For as much turmoil as the Los Angeles Lakers have endured over the course of the season, even the most ardent of Laker detractors would have to acknowledge their steady progress. In fact, given all of the variables (shortened training camp, new coach/philosophy, injuries, benchings, suspensions, etc.), if you’re being honest/objective, you’d have to respect a 41-25 record out of a first-year head coach. Without further ado, here are my player rankings:
Starters
Andrew Bynum Whether you want to call him “Bynumite”, “BEAST-MODE”, or just plain “Drew”, Bynum has been phenomenal, this season. Yes, leadership and maturity are the last two frontiers for Bynum to master, but at 24 years old, the you still have time to develop. If we’re being honest, while Kobe Bryant has developed into a very strong leader, even Bryant wasn’t the greatest of teammates early in his career. Plus, if Phil Jackson is telling us to “be patient, and watch Bynum’s development” I’m prone to trust Jackson’s instincts. Bynum should be praised, mightily, for the obvious work he’s put into his body/game. As mentioned before, he dropped his body fat percentage and worked on his strength/agility over the summer, and the results (18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks) have caused multiple basketball pundits to proclaim Bynum as the best center in basketball. While that is certainly debatable, one thing that can’t be questioned is the organization’s decision to stand by him prior to this year. Time will tell, whether Bynum is able to mature and take the next step, into a true position of leadership; These playoffs will likely go a long way towards determining Bynum’s overall NBA future, as the Lakers will determine (this off-season) whether to pick up the final year of his contract ($16.473 million). Bynum’s grade: A
Pau Gasol ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith claims Chris Bosh is the best third-option in the NBA, but I would have to humbly disagree. Pau Gasol, without a doubt, is the best third-option in the NBA. Far too often, people focus on what Pau doesn’t do, or what he isn’t. More often than not, public perception is flat-out wrong on Gasol. While you certainly wouldn’t have penalized Kareem Abdul Jabbar by calling him “soft” for being a versatile, finesse player during the 80’s, these days Gasol gets attacked on a regular basis for simply having a more developed/rounded skill-set than most current big men. Since most people (outside of LA) don’t penalize a guy like Dwight Howard for having a limited (at best) offensive skill-set, then I don’t think it’s fair to criticize Gasol for not having the same brute force of some of the bigger C/F’s. I’ll never understand the criticism, but I do know this, there are about 15 teams in today’s NBA that would sell their collective souls to have Gasol’s 17.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks (on 50 percent shooting) as a FIRST-option, let alone the third. Not to pile on other players, but Brandon Jennings (whom I like as a player) averages less than two (5.6) assists more than Gasol (3.7) on the year. Again, a (talented) starting point guard with the ball in his hands on just about every possession averages less than 2 more assists than a third-option PF/C per game. Gasol’s Grade: A-
Metta World Peace Determined not to be a prisoner of the moment, I took a long look at MWP’s full season. It goes without saying, MWP started the year struggling to simply play his way into shape. Hampered by a sore back/achilles, MWP labored through a brutal month of January (3.6 points, 2.4 rebounds on 27 percent fgs, 16 percent from 3pt). Quite frankly, February wasn’t much better, but as Coach Brown stuck with him, MWP showed steady improvement. In fact, MWP was averaging 15.9 points, 4 rebounds, 3.3 assists on 49.7 percent fgs. (32.5 percent from 3pt) over his last 10 games. Although it came in the second-to-last game of the year, you cannot judge MWP’s season without acknowledging the “Peaceful Elbow”. Whether you believe his excuse of emotions and fury, or think he is a loose cannon that will always be a threat to explode, (if you’re LAL) you’re hoping MWP can find a way to balance between Metta and Ron when he is available after suspension. Rough start, strong finish, only time will time what, if any ramifications of his mistake vs OKC will be. World Peace’s Grade: C+
Derek Fisher & Ramon Sessions Derek Fisher meant a great deal to Lakers fan base, and played a pivotal role in multiple championships. That said, we have to be able to be honest about him being a crucially sub par option as a starting point guard at this point in his career. Not his fault, but the reality. I won’t be offering a grade for Fisher, as I wish him the best of luck (not really) in Oklahoma City. Even though Ramon Sessions only played 23 games in a Laker uniform, the impact he contributed to their 15-8 record over that stretch is enough to judge Sessions by. Up and down statistically, Sessions (also hampered by a sore shoulder) has shown flashes, both literally and figuratively, of brilliance and has Laker fans dreaming of what could potentially be with a full off-season and training camp for Sessions to become truly acclimated to the offense and teammates. Sessions isn’t flashy or out-spoken by any means, but along with blazing speed and a budding skill-set, he also possesses the type of ‘all-business’ demeanor that meshes well with this talented starting unit. Sessions’ Grade: B
