 1963-64 season saw them make real strides as they finished with a 55-25 record and lost in the EDF again. They continued to fail in the playoffs up until the 66-67 season.

Chris Webber and Mike Bibby Lead the Franchise to it's Best Record

Years of Struggles

Bob Cousy then took over as coach in 1969 and the team was terrible with losing records up until 1974. Oscar Robertson was traded to Milwaukee. At one stage they lost 14 in a row -a franchise low. The Kings would relocate from Cincinnati to Kansas City in 1972 but it didn’t help them. They only had four seasons with winning records from 1972 up until the 1998-99 season. During this terrible stretch they had tried new owners and even Bill Russell as coach but nothing helped this team.

Chance to Contend

The 2000’s proved to be the franchise’s best apart from their early championship in 1951. They had a 55-27 record in 2000-01 and were swept by the Lakers in the second round of playoffs. However it was 2001-02 where the Kings were a real threat to win the title. Finshing with a franchise best 61-21 record. This team had Chris Webber (24.5pts and 10.1 rebpg), Peja Stojakovic (21.2ppg), Mike Bibby (13.7ppg 5.0 assists), Vlade Divac (11.1ppg 8.4 rpg) along with key role players Hedo Turkoglu, Doug Christie and Bobby Jackson. They ended up losing the Western Conference Finals to the Lakers in what now is considered one of the most controversial series to have taken place. They continued on their winning ways for the next season finishing with 59-23 and up until 2006-07 they continued to make the playoffs.

DeMarcus Cousins: Future of the Franchise?

Potential 2013-14 Lineup

PG: Gravis Vasquez, Isaiah Thomas
SG: Marcus Thornton, Ben McLemore, Jimmer Fredette
SF: Luc Mbah a Moute, Travis Outlaw

PF: Carl Landry, Patrick Patterson

C: DeMarcus Cousins, Chuck Hayes

Since this time they have been abysmal. Finishing 17-65 in 2009 and 28-54 last season. They’ve drafted players such as Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, Jimmer Fredette, DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas, which haven’t been the best recruits. Even this year the choice of Ben McLemore before CJ McCollum may be a regretful one. I expect them to continue to struggle this year and finish 14^th in the Western Conference. Hopefully their luck changes and they can have a shot for Andrew Wiggins who may be able to help this franchise return back to the success it had in the early 000’s.

Where will the Kings Finish this Season in the West?

Make Playoffs

9-10th

11-12th

13th

14th

15th

www.poll-maker.com

Lebron: Will He Leave for LakerLand or Return Home Back to Ohio?

"I got a goal, and it's a huge goal, and that's to bring an NBA championship here to Cleveland, and I won't stop until I get it."

Lebron James said these famous words but the question remains will he live up to it? I think he will, he has an Early Termination Option for his contract with the Heat and he will use it to return to Cleveland in the 2014 summer and team up with Kyrie Irving and Andrew Bynum. He has shifted teams once before showing that he is a ring chaser and that was to team up with Wade and Bosh and not much else. It makes sense for him to go to Cleveland he would be with a Kyrie Irving who would be entering his prime and probably a top 5 player in the NBA in a few years, an Andrew Bynum who when healthy is the best offensive center in the game and not to mention Anthony Bennett, Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller, Tristan Thompson who are all about to enter their prime! Not to mention it would partner him up with his good pal Anderson Varejao and former coach Mike Brown. In Cleveland who knows how many rings he could end up with, my guess is more than 6. He would be turning 30 next year and about to enter the later part of his career why not do that with people who are about to enter their prime? It makes no sense for him to stay with an ageing Dwayne Wade or Ray Allen, a disappointing Chris Bosh and other veterans that are just there to make up the cap space. Yes he would be hated in Miami and around the league but the Cavaliers fans will love him again, how quickly one forgets after their home hero brings a few championship rings to the franchise. 

 

The Return?

The other option is to team up with Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony in Lakerland. If the three wanted this to happen they would take a pay cut and Steve Nash is still signed giving them four superstars. However Nash is nearing retirement, Kobe is coming of an achilles tear, although I wouldn’t count him out to contribute up until 40, and Carmelo is about the same age as Lebron. The age factor plus the chemistry issues that would entail make this hard to see working. Even if they could all get on the same page they could possibly win 2-3 rings together providing they all stay healthy and aren’t affected by age too much. Then again how would they fill out the rest of the roster?

