L.A. Lakers NBA Season Preview

In last year's NBA playoffs, Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers provided a blueprint for success against the high scoring Phoenix Suns. The Zen Master had his Lakers pound the ball inside to Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown, and more importantly, had
Kobe
get the rest of the team involved on offense. The move to get the ball inside slowed things up and enabled the Lakers to take the Suns away from their run and gun mentality. Although the Lakers lost in seven games, they nearly advanced in the playoffs due to their coach's gameplan.

Fast forward to this season, and when the Lakers opened with the visiting Suns, Phil had his Lakers, even sans
Kobe
, pound and defend their way to a win. Lead by Lamar Odom and a new force in the middle, Andrew Bynum, the Lakers have the talent and depth to reach and win the NBA championship.

The Lakers did not sit pretty in the off-season. They made serious efforts to get
Kobe
some help and in doing so, have created a strong resemblance to Phil's championship Bulls teams.
Kobe
would undoubtedly serve as the role in the vaunted triangle offense, with Odom playing the role of Scottie Pippen. New signee Vlad Radmonovic is a virtual twin for the game of Toni Kukoc and point guards Smush Parker and Jordan Farmar both played vital minutes looking like Ron Harper and John Paxson. Maurice Evans came over from
Detroit
and brought a spark and tenacity not seen in a
Jackson
team since Dennis Rodman. Returning Lakers Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, Ronny Turiaf and Brain Cook all play regular minutes and help make this one of the deepest teams in the league.

When Phil Jackson won his 6 championships in
Chicago
, he had a series of role players at center, including Bill Cartwright, Bill Wennington and Luc Longley. Only with Shaq in
L.A.
has Phil had a monster in the middle of his triangle, and the Zen Master was able to win championships both ways. Now, with the emergence of Andrew Bynum and the unfulfilled promise of Kwame Brown coming to fruition, Phil will have a two-headed monster in the pivot that can secure the triangle on offense and provide a presence on defense. Bynum has the talent and post moves to move into the league elite, especially considering the lack of quality big men today. Brown is a one-time No. 1 overall draft pick, ironically by Michael Jordan in Washington. Brown played well in the playoffs last year and will look to continue his growth into a double-double threat.

The competition in the west will come from Dallas,
San Antonio
,
Phoenix
and possibly a dark horse like
Utah
or New Orleans/Oklahoma City. In any case, Phil has constructed a team that not only features one of the top three players in the NBA in Kobe Bryant, but is lead by arguably the greatest coach in the history of the NBA. Once the playoffs come around, it is coaching that can be the difference between teams so close in talent, and that gives the Lakers as good a chance as any to win a championship this season, and help Jackson to break the all-time championship record of the late Red Auerbach.