first of all... there are only 3 teams that i think can potentially get their in the West... i'd say there is a 90% chance it will be the Nuggets or Mavs... BUT, if anyone else is going to sneak in there, it will be the Suns...
Lakers... no fucking way! here is what i am not expressing very well, i guess...
these Lakers won last year because they were on a mission... they were supremely motivated... now, in sports, a supremely motivated team can overcome their own limitations and make a title run...
however, once that motivation is gone (which it is), the only way a team can win it again is if they have extremely disciplined, self-motivating, level-headed pieces in their puzzle...
does that sound like the Lakers? FUCK NO! this team has no shot... trust me... they are a collection of losers, and without that "team on a mission" attitude they had last year, you are going to see all of the bad things about this Lakers team in the playoffs:
i.e.
1) Derek Fisher getting his ass just totally schooled by the quality PGs in the West conference...
2) Ron Artest being the single most ridiculous human being to ever play a sporting event
3) Lamar Odom being the most underachieving physical specimen to ever play a sporting event
4) Andrew Bynum being the most physically unimposing 7+ footer to ever play basketball
5) the likes of Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic proving that on any given night they can turn it on... leaving one to wonder why they only turn it on about once a month!
i don't know what Phil Jackson sees in this team, but they are the biggest collection of shitty attitudes and head cases i have ever seen...
no fucking way they make a title run...
The same collection who swept through the West last year sans Ariza.