Am I the only one that thinks the Lakers aren't that good?

[jason1301]

Kobe, Pau, Bunym, Ron Artest and Lamar are all awesome players. But who else is there?

Derek Fisher is getting old and is slow, not the player he was two years ago. Last year he had his ups and downs but managed to play well in the few games Lakers needed him. He is not going to play any better this year, and I just can't see how he can stop guys like TP and CP3.

Lets look at their Bench:

Sasha Vujacic after putting career highs in scoring and FG% two years ago, last year his numbers dropped.

Luke Walton his number have been on decline since 06-07

Jordan Farmar same as above one good year.

Who else is there Mbenga? ? ?

With a Bench like that, their starters will have to log lots of minutes during the regular season. Pau had a long summer. Kobe has lots of mileage on his body, how long can he play extended minutes?

I would be surprised to even see them making the conf finals.

[AussieFanKurt]

Theyll definitely make the WCF

[Danny.Zhu]

Maybe. Lakers is a really good team and that team will stick together for the next several years.

[KSeal]

Who else is there

Shannon Brown.

[redzero]

Funny, I could have sworn they won a championship last season with less.

[jason1301]

i think they have five elite players, but other than that its nothing special. Fisher is very critical to their success and he already lost a step last year.

We have Manu, Dice, Blair, Hill, and Fin or Mason coming off the bench.

the Lakers: Lamar, Farmar, Vujacic, Luke and Shannon Brown.

You can't even compare our benches.

[jason1301]

Funny, I could have sworn they won a championship last season with less.

yeah and you know what two years ago they had a much better team than last year but lost. What does that tell you?

[jason1301]

Shannon Brown.

yup, he played very well for them last year. I 'll tell you this, if they make it this year he will have something to do with it :)

[KSeal]

yeah and you know what two years ago they had a much better team than last year but lost. What does that tell you?

Umm, no they didn't. 09 Lakers>08 Lakers, cause of Trevor Ariza alone.

[jason1301]

Well trevor ariza was the only lakers playing well in 09. Pretty much everyone else played much much better in 08.

[Unforgivable]

Well trevor ariza was the only lakers playing well in 09. Pretty much everyone else played much much better in 08.


Right, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom were both so much better in the playoffs.

[jason1301]

Hey Kseal, what would be your rotation this year? I am guessing Lamar will be the first off the bench with Sasha, Farmar and Brown following soon after?

[KidCongo]

They're the team too beat.

[ginobili's bald spot]

Lineups on paper >>> Championships. Good call OP. :rolleyes

[jason1301]

women on your screeen >>>>>>>>>>> having a girlfriend

we are onto something here....

[Culburn369]

yeah and you know what two years ago they had a much better team than last year but lost. What does that tell you?

Perkins & Powe should be jailed?

tee, hee.

[The_Game]

what a strange topic....lakers bench is soild and if guys like Sasha play like they have recently, along with Farmer, Brown, Powell along with LO then the Lakers do have a good bench to go along with the best starting 5 in the NBA...nobody can really compete with the lakers frontcourt thats where the strength lies. Kobe is also that much better than everybody else..only Lebron and Wade can really say they are better.

Lakers are the team to beat and should repeat. Because they are that damn good.

[Fabbs]

Joey Crawford, Dick Bavetta back in the lineup.
Tough *away* games with travel to the Staples Center vs the Clippers.
Jameer Nelson for end of game heroics.
Kwame Brown, i mean Gasol at center.

Cmon haters, the Lakers are still the team to beat.

[2Cleva]

i think they have five elite players, but other than that its nothing special.


:lmao

[TJastal]

Denver's frontcourt is pretty good too. Nene, Martin, and Anthony is a close match to what the lakers have in Bynum, Gasol, and Artest.

Kobe>JR Smith/Afflalo
Billups>Fisher

Farmar/Lawson a wash.
Brown/Carter a wash.
Odom/Anderson a wash.
Afflalo/Vujavitch a wash.
Graham,Balkman/Powell a wash.
Petro/Mjbenga a wash.
Walton/Allen a wash.

I could see the lakers having an advantage in experience and team chemistry, alot of their guys have been together a while now.

Lawson is a total wild card though. He might be the guy that tips the scales in the nuggets' favor.

