Every offseason gets the coming season pumped up by acquisitions and losses through trades, free agency, and the draft.
In Miami, we saw the trio of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh form.
In Boston, they called out to a couple of O'Neals to go with re-signing Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Nate Robinson.
The Thunder gave Kevin Durant an extension. These are just a few of the transactions that were made by the top teams in the league. Among those making waves were the Los Angeles Lakers.
When looking ahead to the coming 2010-2011 season, many will look to reasons why the Heat, Magic, or Celtics might be able to take the throne away from L.A. I don't necessarily want to discredit those teams from success this year. I merely want to state reasons that the Lakers are still the team to beat for this coming season.
Reason No. 1: Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are the best players in the game. In a sport like basketball, having the best player in the game cannot be overlooked for its importance.
Kobe has proved, like him or not, that when talent is placed around him, he can take home the bling in June. Bryant is still healthy given his age, and although he has logged minutes similar to Kevin Garnett in his career, his playing has not seen a dip at this time. I don't plan on seeing a dip in him this coming year either.
Reason No. 2: Phil Jackson is 3-for-3
Phil Jackson, 11-time NBA champion as a coach, has a chance at his fourth three-peat. Not bad, considering that you have to go back to the Celtics of the '50s and '60s to find three consecutive titles by a team not coached by Jackson. I find it hard to truly go against Jackson's coaching success.
Just like with Bill Russell, he has done it so many times that it has become routine. He is still undefeated in the playoffs when his team wins Game One of a series. The hunger...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