Could this happen?

Would Nick Young, Wes Johnson, Chris Kaman and Jordan Farmar take a pay cut to stay with the Lakers as they have done this year? They have stated in their press conferences that they are just happy to be a Laker and if this is true and they do stay in LA to play with these three then you have an unstoppable team.

Either way I believe Lebron will not be in Miami next season because there is nothing left in Miami. Wade is injury prone and at the tail end of his career, Ray Allen too. Chris Bosh has shown that he cant always be counted on ala game seven with a grand total of zero points and the role players Chris Anderson, Haslem, Battier are all old and not really ideal counterparts. The Lakers Fans and media would put too much pressure on Lebron and he wouldn’t want it not to mention the chemistry issues with Nash, Kobe and Carmelo all looking to have the ball. Cavaliers have a bright future and he would be the hometown hero bringing the first ever ring to the franchise and putting his legacy on the team whereas Miami has always been Wade’s home and the Lakers Kobe’s. It would give Lebron a chance to have something of his own and make his own history if he went back to Cleveland.

Who WIll Lebron be Playing for in the 2014-15 Season?

Miami Heat

Cleveland Cavaliers

Los Angeles Lakers

www.poll-maker.com

Emerging Teams: Cleveland Cavaliers

Can Kyrie Irving make himself a top 5 player in the league?

2013-14 Potential Lineup

PG: Kyrie Irving, Jarrett Jack

SG: Dion Waiters, Alonzo Gee, CJ Miles

SF: Anthony Bennett, Earl Clark

PF: Tristan Thompson, Tyler Zeller

C: Andrew Bynum, Anderson Varejao

The Cleveland Cavaliers had somewhat of a disappointing year last year finishing with a 24-58 (.293) record and placing 13^th in the Eastern Conference, a worse percentage than the season before: 21-45 (.318) 13^th in Eastern Conference. However the season was impacted by the injury of Anderson Varejao who was injured in early January for the rest of the season after averaging 14 points and 14 rebounds which was 2 more RPG than the NBA leader after the season (Dwight Howard). Furthermore star player Kyrie Irving missed 23 games with injury.

The Cavaliers will be determined to rebound from a couple of poor seasons and they have had a great offseason thus far, making them prime for a run to the playoffs. Mike Brown has been reinstated as head coach (potentially a move for Lebron?), they drafted Anthony Bennett as the number 1 draft pick, signed free agents Jarrett Jack and Earl Clark and took a chance at Andrew Bynum 2-time champ with the Lakers but has many injury concerns. It should be easy enough to improve over last years 24 win season, this team should aim to win 45-50 wins which may seem a little much at first but given that Kyrie Irving has continued to improve and will continue to do so and that he is helped by the other talented young players on the team I see no reason why 2 or 3 of the Cavs couldn’t have breakout years and really take the NBA by storm.

Kyrie Irving and their other young players have been gaining experience and talent as their careers have begun. Kyrie averaged 22.5 ppg 5.9 ast 3.9 rpg in only his second season, these numbers are better than Derrick Rose’s second season (he won MVP in his third). Dion Waiters averaged 14 points in only his first season, Tyler Zeller had 8pg and 5rpg for his first season and Tristan Thompson had 11ppg and 9rpg in his second season. Combine these guys with number 1 draft pick Anthony Bennett and they are set. The future definitely looks bright for Cleveland with these young players leading the charge. They have the talented guards and now with the addition of Andrew Bynum their frontcourt is a lot stronger

New starting centre Andrew Bynum

. He and Varejao should destroy the boards and beat most other frontcourts in the NBA. Varejao is a hustler, he dives for balls and his energy is evident in every match whereas Bynum is offensively skilled and has a plethora of post moves that can compete with any other big man in the league. They are a perfect fit and the health of these two will go a long way to deciding whether the Cavs make the playoffs.