Kobe Bryant Allow me to preface my analysis by reminding everyone this has been Bryant’s 16th season. Including the playoffs, Bryant has played just under 58,750 minutes over his career. If you’re looking for me to say anything negative about his season, then you’re either seriously deluded or simply don’t understand the historical significance of such facts. Fox Sports Analyst Jason Whitlock may think it’s a joke to consider Bryant an MVP candidate, but I think he at least deserves to be in the discussion given everything he’s endured over the course of the season. Go ahead and point out his shooting percentage or amount of shots taken. Try balancing between the pain of a torn ligament in your shooting wrist with the added responsibility of having two members of your starting lineup (MWP/Fisher) and your bench unable to create a shot or even knock down an open look for the better part of the season. Much like my repeated defense of OKC’s Westbrook’s shooting totals, you cannot fault a player for being willing to take/make the plays and shots his teammates simply are not capable of. If anything, you should commend Bryant for being willing to do the very thing so many NBA fans crucify LeBron James over…in the biggest moments, on the largest stage, Kobe Bryant does not care about what you think of his shooting percentage. He simply wants to win. Overlooked due to the melee that surrounded MWP, Bryant displayed exactly why you are never out of any game he plays in until the final buzzer. After starting 3-14 and feeding into his detractors’ every dream, Bryant hit big shot after big shot (6-12 from 4 minute mark in the 4th through the end of double-OT) including two 3-pointers over the outstretched arms of Thabo Sefolosha. Since you’ll never rationalize with the irrational (doubters), I’ll leave it at that. Bryant’s Grade: A
Centers/Forwards: Matt Barnes, Josh McRoberts, Troy Murphy, Devin Ebanks, Jordan Hill
Matt Barnes After a slow start, Barnes’ productivity has been one of the Lakers’ bright spots overthe second half of the season. Already playing well when Sessions was added, Barnes has simply flourished now that he’s finally being ‘found’ when slashing/cutting and catching the ball in rhythm when shooting. Barnes’ ankle will remain a concern, as he will have had exactly 1-calendar week to rest since the Lakers begin their playoff march on Sunday (@Staples). Barnes’ Grade: B-
Josh McRoberts Started the season playing extended minutes in Bynum’s absence, and impressed with his energy and lob-dunks. A troublesome toe-sprain slowed his progress, and limited his playing time throughout the season. McRoberts is still a nice option off the bench as an energy-guy. Will be interesting to see what type of work he puts into his offensive game over the off-season, as he heads into the final year of his contract. McRoberts’ Grade: C
Troy Murphy Following the botched trade for CP3, the Lakers were in definite scramble mode. I’m not saying Troy Murphy and Jason “We hardly knew you” Kapono were players GM Mitch Kupchak was forced to settle for…but their signings (just before the regular season) definitely have the ‘look’ of “wishful thinking” contracts. Seemingly, in search of a viable outside shooting threat for the better part of the past decade, Kupchak was likely hoping Murphy could be closer to the 15/10 guy from the Warriors/Pacers than the 3/3 he’s provided. Outside of a decent rebounding stretch early on, he’s been relegated to the bench. Murphy’s Grade: C-
Devin Ebanks Having spent time in the D-League with the Los Angeles Defenders, Devin Ebanks went from “Mr. Irrelevant” to (potentially) “Mr. Significant” over the course of one lockout-shortened season. Ebanks’ length and activity allowed him to impress Coach Brown while playing extended minutes during Bryant’s 7-game absence. His productivity will be even more vital heading into the playoffs, as he is slated to start in MWP’s absence. Limited minutes, but still showed potential for Laker fans to look forward to heading into next season. Ebanks’ Grade: C+
Jordan Hill Hill didn’t get many opportunities, but he certainly made the most of his best chance to date. As, seemingly, as last-ditch effort to spark the team, Coach Brown decided to give Hill a shot against the Thunder (last Sunday). We know the results: 14 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks, and about 200 dreads shaken in 35 passion-filled minutes of a come-from-behind victory. Obviously, that isn’t enough to grade someone upon, so I will simply acknowledge the potential of the former #8 overall pick can go a long way towards convincing Lakers management to pick up the 3.6 million dollar option on his contract if he were able to capture lightening in a bottle during the playoffs.
Guards: Steve Blake, Andrew Goudelock, Darius Morris
Steve Blake I don’t pull punches, and Steve Blake went through a few awful patches (say, the entire month of February) over the course of this season. There were times where my Twitter Timeline looked an endless stream of Blake-disdain. Thankfully, for all of our sakes, Blake is a resilient guy and not as easily discouraged as many of us might be. Not only has he played better defense (of late), but he’s hit some timely shots and provided several key hustle plays. No excuses for the early struggles, but you’d much prefer to have your players peaking or streaking when heading into the playoffs. Blake’s Grade: C
Andrew Goudelock & Darius Morris Grading these two young guards wouldn’t be fair, as ‘DNP’ was posted next to their names for a majority of the season. Darius Morris got a little bit of run in January, but didn’t leave the bench much after the Lakers picked up Sessions. Morris showed flash and a bit of athleticism, but was as erratic as you might expect a rookie guard with limited playing time, and no training camp might be. Andrew Goudelock was able to shoot his way onto the court for a couple weeks. His lack of ball-handling and court awareness can certainly be improved upon. Both guards seem to have potential for growth/development. I’m not certain where Morris fits into their future plans, but Goudelock looks as though he could be a highly viable option as a combo-guard if he can continue to develop his game. Christian Eyenga, we hope to see more of you next season!
