Congratulations to the Lakers

Congratulations to the 2008-2009 Los Angeles Lakers on winning the NBA Finals.

The championship has answered so many questions this year:
- Will Phil win a 10th NBA Championship?
- Will Pau Gasol respond to his critics of being soft?
- Will Kobe finally win a championship again?
- Can the Lakers keep a lead?
- Who is Joey Buss?

Now here are some new questions for the next season:
- Will Kobe finally take care of that finger injury?
- Will the Buss family pay up for the resigning of Ariza, Odom, and/or Brown?
- Will Kobe opt out and ask for maximum money?
- How deep into the luxury tax will the Lakers go?
- Will Andrew Bynum develop into a world class Center?

I’m not going to make predictions, but I believe if the Lakers resign Odom and Ariza the Lakers will be back in the Finals next season. What I am not so clear on is who will be their opponent. My money is on Boston. I don’t believe Cleveland will replicate another 65+ season or finish first in the Eastern Conference, with or without Shaq. Orlando will lose Turkoglu and lose a reliable starter in the process. Boston will keep their team intact with the rise of Rondo, Davis, and Perkins because of the injuries to Garnett and Powe this season. For this reason, Boston is actually deeper and more experienced than their 2008 squad. I wonder if the Lakers can take their supposedly newfound toughness to counter their Boston adversaries.

I like LA’s chances.