Written by Chris O’Dell
The Chicago Bulls’ 72-win season has seemed like an unobtainable goal for more than a decade now. Since Michael Jordan and the Bulls accomplished the feat in 1995-96, no team has truly challenged the mark for most wins in a season.
In fact, since 1996, only three teams have reached 67 wins, and only one team has cracked 69 victories — that team was the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls team.
However, there is one team that might be equipped in such a way to make a run at the “unobtainable” wins record this season. That team is the Los Angeles Lakers.
Hollywood’s favorite sports franchise won 65 games during the regular season last year, followed it up with their 15th NBA championship and then took part in a day-long celebration downtown before scattering for three months during the offseason.
As the team began its championship defense last night against the Clippers, it became odd to me how similar these Lakers are to Jordan’s 72-win Bulls. The parallels between the two teams are eerily recognizable.
Like the 1995-96 Bulls, the Lakers have the NBA’s best and most complete player in Kobe Bryant, a dynamic No. 2 in Pau Gasol and a surplus of talented role players like Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher.
They have the same “always calm and collected” head coach in Phil Jackson, who is a master at keeping egos in check. And like Chicago, the Lakers have a very talented but troubled young star, who is capable of making or breaking the Lakers’ season. For the Bulls, it was Dennis Rodman; for the Lakers, it is Ron Artest.
Although Bryant might not publically admit it, he knows he will always be compared to No. 23. He is already chasing Jordan’s six NBA championships — he has four — and has mentioned the Bulls’ 72-10 record as an obtainable goal to some of his teammates.
Some might say it is wishful thinking to expect any team to get close to the almighty record. However, this Lakers team is no ordinary team — and neither were the Bulls.
Chicago led the league in scoring in 1995-96, averaging 105.2 points per game, and were third in defense, giving up only 92.9 points a game. They had an 18-game winning streak, lost only two home games and won 33 road games, another NBA record.
Last year’s Lakers averaged 107 points per game and should easily obtain that goal again this season. In fact, I would be surprised if any other team in the league averaged more points than the Lakers this season.
And with newly acquired defensive specialist Ron Artest, the Lakers could also boast the league’s best defense this season.
Teams already had to worry about the L.A. frontcourt of Gasol, Bynum and Odom. The size and length of those three players alone are enough to make any player think twice before penetrating the lane. And now that the Lakers have the league’s best defensive backcourt with Bryant and Artest, L.A. should force far more turnovers than in recent years.
Opposing teams will also have to get used to taking contested shots with the shot-clock winding down. Those things added together can make a recipe for disaster for opposing teams.
You also can’t forget the 65-17 team from last season missed center Andrew Bynum for a 32-game stretch due to injuries. The same injury caused Bynum to have only a minor role in the postseason last year. Now in his fifth season, Bynum is primed for a breakout year if he can remain healthy.
In January the big man was playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 26.2 points, 14 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots in his last five games before he was injured. In the fall, he was impressive again in preseason basketball, averaging more than 20 points per contest. Last night, Bynum scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds during the Lakers’ season-opening win over the Clippers. Bynum’s dominant performance could be a sign of things to come for the Lakers’ young center.
It could also be a sign of things to come for the Lakers team as whole. Just like the Bulls had 14 seasons ago, the Lakers have a buzz around the team like no other in the league this year. Every basketball fan can see something special in this year’s team. Bryant saw the same thing in Jordan’s Bulls.
“Chicago had kind of like the perfect storm,” he said. “They had the perfect team, terrific defensive players, and then they lived right in the middle of the country, so they got ample rest going from city to city. It worked out well for them.”
The only question now is will it all work out well, if not better, for the Lakers this season? After all, the “unobtainable” goal of 72 wins has never looked so reachable for an NBA team.
