Showtime MVP – Los Angeles Lakers Week One
- Updated: November 6, 2014
One week into the NBA regular season and the Los Angeles Lakers already wish the season was done with. An 0-5 start for the Kobe Bryant lead Lakers just does not seem all that realistic. Unfortunately, though, it has become a reality.
The Lakers just do not have enough pieces to surround Kobe and give them any chance for a playoff spot this season. The Lakers usually have a second go-to guy on the team but this year’s Laker team just does not have that guy.
Kobe has been returning back into shape after last year’s season ending injury and has really been the only bright spot for the Lakers. Like Kobe’s old self, he is leading the NBA in scoring at 27.6 through five games. For someone who is 36 years old, its incredibly impressive to put up those kind of numbers in such a young player’s league in the NBA.
The next leading scorer on the list is Lakers’ center, Jordan Hill, who has 14.8 points per game. Hill is also leading the Lakers in average rebounds per game at 9.2 and blocks at 1.6. Hill has gotten his opportunities so far this year and has made the most of it.
Besides those two guys, it is kind of hard to make a case about any other player making a significant impact for the Lakers.
New starters, Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin, have been…ehhh. Both players are just averaging 10 points per game and have contributed very minimally on the defensive side as well.
The Lakers do have one bench player, though, that has been playing fairly decent through the first week. Forward, Ed Davis, has averaged 10 points per game to go along with 7 rebounds per game. Davis is second on the team in total rebounds behind Jordan Hill. It would not be a total shocker if Davis steals the starting power forward role from Boozer sometime soon.
So for our Showtime MVP on week one, it has to go to none other than Kobe Bryant. When you are leading the league in scoring through five games of the season, choosing someone else would be just foolish.
Like stated before, though, Jordan Hill, does deserve an honorable mention for his defensive presence and offensive scoring so far this season. Hill’s current season averages in every noteworthy statistical category are higher than his total averages for any season in his NBA career.
In this next week, lets hope the Lakers snag a win or two and show us that they will not just lay down and wait for next season.
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