Staying Healthy Is the Ticket to Lakers’ Season

After four long, grueling weeks of preseason camp, there’s only one candidate for Lakers MVP and that’s Gary Vitti. The long-time trainer has been a fixture with the organization for more than two decades and this may be his toughest assignment yet; getting key players, such as Kobe Bryant (knee) and Chris Mihm (ankle) healthy for the start of the regular season.

The Lakers were banged-up throughout the preseason and their record is indicative of the rash of injuries. Veteran, Aaron McKie spent much of the month of October battling back spasms, while forward Brian Cook, who the Lakers will rely on to provide depth in the frontcourt, suffered a sprained ankle that limited his playing time during the preseason. Not to mention, Phil Jackson is still recuperating from hip surgery.

The Lakers are one team in the Western Conference that can ill afford to lose key players. Depth is a concern for Coach Phil Jackson at just about every position. The Lakers are optimistic that Kobe Bryant’s surgically-repaired knee is fully healed and will not hamper him during the year. There are a lot of question marks with the Lakers right now. If they can get healthy and manage to limit injuries that would deplete their roster, they should be competitive in a Pacific Division full of parity.

Thankfully for the Lakers, they have a head trainer that’s been around the block and worked with some of the best players in NBA history. If Gary Vitti is able to craft his magic and nurture the Lakers walking wounded back to health, the Staples Center crowd should shower him with chants of M-V-P…M-V-P. The preseason is over and it’s time to start playing ball that actually counts. Visit StubHub for a Los Angeles Lakers tickets buying experience that is (James) worthy of an all-star vote.