If the team can stay healthy and that’s a big if after Bynum missed a whole season last year and Varejao missed half of it, then I have no doubt the Cavaliers should make the playoffs probably around the 6^th seed and have the potential to really push some of the elite teams come playoff time. They are in a tough division though with the Bulls and Pacers so they should be aiming for 3^rd in the Central division. With all this talented youth that raises the question, will Lebron return? (Read our next article to find out)

Where Will The Cavaliers End Up in the East?

1st-4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

Miss Playoffs

free polls

Kobe: Shaq's Sidekick?

A usual point of discussion when bringing up the Greatest of All Time is that Shaq carried Kobe during his first three rings. This argument is probably the most overused, non-researched and uneducated view point that I have heard. Funnily enough usually the people referring to it did not even watch the Lakers win those titles. To say the Kobe was simply a sidekick is saying that if you took him off the Lakers they would still win three titles, which is wrong. It implies that he was not important but just a role player that could’ve been replaced easily.

Obviously Shaq was the number one guy during the Finals and his stats prove it but you need to get past three rounds before the finals and Kobe performed well in these. In the first three rounds of 2000 playoffs he averaged 22.8 ppg 4.4 rpg and 4.4 ast compared to Shaq’s 28.2 ppg 15.0 rpg and 3.4 ast. Kobe was only 21 years old this year and still managed to produce these numbers. The toughest series this season was Lakers vs Trailblazers and in Game 7 Kobe came to play leading the team with 25 points 11 rebounds 7 assists and 4 blocks. He was clearly the best for the Lakers, Shaq only had 18 points 9 rebounds 5 assists and 1 block.  Undoubtedly Kobe was the dominant player during this pivotal game 7 where the Lakers were down by 15, without this win they don’t even make the Finals let alone win their first ring! During the Finals against the Pacers of this year however he injured his ankle in Game 2 and did not play in Game 3 (a game the Lakers lost). Game 4 was when Kobe made his mark; he had a shocking game up until the end when Shaq fouled out with 2:33 remaining in overtime. At this point of the game Kobe had 3 isolation plays in a row- he scored on every one. He then scored a reverse layup which iced the game for the Lakers- his 8 points scored in overtime are the second most points in an NBA finals game in history. Again in game 6 he proved clutch as he hit five free throws in the final minutes. This was Kobe’s first ring and first Finals appearance, he had his struggles but was definitely a pivotal player for the Lakers.

In 2001 Kobe was now well known and ready for another title. He showed it during the first three rounds of the playoffs his stats looked like this: 31.6ppg 7rpg and 6.3ast. Pretty impressive stats for just a ‘sidekick’ hey? Compare this to Shaq’s stats: 29.3ppg 15.3rpg 2.5ast. Kobe also had back-to-back 45/10 games achieving 48 points 16 assists in game 4 of the WCSF and 45 points 10 assists in game 1 of the WCF. In the NBA finals against the 76ers he had back-to-back games of 30+ points over game 2 and 3. Shaq was clearly the better of the two in the Finals but over the course of the playoffs they were just as important. As a second option to average 31 points throughout the playoffs is incredible most first options can’t even average that!

2002 was the final year they won a championship together the finished the season with a 58-24 record third seed in the West behind the Kings and Spurs. Again the stats throughout the first 3 rounds of the playoffs show the importance Kobe. 26.6 ppg 5.8 rpg 4.4ast compared to Shaq’s 26.4ppg 12.7 rpg 2.6 ast. In this year the most important series was the WCF not the Finals as the Kings were far stronger than any East team and were the number 1 seed. Lakers found themselves down 3-2 facing elimination but in game 6 Kobe scored 31 and Shaq 41 followed by a game 7 where Kobe had 30 &10 Shaq 35&13. During the Finals it was mostly a comfortable win for the Lakers the only issues coming in game 3. Finding themselves behind entering the 4^th quarter and with Shaq starting on the bench and Kobe launched the comeback scoring 12 points that quarter and 36 for the game. Kobe again took over the 4^th quarter in game scoring 11 points and sealing the three-peat. 
Here are some of the stats from Kobe in his 2002-03 season when he should've won the MVP as he was clearly the best player in the NBA:
 30 ppg 7 rpg 6 apg 2.2 spg against both handchecking and zone
 1st team All-Defensive
 1st team All-NBA 
40+ points 19 times in 82 games
 40+ in 9 striaght 
35+ in 13 straight 
NBA record 12 threes in a game
 50+ points 3 times 
42 ppg in February 2003 (Jordan never averaged 40 ppg for a month in regular season, Kobe did it 3 times)
 5 straight double doubles with 2 triple doubles in the 1st 5 games of the 2002-2003 season 
 27/10 25/10 33/15 34/14 15/13 Just incredible