[tlongII]

After Portland, the Lakers are probably the most talented team in the league.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Yes

[hater]

Lakers have the 2nd best player in the NBA + 1 top 10 player + 2 top 20 players + 1 top 30 player young, hungy and healthy, and the rest of their team is average at worst. That combined with Phil jackson and Kobe's competitiveness and you have a WCF at the very minimum, with no effort.

They will be tough to beat

[Muser]

Odom/Anderson a wash.


:lmao:lmao:lmao

[Allanon]

I told you guys the Lakers had this "mythical" stacked team manufactured from hype alone and none of you believed me.

If Kobe wins it all again with this cast of scrubs, he's going to jump a couple of spots in the All Time list.

[Culburn369]

Funny, I could have sworn they beat a bunch of mediocre teams to win it and went to 7 games with the Rockets without Yao or McGrady.

Yeah, Damus, but, those motherf'ers in Houston swore up & down they were better WITHOUT McGrady.

[Culburn369]

Fact of the matter is, they didn't beat Cleveland, Boston(health) or San Antonio(health). Their ring is weak.

But, it is sans Daddy.

[pawe]

As long as they have Phil Jackson manning the ship, they will always be good.

[TheMACHINE]

Yes, you are the only one that thinks the Lakers aren't that good.

[TheMACHINE]

you also have to realize that the bench players dont always have to play together...there will always be 1-2 startes with them. its not like you're gonna see Farmer, Sasha, Luke, Powell and Mbenga in at the same time (unless its garbage time).

[The Gemini Method]

Fact of the matter is, they didn't beat Cleveland, Boston(health) or San Antonio(health). Their ring is weak.

It's not the Lakers' fault these teams weren't healthy. Who's to say they wouldn't have still blasted the Spurs and Cleveland and who knows what would've happened if they faced the Celtics...it is all speculation on our part...

The real fact of the matter is; if you want to go tit-for-tat fans of the 2007 Spurs Championship have no room to talk about "weak rings." They beat a dysfunctional Nuggets in the first round, Horried your way past a Suns team that only took one side of basketball serious, beat a first time WC opponent in Utah, and let us not forget their formidable opponent in the Finals--the mighty LeBron and the feared Booby Gibson.

The Lakers won the title with an injured team as well. I mean, if you are going to say that Bynum was at %100 come playoff time last year, you are terribly mistakened.

You take care of who is in front of you and that's all you can really do. Trying to discredit the efforts of a team because of circumstances beyond their influence, is really catty at best.

Anyhow, when you have Kobe + a team that know how to win championships (not just NBA, but International...) you are going to have a formidable line-up. Discredit what the Lakers are doing at your own risk.

Let the motherfuckin' season begin...

[Obstructed_View]

Yes you are. I've made the case many times that Kobe Bryant is vastly overrated in this league as a clutch player or a game finisher, but he's certainly a top three player in the league on just about any given night. In addition, there's no doubt that the Lakers are incredibly deep and well coached. If nothing else, they're the defending champs. Discounting the accomplishments of a squad that lifted the trophy is what's weak.

[ElNono]

Yeah, pretty much.

[xellos88330]

Yes you are. I've made the case many times that Kobe Bryant is vastly overrated in this league as a clutch player or a game finisher, but he's certainly a top three player in the league on just about any given night. In addition, there's no doubt that the Lakers are incredibly deep and well coached. If nothing else, they're the defending champs. Discounting the accomplishments of a squad that lifted the trophy is what's weak.

Agree 100%.

The Lakers have a hell of a team assembled going into this season. It sort of worries me, but then I remember Mason's shot. :ihit

[j.dizzle]

[quote=jason1301;3773579]i think they have five elite players, but other than that its nothing special. Fisher is very critical to their success and he already lost a step last year.

:lol one of the best lines i've seen in a while hahaha

[jason1301]

[quote=jason1301;3773579]i think they have five elite players, but other than that its nothing special. Fisher is very critical to their success and he already lost a step last year.

:lol one of the best lines i've seen in a while hahaha

the clippers game makes my point.

Fisher 33min
kobe & Bynum 38min
Lama & Artestr a bit over 40min

Your bench is thin, yeah Pau didn't play, but he did play a lot over the summer.

I just can't see how you are going to keep those legs fresh come playoff time.

