What's Up With the Lakers?

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What’s Up With the Lakers?

Nathan Smith 

In the offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired some All-Stars to make their team better. The two biggest acquisitions would be Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. When the Lakers signed them, they were hoping that it would make it easier for them to make it to the playoffs and maybe even win the NBA Finals.

Howard is arguably the best center in NBA. Standing at 6-11”, 265 pounds, he is a beast on the boards and a great shot blocker that helps him earn consideration in defensive player of the year many years. He was drafted right out of high school in 2004 and is now the second highest paid player for the Lakers, only behind Kobe Bryant. This season, Howard is averaging 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. Also, he gets 2.6 blocks per game.

Nash is a 38-year old point guard who was born in South Africa and spent most of his life in Canada. He went to college at Santa Clara and is among the top guards in all of the NBA with assists. Most of his career has been spent with the Phoenix Suns and he has 10,041 career assists. He will likely make it to the Hall of Fame when his career is over.
This season, the Lakers are 17-21 and are third in the Pacific Division. Also, they are ranked 11th in the Western Conference. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games; they have won two games in a row and are trying to get out of their slump.