The Sports Rotation

Andrew Bynum was supposed to be the X factor this year. His presence alone was going to elevate the Lakers against the Boston Celtics (who was the lone pic to represent the East in the playoffs). It would also serve the purpose of justifying giving a young player with his limited playing time (due to injury, which is never good for a big man) such a lucrative contract in the range of $58 million. And over 20 playoff games he has scored in double digits 5 times. Derek Fisher is 34 and when playing against above average to elite level point guards (which the western conference is full of with the likes of Chris Paul, and Deron Williams) he looks like he is 44. Sure he makes big shot after, but his defense can be down right embarrassing. And yet, with these 2 glaring deficiencies at arguably your most important positions, Kobe and these Lakers find themselves up 2-0 against the Magic.

Oh sure you can say that Pau Gasol has elevated his game (especially last night as the best player on the court). You can say that the forward play for the Lakers has greatly improved, which it has. Lamar Odom has played at an All-Star caliber level, which is remarkable considering he is playing hurt. And Trevor Ariza has also elevated his play, as well as his contract status for next year as a free agent. But the bottom line is that these Lakers are extremely flawed. Teams shouldn't get this far while depending on the largely inconsistent Lamar Odom to get them to a championship. And while Paul Gasol is certainly a very good power forward, I certainly wouldn't mention his name among the greats of the league.  So you add these players to the sub par point guard play of Derek Fisher, and the disappearing act that is Andrew Bynum, and somehow this adds up to a championship for the Lakers?  Hardly, I think there are 1, maybe 2 players in the league that could win this this roster and their names start with Lebron and Dwyane.