As you can see the numbers Kobe put up do not indicate he was merely a sidekick or was carried by Shaq. It is simply untrue. He consistently took over fourth quarters even during 2000 when he was just 21 and yet to win a ring. He came through when it mattered most in times throughout all three titles and he averaged more points for the last two years during the three rounds of playoffs. The argument that Kobe really only has won 2 rings is absolutely invalid and is proven throughout this article that without Kobe the Lakers do not win these rings. 

Will the Miami Heat Three Peat?

On the back of the big 3 Miami have been the reigning champions two years in a row now and made the finals three times in a row. Their impressive display against the Thunder in 2012 confirmed that the Heat would be a serious threat for many years. What made them even scarier was the fact that their role players such as Miller, Battier, Haslem and Chalmers were playing well. Coming into the next season they managed to pick up Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen making it seemingly impossible for anyone to compete with them.

Taking a closer look at the series vs. the Thunder Shane Battier was incredible. He became the first player since Dennis Scott to make four triples in four straight post-season games! Chalmers had a 25-point game in game 4 and Haslem was pretty good on the rebounds for most of the series. Then of course Mike Miller raining down SEVEN three pointers in game 5 to clinch the title! These players’ great performances combined with the domination of Lebron James averaging 28.6ppg 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists- incredible numbers- made it impossible for OKC to stand a chance especially with Harden somewhat fading away.

Coming into the 2013 NBA Finals Series, Miami had just passed Indiana and Spurs had cruised by Memphis in what promised to be a great Finals matchup. The league was about to see why Ray Allen was signed by the Heat- because he delivers in the big moments and there was none other than game 6 when he hit the three to send it into overtime.  In this series the role players that stepped up were Chalmers, Miller and Ray Allen. The other new recruit Birdman was more effective in previous series during the playoffs. Mike Miller hit a crazy 61% of his threes while Shane Battier waited until Game 7 to do his best work but Chris Bosh was nowhere to be seen he really struggled this series and depended on Lebron and Wade to carry the team.

The question is now can Miami again count on its role players to step up once again? They have resigned Chris Anderson and Rashard Lewis; apart from that they have made no acquisitions yet. By amnestying Mike Miller it takes away a three-point threat that has consistently delivered over the last two years in the Finals. The roster up until this point has gone backwards and we know in the NBA you can’t stay still and expect to be in the same position you were last year, which is why the Heat have to make moves if it expects to win again.

Ray Allen's big 3

 Will Battier, Allen and the other vets be a little more complacent now? They won their titles now do they really have the drive to do it again? Wade’s health is also a concern he has been struggling with knee issues, there is a cloud over Bosh’s status if he will be kept or traded and uncertainty over whether Lebron will stay with the team or switch back to the Cavaliers. The lack of roster upgrades combined with the amount of uncertainties at this point in time with key players make it very doubtful to see the Heat three peat.

What’s even worse for the Heat is that the teams all around them in the Eastern Conference have improved over last year. Pacers regain Danny Granger and signed CJ Watson and Chris Copeland, Brooklyn picked up Paul Pierce, KG, Jason Terry and Andre Kirilenko, Chicago will have Derrick Rose back and the Knicks signed Metta World Peace and Andrea Bargnani while hopefully Amare Stoudemire achieves full health as well. It will be a hard task for the Heat to overcome these teams while not making many changes apart from Greg Oden to their own roster at all.

