Chris Paul's arrival in LA has put Kobe and the Lakers on the back burner. |
The Lakers are on a steady decline. Starting with the David Stern debacle over the CP3 trade, then continuing when the Lakers dealt Lamar Odom for cap space, then escalating even more when Kobe publicly criticized Laker management and finally climaxing with the CP3 trade to their crosstown foe(rival isn't really appropriate yet) the Los Angeles Clippers. Now with the most heavily injured player in the league at center, Andrew Bynum, along with Metta World Soft and Pao "Downey" Gasol, the Lakers front court is no longer a dominating force. Their backcourt? In the wrong decade. Kobe is still Killer Kobe, but you can't seriously say he's in his prime. They have no depth and are coming off one of the most disappointing series in their history(Maverick's sweep in the Western Conference Semi's last year). Let's just say the Lakers are no longer a "lock" for the playoffs.
All of the sudden the red locker room in the Staples Center is the one with vibrancy and championship aspirations. The addition of superstar Chris Paul immediately makes the Clippers a playoff team. Add him to the rim rattler and budding superstar Blake Griffin and you have a formidable squad. If Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan can continue on their upswing, expect the Clippers to contend for a title within a year or two.
But what is so stunning is how quickly the city of Los Angeles was turned on it's head. A few weeks ago it looked like the Lakers were going to continue a new generation of dominance, now it's actually the Clippers looking like the championship contenders. How did this happen? Only a year ago we were talking about the Lakers still being a championship team. Now their seemingly mired in a rebuilding phase. I'm not saying this preseason game is indicative of these two teams seasons, but the atmosphere around the two teams has completely reversed. The Clippers have been the most irrelevant item in Los Angeles, let alone the country for years, and now they apparently run the show. With Kobe's fledgling attitude affecting the Lakers and Chris Paul's energy infusing the Clippers, this has all the ingredients to an angry, yet sad ending to a marvelous movie. Kobe and co. got screwed by David Stern, and now they're long time inferiors are standing at the door waiting to bust through. The Lakers have spent 27 years laughing at Donald Sterling as he ran his team into the ground repeatedly. Not anymore. Guess we're going to watch Rome fall and watch Carthage replace it.
But knowing the Lakers and wild owner Jerry Buss, the Lakers shouldn't be in the dark years for too long. However, if the Lakers want to rebuild immediately, it might mean getting rid of long-time leader Kobe Bryant. Unfortunately that is franchise suicide. Simply put, the Lake Show is in a serious predicament. What makes it even worse for Buss's boys is that their going to have to watch Chris Paul throw vicious alley-oops to Blake Griffin and co. as they dance their way to a playoff appearance in the same building. There will be no escaping the new-look Los Angeles Clippers, and that might dig at the Lakers, particularly Kobe Bryant, the most.
Two weeks ago it was Lakers city. Two weeks from now it might just be Clippers country.
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