WORDS BY: ERIK ONG
October 26, 2009 | 1890 views
The Clippers were blessed by winning the NBA draft lottery and got the first pick in this year's draft. They chose the undisputed best player in the rookie pool, Blake Griffin, who plays at the power forward position.
The Clippers already had a crowded front court but remedied the situation by trading away Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The fate of this team now rests on the attitude and health of Baron Davis, who is notoriously injury-prone player. If he can stay healthy, the team should be able to improve on last season's dismal performance.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Coach: Phil Jackson
Projected Starting Five:
PG: Derek Fisher
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: Ron Artest
PF: Pau Gasol
C: Andrew Bynum
Key Addition: Ron Artest
Key Losses: Trevor Ariza, Sun Yue
The defending champs, Los Angeles Lakers have their core pieces intact. They joined the "arms race" of teams that improved their rosters this off-season by signing free agent Ron Artest. On the court, Ron-Ron should play the role Scottie Pippen once had in Coach Phil Jackson's Chicago Bulls championship dynasty. Off the court, his antics and odd-ball behavior will remind everyone of Dennis Rodman.
Artest wants to win and he respects both Jackson (Phil) and teammate Kobe Bryant so hopefully, he will end up being more of a boon than a bane to this L.A. franchise. He is a tough and rabidly tenacious defender who Jackson can stick on opposing scorers to shut them down. Injury-plagued center Andrew Bynum, has showed up in the pre-season to be healthy and ready to anchor the Lakers' offense and defense in the post. Bottom line is that the Lakers are the team to beat, and it's not going to be an easy task.
