How can the Lakers improve for next year?

The Lakers have had tons of problems this season due to lack of effort, choking, new coaching style from Mike Brown, and the fact that the Lakers are on the decline. The Lakers still have a shot at getting past the Thunder but I think they will be headed for the exit door of this year's playoffs after game 5. The Lakers are aging and will need to make some moves to build for the future. If they do not do that, the Lakers' performance could fall off a cliff as Kobe, Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace, and company age. So, how do the Lakers make a turnaround.

1. Trade for Kevin Love
Lakers receive: Timberwolves PF Kevin Love, Timberwolves, SG Wayne Ellington
Timberwolves receive: Lakers PF Pau Gasol, 2014 First Round Pick, 2013 Second Round Pick
Pau Gasol is aging and his playoff struggles may have been due to tiredness instead of the effort problems that Andrew Bynum had. Gasol would provide a good veteran presence in Minnesota and be a mentor to Derrick Williams. Of course, the main part of this deal would be sending Kevin Love to LA as he is entering his prime. Kevin Love is used to the Los Angeles spotlight from his time in college at UCLA. Love has not only the interior but also the perimeter play that can provide the Lakers with a big man that is more than a paint player. Love is also a high energy player and would fit perfectly beside Kobe Bryant. Love fits well with a move to the Lakers and the T-Wolves would be happy with the compensation of Gasol, and some draft picks.

2. Trade for LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews
Lakers receive: Trail Blazers PF LaMarcus Aldridge. Trail Blazers SG/SF Wesley Matthews, Trail Blazers G Elliot Williams
Trail Blazers receive: Lakers C Andrew Bynum, Lakers PG Steve Blake, Lakers SF Christian Eyenga, 2013 First Round Pick, 2014 Second Round Pick
The Trail Blazers are looking at rebilding and sometimes that involves making moves for younger players that may have more time to win championships like Andrew Bynum. Bynum's effort has been a problem and a move to Portland should be a wake up call that every game matters. Bynum is an All-Star caliber player when he is playing at his best and would be a great fit in Portland. Steve Blake would provide a good veteran presence while Eyenga is more of a developmental player. Meanwhile, the Lakers are building a lineup and team that can contend in the Western Conference. Aldridge could form a dangerous duo in the post with Kevin Love as their post games match up very well. Aldridge has the interior game and the work ethic to dominate the boards and score tons of points in the paint. Matthews is a proven scorer on the wing that can get to the basket and has transitioned well from changing teams previously. Matthews also has the size and length to play at the three beside Kobe as he could even be Kobe's replacement when Kobe retires. Both teams would probably like this trade as the Lakers can build a really good team.

3. Sign Steve Nash
Steve Nash is probably going to leave Phoenix as he look for a shot to win a NBA title before he retires and a Laker team like this would be the perfect fot. Nash would fit perfectly in Mike Brown's offensive coaching scheme as Nash is one of the best at the pick-and-roll. Nash is a natural scorer that could be very effective for the Lakers as he would get tons of open shots due to the presence of Bryant, Love, Matthews, and Aldridge

A Lakers lineup of Nash-Bryant-Matthews-Love-Aldridge could be unstoppable as they have a good bench with guys like Metta World Peace, Ramon Sessions, and Jordan Hill. If the Lakers make these moves, they will instantly become favorits to win the NBA title next year.

Game Seven Saturday

Tonight, there are two big games sevens, one in New York, the other in Los Angeles.

There are two words in sports that are like no other, Game Seven. Game Seven is always the most decisive game as in most sports. Game Seven is winner take all with the loser going home and not getting another shot at a title til next season. Tonight, there are two of these games across the NBA and the NHL as the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Denver Nuggets in LA while the New York Rangers host the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden. All four of these teams want to stay alive but only two of them will, so who will it be?

Kobe is bound for a big game.

Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers
The Nuggets have come from down 3 games to one in the series to force a game seven due to the fact that they are outworking the Lakers over the last two games. The problem for the Lakers has been a lack of effort especially from Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum as neither of them have showed up the last two games. Ty Lawson and Andre Miller has formed a dangerous combo at the point as they both provide different qualities. Miller is more of a distributer while Lawson knows how to get to the basket and score like Tony Parker. Rookie Kenneth Faried has outplayed Pau Gasol in this series but Gasol is a good enough player to have a big game tonight. The matchup of Andrew Bynum and Javale McGee is very interesting as you never know what to expect from these two centers. Kobe has been great throughout the series and a huge game seven is expected from him. The rerturn of Metta World Peace is a huge help to the lineup as he brings a lot of needed energy. The Lakers have been disappointing the last two games with their effort and despite the Nuggets high energy performances, the Lakers will win game seven and book their ticket to a Western Conference semifinal matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Ovechkin vs Lundqvist will be the big matchup

Washington Capitals at New York Rangers
All six games in this series have been exciting as the Caps and the Rangers have both been playing at a high level. After the Rangers loss in game six, John Tortorella gave the shortest press coference ever out of complete frustration with his team's performance. Meanwhile, Dale Hunter was happy with the Caps' Game Six performance. Tortorella and Hunter both have two very different coaching styles. The key for the Caps has been their power play kill while the Rangers are doing their most damage on the power play. The Caps have done well when numbers are even while the Rangers have struggled to score when it's 5-on-5. Both goalies have been impressive as Braden Holtby has been a huge surprise while Henrik Lundqvist has been proving once again why he is one of hockey's best goaltenders. Alex Ovechkin knows exactly where he needs to shoot the puck to score on Lundqvist as he has been finding some great opportunities in space to shoot and score. Derek Stepan was giving himself chances to score as he positioned himself in front of Braden Holtby and played very well, almost scoring. Both teams have played well but Washington has played better than New York 5-on-5 and the Caps have a great penalty kill unit so I expect the Caps to advance past the Rangers and win another game seven.

