HOOPSAHOLIC

The Los Angeles Lakers… the name itself screams basketball. This is the most legendary franchise in all of the NBA with multiple hall-of-famers such as Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabar.

This 2014-15 squad still has future Hall-of-Famer on it named Kobe Bryant, but we all know he’s on the downhill slope of his legendary career. It kills me to say that… As an "NBA lifer", it would be idiotic to not appreciate what Kobe Bryant has done for the game. Unfortunately, his bones are brittle and his knees aren’t getting any younger. He will be a great role model to the younger players on the Lakers squad, but the question is, how many of those younger players will be with the Lakers for the long-term. This Lakers roster looks like it may be shaping up space to offer one of the soon to be free agents in a couple of years..  (KD). 

Even though this roster doesn’t look to be playoff bound this season, it still has some solid talent that will translate to some decent wins throughout this season. I think the "Black Mamba" will make sure of that. At the point guard position the Lakers will have both Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin. I’m sure that newly appointed head coach Byron Scott will start Nash to start the season, but Nash has struggled to stay healthy these last couple years, therefore I think we will see more "Linsanity" at that postion this season. Last year with the Rockets, Lin averaged 12.5 points along with four assists per game. He was a good pickup for the Lakers this offseason, despite his more than hefty salary. 

First round draft pick Julius Randle is another player who shows a lot of promise. He was a beast at Kentucky last season, and many scouts believe he will have a career similar to Zach Randolph's because of their similar skill sets and body frame. Both players bang in the post and finish near the rim. Carlos Boozer is another offseason addition that will help out in the near future. He was claimed off of waivers once the Bulls dropped him in order to have cap space to sign Pau Gasol (away from Lakers) in the offseason. 

I think the Lakers strong point this season will be its wing scoring. Along with Kobe, the Lakers have streaky shooter Nick Young. “Swaggy P” can light it up, and when he’s on fire, be sure to get out of his way. But he struggled with consistency throughout his career, so it’ll be interesting to see how he performs in his expanded role. The Lakers could potentially start him along with Kobe on the wing once he's recovered from his hand injury. 

I think one player who's overlooked in the NBA is Xavier Henry. I’ve been watching him play since middle school, and he's got game. If it weren’t for injuries, I truly believe he would be living up to his lottery pick selection. He averaged ten points last season, to go along with a monster slam on former college teammate Jeff Withey, which many people think was the dunk of the year. If Henry can stay healthy, don’t be surprised to see him become one of the top bench scorers in the league. 

Kobe will lead this team to at least 35 plus victories if he can stay healthy and stay on the court. The Lakers could potentially make the playoffs if they played in the Eastern Conference, but unfortunately for them... they don’t. The West is stacked, plain and simple. It would definitely be a shock to still see this team playing into late May.