The acquisitions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash were without a doubt the biggest moves of any team in the league over the off-season with the Los Angeles Lakers adding two superstars to an already talented roster led by Kobe Bryant.
Securing the future of the franchise and building a legitimate NBA title contender around Kobe for the last two seasons he’ll likely be playing in Los Angeles was the goal for the Lakers’ front office and has seemingly been achieved with Howard as the centerpiece, but the bench was still a major concern for GM Mitch Kupchak and company.
With a need for considerable upgrades off the bench, the Lakers were able to sign veteran forward Antawn Jamison to a one-year deal. This move was thought to be a step in the right direction, but Jamison has struggled during the first four games of the preseason.
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Unfortunately, Jamison hasn’t made much of an impact shooting only 27.6 percent from the floor while averaging 5.8 points per game thus far.
Despite Jamison’s struggles, Kobe is confident in his new teammate saying the following via Mark Medina of the L.A. Times:
“He’s fine,” Kobe Bryant said of Jamison. “With Antawn, the way he plays, he can drop them anywhere. He’s going to be extremely effective with or without the ball. He also can shoot very well from the perimeter.”
After losing all four of the preseason games in convincing fashion, the Lakers appear to be back to square one with bench as Jamison and company have yet to convince the coaching staff that this team can hold leads with the second unit on the floor.
No one doubts the talent level of the Lakers’ roster heading into the upcoming season with arguably the most intimidating starting lineup in the league, but there’s of a lot of debate about whether or not the bench is good enough for this team to contend with the elite teams in the NBA.
With less than two weeks to go before the start of the regular season, Lakers Coach Mike Brown will continue to tinker with the rotation in order to try to find the right mix of players along with Jamison and Jodie Meeks to lead the second unit. It remains to be seen whether or not the Lakers need to continue to make moves to upgrade the bench or remain content with the current roster.
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In case you missed it: Kobe talks A-Rod, growing up in a family of “a-holes.”
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