How good are the Lakers this season?
951869
Bottom half of the Playoff bracket again. If Kobe will put some trust into his teammates, next season they cold break into the top half. They could sneak into the second round this year.
20550
The Jazz are below .500, but without Kobe, the Lakers are going to rely on guys like Odom and Smush Parker. So I believe the Lakers will lose both games vs. the Jazz.
305587
I think that the key thing that the Lakers need to improve their team to Championship calibre are:\n\nFirstly, a player who is effective offensively on the interior. Kwame Brown is an absolute offensive basket case and even Phil Jackson has admitted that he has missed shots that were "impossible to miss". Chris Mihm has done a quietly effective job but it is not sufficient, and Lamar Odom hasn't been that great a post up player.\n\nSecondly, get at least one more good perimeter shooter. The Lakers need someone who can consistently hit the outside shot to make teams pay for double or triple teaming Kobe. Someone who can hit a three pointer consistenly would be a great bonus. Smush Parker, Sasha Vujacic and Devean George are just not good enough perimeter shooters.
426290
Lakers will come close, but thet won't win. Kobe will have a good game, but that means no one else on the team will have 10 points. Lakers can't handle the Suns.
178942
Kobe's the most dominant player today. Duane Wade is pretty good though for a 6 foot 4 player. Lakers are good. They are probably like 1-2 more players from another championship. Like a Ben Wallace and another consistent shooter or scorer. They need Lamar to take more shots year round at this point. Considering there are no scorers besides Kobe on the team he should at least be averaging between 17-20ppg. If Lamar had been doing that all year they would probably be ahead of the Clippers right now. If they don't get a player like Ben Wallace a championship might depend on how K Brown's game develops.
439797
Just saw the highlights in ESPN and NBA.com.  They Lakers played great.  Kobe scoring 30 in the 1st half, to put the them up by 6 prior to halftime and scored only 1 pt. when they blew the game wide open.\n\nLamar was also great, having a triple-double and Kwame... played his potential.  15 pts and 15 caroms.\n\nIf they continue to play like this, who knows... they can pull an upset in the playoffs.
963531
The Lakers are definitely a better TEAM because of his reduced avg shots per game.  I believe the TEAM is better because of his, Kwame and Chris Mihms early season injuries.  It has given TEAM members like Andrew Bynum, Vladimir Radmanovic, Ronny Turiaf, Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Smush Parker, Maurice Evans, and the sometimes under appreciated Lamar Odom to gain confidence in their respective games.  The true test for the Lakers is when Kobe is at 100% can the TEAM exist with Kobe??  If they can.........can you say Dark horse from the west???
880800
Wow. They're the surprise of the year really, and even though they've got many close wins (wins with only less than 5 points ahead), a win is a win and they are the best team at this point.\n\nI like what Im seeing with the Jazz. They're pretty much like the Lakers, where when Kobe and Andrei have bad nights their teammates step up. Okur has been playing with confidence now, and so does Boozer and Williams. These guys, when they get into the court, have so much chemistry together that I think that what makes them win.\n\nAs for the playoffs? Definitely. They would probably get the third or fourth seed, considering teams like Phoenix, San Antonio and Dallas are in the tough Western conference.\n\nAnyway it's still November, and I hope Jazz keep this up all season long. I think Stockton's tutoring Deron Williams now, no wonder he's so good lol..
970751
The key word is team.  The players have to fit into a comfort zone which includes all of them.  Kobe is a great player, so it would be foolish if they didn't try to run a lot of their offense through him: however, he has to learn to find the open man when the opponents collapse on him.  To complete this cycle, his teammates have to consistently put the ball in the hoop when he dishes it off to them.\n\nFor the Lakers to play to their optimum, Kobe has to average around 25 points and 8-9 assists per game.  If he is averaging more points, the other players are being taken out of the game too often.  If he is averaging less assists, his is not involving his teammates often enough.  All this being said and done, they have to concentrate on team defense.  The rest will come around on its own.
963994
No, Lamar Odom is the best forward on the Lakers. BCook is a good long range shooter, he'll block the occasional shot, is an average rebounder, and he'll take a charge whenever he can. His defense is improved over his first 2 years, but it's not great. He's a pretty solid player. Not quite starter material, but he has shown that every season, he'll work on something new to add to his game.
408277
No way, the lakers do not have enough fire power. And Lamar Odom is not yet ready for primetime. Maybe next season!
417216
lakers don't just suck....they suck hard. i KNO that the suns will win after trailing 1-3.
379531
Kobe Bryant's performance this season is amazing. He is better than anyone else at this point. One he has improved this season is involving his teammates. His teammates' performance has increased, and because of that, it maked their teamwork better.
1000596
good team.\ni wouldnt pick those players but its still a good team.
829048
Lakers fan here also.  Last night was a great game for me.  I loved Odom and Bynum last night.  Odom really stepped up with Kobe out, and if he keeps playing like he did last night, the Lakers will kick ass.  Bynum is really developing, only his 2nd year, and he's becoming a good starting center.  Imagine the Lakers with Kobe, Mihm, and Brown back.  Their future is looking bright!
773950
They will definately do GREAT this season.......the players are just so amazingly talented......^^
314228
No. This is because you can't really compare the two of them yet, because kobe is still young- but so far, he isnt, because kobe doesnt pass the ball. all he does is shoot, shoot, shoot. but dont get me wrong- kobe is probably the most skilled player in the league today. jus think where the lakers would be without him.