Why The Indiana Pacers should be Favoured to Win the East this Season

Potential Lineup:
PG: George Hill, CJ Watson

SG: Paul George, Lance Stephenson
SF: Danny Granger, Chris Copeland

PF: David West, Luis Scola

C: Roy Hibbert, Mahinmi

The Indiana Pacers have had two respectable playoff performances in a row. This year they lost to the Heat in seven games in the ECF, which may have been a win, had they defended the paint better in game 1 down the stretch. The year before they also lost to the Heat in a close series. The Pacers deserve to be the favourite in the Eastern Conference because they have made great free agency moves, kept onto David West and continue to foster the talents of Paul George and Roy Hibbert.

The big improvers on the roster were Roy Hibbert and Paul George. Hibbert showed why he is regarded as one of the better big men in the league in the playoffs. He averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds in the series against the Heat. The scary thing is he is only 27 and about to enter his prime. Paul George managed to average 19 ppg, 7 rebounds and 5 assists throughout the playoffs. He is only 23 years old! These two will be able to make Indiana a contender for years to come. Also in the frontcourt is David West who is also a vital player and showed it during playoff time. These three players make up what could arguably the greatest frontcourt in the league at the moment. This is the area where the Heat struggle the most.

Free Agency this year has been kind to Indiana. They have been able to pick up players in positions, which they were weak last year, which was on the bench- namely the backup point guard position. The Pacers’ starters outscored their opponents by 14PPG per 48 minutes of game time, so the bench is unquestionably the area for improvement. They signed CJ Watson who will backup George Hill instead of DJ Augustin. This is a huge improvement as CJ showed what he can do on Brooklyn last year. He is a 41% 3-point shooter and has more offense and defense than Augustin offered. The other upgrade made was to sign Chris Copeland, the swingman from New York Knicks who was a 42% 3-point shooter last season and adds versatility to the Pacers bench. These two signings improve the bench drastically.

The biggest improvement however comes from within. In this case it is Danny Granger returning from injury. Before going to down with injury Granger was clearly the best player on the Pacers averaging 18 PPG in 2011-12 and defending the oppositions best player most of the time. He only played 5 games this season as he struggled with a left knee injury. Having Granger come back into the team gives even more flexibility on offense and on defense and would allow Lance Stephenson to play off the bench.

When looking at the East as a whole the Pacers are too strong on the interior for Miami and too deep for Chicago who have lost Bellinelli and Nate Robinson. The only other team that could compete is Brooklyn but the question there is about their chemistry. Which is why Indiana Pacers should be favourites to win the East going into the upcoming season.

Bad Managing Skills has Lead to OKC's Downfall

After the 2010-playoff series against the Lakers, the Thunder looked destined to win multiple championships. Its strong young core of Durant, Harden, Westbrook and Ibaka seemed as if it would be a force for many, many years. They made the Western Conference Finals in 2011 losing to the eventual champs and then lost to Miami in the 2012 NBA finals. These results all proved to NBA fans that they were ready to be a true contender. That was until the 2012-13 offseason came along.

In the 2012 offseason, Thunder General Manager Sam Presti had to make an interesting choice. Will OKC be better off with Ibaka or Harden or was it possible to keep both? He chose Ibaka and paid him 48 million over 4 years. A lucrative deal that many see as the wrong decision. Ibaka no doubt is a talented player and a defensive beast but James Harden has proven he is a legitimate star; he is the type of player you can build a whole team around.

Sam Presti didn’t even want to wait until the offseason to decide how he would approach the Harden situation; maybe Harden would’ve signed for less. However he wanted to make sure the Thunder received something for him and in haste traded him for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and picks (turned out to be Steve Adams). At first glance it seemed as if they had enough compensation to still compete at a high level. They did however give up a closer who was so impressive throughout most of the 2012 playoffs. Harden can make plays for others and create his own shots whereas Martin is long-range shooter. This gave more responsibility to Westbrook and Durant

Fast-forward to this year’s playoffs: Westbrook tore his meniscus and the Thunder were lucky to get passed the Rockets in 6 games. They then go on to lose to the Grizzlies in 5 games. They went from what seemed to be such a young promising team to one that is in danger of falling away from being a contender at all.  What is even worse is that Kevin Martin has been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves as to avoid luxury tax- another poor decision by OKC to not fight hard enough to keep him. If OKC have to rely on Reggie Jackson or Jeremy Lamb to fill the offensive void left by Harden and now Martin they will not be successful.