NBA Playoff Preview

Be Ready for a Durant-LeBron showdown in the Finals

The NBA playoffs are under and already we have a big storyline with the Bulls losing Derrick Rose in game one against the 76ers. These playoffs should be exciting so what will happen.

Round One Predictions

Iguodala is ready to knock out the top seeded Bulls

Eastern Conference
8 Philadelphia 76ers over 1 Chicago Bulls in 6
2 Miami Heat over 7 New York Knicks in 5
3 Indiana Pacers over 6 Orlando Magic in 6
4 Boston Celtics over 5 Atlanta Hawks in 6
The Bulls are taking on a deep 76er team that will be difficult now that the Bulls are without star point guard Derrick Rose. Andre Iguodala will help get the 76ers to the next round while the Heat should be able to walk by the Knicks. The Magic are a ressilliant bunch but the Pacers are built to get past the first round of the playoffs and with a healthy center in Roy Hibbert and abunch a good, young players; stamina will allow the Pacers to move on. The Celtics and Hawks have had some great playoff series and there is no reason to expect less but the Celtics are playing well and a Al Horford-less Hawks just are not good enough to get by Boston.

Jefferson will win this matchup against Duncan

Western Conference
8 Utah Jazz over 1 San Antonio Spurs in 6
2 Oklahoma City Thunder over 7 Dallas Mavericks in 5
3 Los Angeles Lakers over 6 Denver Nuggets in 7
5 Los Angeles Clippers over 4 Memphis Grizzlies in 6
How about both number one seeds going in the first round. Some would say that the Spurs won't make another early exit but the Jazz have the one thing that allowed Memphis to pull the upset last year, size and tons of it. The Jazz have tons of dominate big man with Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors, and Enes Kanter. The Jazz will dominate the boards and whenever you do that, you will win games and win the series. The Mavs just are not as good as last year and the Thunder will be able to cruise to the next round. The Nuggets will be a real challenge for the Lakers due to Denver's depth and Ty Lawson but the Lakers are too experienced to not get by the first round. The Clippers are a perfect matchup for Memphis and Chris Paul will help lead the Clippers to the Western Conference semis.

Conference Semifinals

KG will help eliminate Philly

Eastern Conference
4 Boston Celtics over 8 Philadelphia 76ers in 6
2 Miami Heat over 3 Indiana Pacers in 5
The Celtics are a good team and a legitimate contender but they will be challenged by the youth and depth of the 76ers. Veterans like Paul Pierce and Ray Allen know how to make big shots and in this northeast showdown, that will be the difference as the Celtics will be headed for the Eastern Conference Final. The Pacers are a good team but the Heat are a truely elite team with of course the big three but also they have a better gropu of players surrounding James,Wade, and Bosh than last year. The Heat have the ability to get that NBA Championship and they will take another step to get closer to the NBA Finals.

Durant will get past Kobe in the semis.

Western Conference
5 Los Angeles Clippers over 8 Utah Jazz in 5
2 Oklahoma City Thunder over 3 Los Angeles Lakers in 5
The Clippers-Jazz series should be great as both these teams have tons of talent but the one difference is at point guard with the Clips having Chris Paul and the Jazz having Devin Harris. Paul is a way better player than Harris and that will make this series not as close as it seems as Chris Paul will take one LA team to the Western Conference finals. The other LA team, the Lakers, will be headed for the exit doors when they play the Thunder as Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant will be a ble to dominate while Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins will be good enough to slow down Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum as OKC will head for the Western Conference final.

LeBron and Miami will defeat Pierce and Boston

Conference Finals
2 Miami Heat over 4 Boston Celtics in 6
2 Oklahoma City Thunder over 5 Los Angeles Clippers in 6
The Heat and the Celtics will provide a great matchup in the Eastern Conference finals as it will be the original big three against the South Beach big three. The Celtics have the advantage at the point but the Heat have the better players at every other position as the Heat know they are so close to the Finals. This will be the Heat's year to win the Eastern Conference and return to the NBA Finals with the goal of winning a championship. Thunder vs Clippers will be a great showdown as these two are becoming two of the Western Conference powerhouses. Both teams are loaded with stars like Durant, Russell Westbrook, CP3, and Blake Griffin. The Thunder have a great scorer off the bench in sixth man of the year award favorite James Harden. Harden will be huge in this series and help send the Thunder to a final against Miami.

NBA Finals
2 Miami Heat over 2 Oklahoma City Thunder in 7
This has been my pick for the NBA season all year and I'm not going to change it now as these two teams are definitely the best in the NBA this year. The big matchup in this year's finals will be between the two big stars, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Durant and LeBron are the two best players in basketball and this will be the ultimate matchup on the biggest stage before they pair up in London for the Olympics. Dwayne Wade will be matchuped on Russell Westbrook as the Heat ahave the one lineup that lines up well with OKC. Bosh will be able to have more success down low than anyone else as Ibaka and Perkins will be worn down froma tough playoffs. The Heat have some playmakers off the bench that can make an impact as Udonis Haslem will provide some offensive rebounds while Joel Anthony will play strong defense. James Harden will makes some shots but at the end of the day, LeBron will outplay Durant and bring a NBA Championship to Miami.

LeBron will defeat Durant and win the title for the Heat.