6. Metta World Peace’s resurgence
Another thing fans probably didn’t expect was Metta World Peace’s resurgence. After dropping weight and practicing hard over the summer, World Peace has been arguably the Lakers most consistent, or at least second most-consistent (behind Kobe Bryant) player this season. World Peace bumped up his stats from 7.7 points per game on 39.4 percent shooting from the field (29.6 from three-point land), and 3.4 rebounds last season, to 13.8 points per game on 42.7 percent shooting (3.7.0 from behind the arc), along with 5.9 rebounds this season. World Peace’s conditioning has also upped his minutes from approximately 27 to just over 35.
5. Dwight Howard traded to the Lakers
I think a lot of fans were clamoring for Dwight Howard, but it was talked about so much throughout the season that it wasn’t too much of a surprise when it finally happened, either. However, Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss’ persistence and magic paid off as they somehow got the three-team deal to go down. What was most surprising to me was how the Lakers managed to not give up any other player than Andrew Bynum–not Pau Gasol or even Metta World Peace–in the deal.
Next Page: Mike Brown Fired, Derek Fisher Traded
