10 Predictions for the Lakers Season

The regular season is about to start which means that virtually every outlet is doing predictions of some sort.  I typically like to buck the trend and do something different, but screw it, making predictions is fun!  Here are 10 predictions of my own for the upcoming Lakers season:

• The Lakers get off to a slow start (relative to their expectations, so something like starting the year 6-4) due to trying to incorporate Ron Artest and getting used to having Andrew Bynum at full strength.
• Andrew Bynum will miss no more than five games due to injury.  He still won’t be an All-Star though.
• Everyone waiting for Kobe to either break down physically or go lone wolf again will end up eating crow by the bucketful when Kobe once again finishes in the top 3 of MVP voting (which will be won by Chris Paul if only because NBA writers tend to get bored of voting for the same guys each year).



• By March, the standard response to do the Lakers miss Trevor Ariza will be “Trevor who?”  To which Houston fans will respond, “The overrated guy that we stole from you but only just now realized he isn’t that good of a shooter and can’t dribble.”
• The Lakers will have two 10-plus game winning streaks during the regular season and will only lose consecutive games once all season long.
• By season’s end injury and ineffectiveness will lead to Derek Fisher being relegated to no more than 15 minutes per game, though he will remain the starter.
• Some Laker is going to get suspended for roughing up on opposing player and it won’t be Ron Artest.  This is going to go down as the season that the Lakers lose the soft label once and for all.  Mark my words.



• In case you didn’t notice, the rest of the Pacific Division pretty much blows.  As such, the Lakers will win the division by 20+ games and lose just one divisional game all season long.  The real surprise though will be that the Clippers finish in second place in the Pacific.
• Lamar and Khloe Odom will be divorced by the All-Star Game.
• The Lakers and Cavs finally make good on the much-desired Kobe vs. LeBron faceoff in the NBA Finals.  LeBron will turn in the single-most awesome NBA Finals series performance in history.  And the Lakers will still win in six games, capping off the win by forcing Shaquille O’Neal to present the championship trophy to them.

Tags: Analysis, Andrew Bynum, awards, Chris Paul, Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Pacific Division foes, predictions, Ron Artest, Shaquille O'Neal, Trevor Ariza