Spurs on the other side, playing a much much better team no one played over 25min!!!

[ezau]

Seriously, even if Manu was healthy I really think that we could have been beaten last year by LA in 6 games tops. These guys are the defending champs and until proven otherwise, they're the team to beat.

[jason1301]

not really, look what happened to Miami being the defending Champs doesn't count for that much.

I am telling you the Lakers aren't that good this year. They are not the team they were two years ago. If Manu and Timmy were healthy last year we will had another ring now. That's another story thought.

You can't play your starters 40min per game, you ll run low on gas sooner or later. Ask the Suns :)

If Lakers are smart they ll try to develop their bench, but tell that to Kobe who wants the MVP this year. Don't forget he is been in this league as long as Timmy has.

[ezau]

Let's wait and see Jason. These guys deserve respect for hoisting the LOB this year. After playing the Hornets and after simply one game, it's too early to conclude that we're already better than the Lakers. I'd rather see the Spurs step on the gas two months before the start of the playoffs. Right now, let's enjoy the regular season shall we?

[jason1301]

You are right, its too soon to tell.

I live in Orange County, CA and I get to witness first hand all the criticism (from Lakers Radio) last years team got when playing the Rockets. Its perplexing to me that all of sudden Lakers are this unstoppable team. They have a big hole at the PG position and their bench is filled with players that played well when their contract was up and then disappear. Other than LO their bench is non-existent and you have to wonder how their starters will hold up. Its a long season.

After last year's playoffs, I made a thread and I said G Hill will be a factor this year, and so far he is proven me. I may be wrong, but I am not the type of person who is going to say I knew it all along when the Lakers collapse (and trust me there will be many to claim that).

[KSeal]

[QUOTE=j.dizzle;3774903]

the clippers game makes my point.

Fisher 33min
kobe & Bynum 38min
Lama & Artestr a bit over 40min

Your bench is thin, yeah Pau didn't play, but he did play a lot over the summer.

I just can't see how you are going to keep those legs fresh come playoff time.

Spurs on the other side, playing a much much better team no one played over 25min!!!

With Pau in there, no Mbenga and Powell. Just a three man rotation of Bynum/Gasol/Odom with each playing give or take 32 minutes if need be. The Lakers had a 15 point lead in the second quarter until Mbenga and Powell both came in and then the Clippers went on a 11-1 run and it got them back in the game. If Pau's in there the lead is 15+ at half and the game is over in the third. Hornets suck.

[ezau]

The biggest concern right now is how much gas Gasol has in his tank for this season. Not many people pay attention that he played in 2008 Olympics, after going deep into the NBA playoffs where LA played Boston. Right after that, he played the entire NBA season in 2009, before participating in this year's Euro Championships. Point is, Gasol hasn't had a decent rest in two consecutive years. Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happens to players who play extensively year in and year out, without rest.

See Also: Ginobili

[KSeal]

The biggest concern right now is how much gas Gasol has in his tank for this season. Not many people pay attention that he played in 2008 Olympics, after going deep into the NBA playoffs where LA played Boston. Right after that, he played the entire NBA season in 2009, before participating in this year's Euro Championships. Point is, Gasol hasn't had a decent rest in two consecutive years. Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happens to players who play extensively year in and year out, without rest.

See Also: Ginobili

He's 29, not 33. That Euro Championship thing really wasn't that long, like what three weeks plus he hurt his finger so he sat out a ton of the practice and whatnot. He also doesn't have arthritis in his knees like Duncan, or shit ankles like Manu or no ACLs like Blair so I think he'll hold up just fine.

[jason1301]

only time will tell!

Kseal: I asked you again; Can you break down your teams rotation this year?

is it, LO off the bench and then Farmar, Vujacic and Shannon?

[turiaf for president]

you also have to realize that the bench players dont always have to play together...there will always be 1-2 startes with them. Its not like you're gonna see farmer, sasha, luke, powell and mbenga in at the same time (unless its garbage time).

+1

[turiaf for president]

only time will tell!

Kseal: I asked you again; Can you break down your teams rotation this year?

is it, LO off the bench and then Farmar, Vujacic and Shannon?

if by depth chart alone its Odom, Farmar, brown, sasha, luke, lowell, mbenga.

morrison will prolly be the one guy on the inactive list most of the year unless theres an injury