Oklahoma Thunder have not make any splashes this offseason, they are rumoured to be favourites for Mike Miller but he is only a role player and cannot be expected to contribute a large amount. The bench now looks very thin and it all comes down to Sam Presti making haste decisions at terrible times.  As it stands right now I think the Thunder will be lucky to finish 4^th in the West this season. The West continues to get stronger yet OKC is going backwards. Can they turn it around? 

The Laker 'Disease'

With the amazing basketball history and a plethora of superstars like Magic Johnson and Kareem in the Showtime era, Kobe and Shaq as arguably the best duo of all time, the Lakers have always been at the pinnacle of basketball.  However this season the franchise seemed to have unraveled and become extremely complacent. The fans blame D’antoni, the analysts call it chemistry issues and the players continue to look inward at themselves. However it is something bigger than this, its part of a whole ‘Lakers disease’ a kind of culture that was built from having too much talent (or thinking they did) and then was amplified by the signing of Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison.

The signing of Nash was very monumental in Laker land. Finally a Point Guard that could match it with the best of them (offensively), which was considered by many to be the biggest positional weakness of the Lakers. Then Jamison, Meeks and of course Dwight, all become a part of the incredible franchise. The bookies loved the Lakers, haters were calling for David Stern to veto something, anything to slow down the Lakers! But the Lakers slowed down themselves. You see, complacency is a killer. It kills relationships, it kills sports teams and it kills anything it comes into contact with. It’s even worse when you don’t have the right to feel complacent. If Miami have a record of 50-10 and come up against the Wizards next and drop the game, that complacency can be justified. But being the start of the season, second favorites to win the championship and not having played a game together is not the time to be complacent.

Many Lakers faithful called for the head of Mike Brown at 1-4, many are still calling for D’antoni’s despite finishing 28-12 the fourth best finish in the league. But how can you play your best when everyone is injured? You can’t, which makes it even more surprising that no one has even mentioned Gary Vitti, the head athletic trainer of the Lakers for 29 years. Sure he has done a great job over his tenure but this year there were many soft tissue injuries that can be avoided with proper pre-habilitation exercises. Complacency thrives in situations that extend for a period of time, it seems as if the Laker fans love Vitti because he’s been there forever and are willing to overlook his poor track record this season. It’s amazing how quickly they will throw the newly appointed coaches under the bus but keep the old faithful around.

We’ve all heard the ‘We Want Phil’ chants all throughout this season, but do we really want Phil? Or do we want the history and the former success he brought us as we do with Vitti. Let’s remember the 2010-11 season how the Lakers were swept to the Mavs despite having home court advantage, and yes Phil was coach. How quickly these details are forgotten when you have brought 5 rings to the franchise.

New Laker Recruits for 2013-14

The majority of blame has to go to the players though. Nash was the ‘Karl Malone move’ all over again. When veterans come along such as Nash and Antawn who haven’t won a ring it raises the expectation that this team should win and when you expect to win off talent alone you get complacent ala 2011 vs Dallas. It seemed throughout the whole season every player except Kobe (and Earl Clark) felt as if they deserved a ring; as if it would be given to them for having done nothing except assemble a crew of all-stars. Even when the season was on the line the Lakers managed to lose key games to the Suns and Wizards! They still believed they were entitled to the ring even though they weren’t even in the eight.

Looking ahead to this season, the Lakers must make sure it’s not an ‘interim’ season, basically just waiting for the next free agency period. Doing so would worsen the problem and create even more complacency. They need to change the culture back to a winning one. Sign players who want to play for the Lakers, who want the history, the superstars, the ability to put 48 minutes on the floor of intense work. Losing Dwight is a starting point to regaining the culture, all though it is a tough loss, as he goes so will some of the complacency.

It’s going to be hard this season no doubt- key free agents have already gone such as Reddick, Korver, Collison, Delfino- all which could’ve helped the Lakers. Signing Nick Young and Jordan Farmar for some athleticism is an upgrade. Now the question is how do you convince a vet to sign with you for only one year Especially when the roster is probably worse than last season when they only achieved 7^th and a first round sweep? Kaman is OK but they will need more than that- Lamar and Vujacic won’t cut it either- this isn’t 2010 anymore.