There are only 3 Teams built for the Championship. [Archive]

SouthernFried

04-24-2008, 06:39 AM

The way I see it, there are only 3 "complete" teams that have everything in place to win a championship.

That means a "team" concept that has focus on both ends of the court, unselfish players who put the championship and the "team" above individuality, and the combination of players and coaches who are all dedicated and talented enough to accomplish the feat.

Celtics and the Spurs are 2.

I don't see anyone from the West giving Boston trouble in a finals...except for the Spurs. Spurs have everything Boston does and the experience to compete with them at that level. Not saying Spurs win it, it's too close to call (Spurs have prooved enuf times the unimportance of regular season matchups), and the Spurs age is a factor. But, from the top down...the Spurs are the only team in the west that is complete enough to battle the Celtics in every aspect of the game. If the Spurs make it...

And...if Boston makes it.

There is one other team out there that could give Boston a run. That's built for the championship, and has the experience and talent to actually do it.

I wouldn't be at all surprised, or unhappy, to see another classic San Antonio/Detroit series.

Dario

04-24-2008, 06:54 AM

I wouldn't count out lakers...

stretch

04-24-2008, 08:17 AM

Cleveland will win it all. You heard it here first.

JamStone

04-24-2008, 08:22 AM

There are more than three teams in the league built to win a championship.

2Cleva

04-24-2008, 08:28 AM

Sounds like someone is wishing the rest of the West away.

Reggie Miller

04-24-2008, 08:32 AM

I'm not sure if I know what "built to win a championship" means. Balance? Depth? Dominant post and perimeter play?

Not trying to be sarcastic, by the way. I'm thinking of Cleveland last year, who at least made it to the Finals. Basically, they had above average team defense and not a whole hell of a lot else. (I would mention LBJ, but he was Bowened.)

Reggie Miller

04-24-2008, 08:34 AM

Cleveland will win it all. You heard it here first.

Thanks, stretch. I had thirty large burning a hole in my pocket. Now at least I can invest it wisely... :greedy

stretch

04-24-2008, 08:39 AM

There are more than three teams in the league built to win a championship.

There is Cleveland, then Minnesota. No one else comes close.

balli

04-24-2008, 08:40 AM

The way I see it...
Is wrong.

I wouldn't be at all surprised, or unhappy, to see another classic San Antonio/Detroit series.
Of course you wouldn't Spurs fan. Everyone else in America would be outraged.

KidCongo

04-24-2008, 08:41 AM

JamStone

04-24-2008, 08:57 AM

Teams "being built for championships" don't necessarily win championships. The Stockton-Malone Utah Jazz were built for championships but they never won any. To me, depending on how things go with which teams get hot at the right time, which teams get favorable match-ups on the road to the Finals, which teams stay healthy, and with a little luck here and there, there are probably 5-7 teams that "could" win a championship this year if everything went right for them.

xtremesteven33

04-24-2008, 09:15 AM

1. San Antonio
2. Boston
3. Phoenix
4. Lakers

ancestron

04-24-2008, 09:18 AM

Lebron James going to the basket with a steam full of head!

Thunder Dan

04-24-2008, 09:20 AM

1. San Antonio
2. Boston
3. Phoenix
4. Lakers

the Jazz are more built for a championship than the Suns are. Have you watched the Suns play defense?...I haven't either.

btw your signature is annoyingly too big

balli

04-24-2008, 09:38 AM

the Jazz are more built for a championship than the Suns are. Have you watched the Suns play defense?...I haven't either.

Yessir.

And LA is not definitively better than Utah either. They do play defense and Kobe could go off, but the Jazz are an offensive machine and a deeper team than the Lakers. I'm not sure Utah would win it, but that's going to be a hell of series.

Indazone

04-24-2008, 09:40 AM

The Suns can compete if they ever get their shit together.

Reggie Miller

04-24-2008, 09:41 AM

The Suns can compete if they ever get their shit together.

If a frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his ass a' hoppin'.

JoeTait75

04-24-2008, 09:41 AM

Utah can score in a lot of different ways, they play solid defense, they're next to unbeatable at home, and they've got a great coach. I'd put them ahead of New Orleans and up there with L.A. and San Antonio as the West teams best-equipped to win it all.

I'm really skeptical on Detroit. They've got the experience, their starting unit is as good as anyone's, but there just seems to be a mental fragility about them. And as for Flip, well... the less said the better.

IMO if Cleveland moves on to face Boston, the winner of that series will be the one that comes out of the East.

Reggie Miller

04-24-2008, 09:42 AM

There is Cleveland, then Minnesota. No one else comes close.

You forgot the Bobcats.

On a serious note, I agree with JamStone. There were a lot of teams "built to win a championship" in the 90s. The problem was that so were the Bulls...

2Cleva

04-24-2008, 09:44 AM

Yessir.

And LA is not definitively better than Utah either. They do play defense and Kobe could go off, but the Jazz are an offensive machine and a deeper team than the Lakers. I'm not sure Utah would win it, but that's going to be a hell of series.

You did see the 4 games between the two teams this season right?

And how does anyone figure they are deeper than a team that goes 8 deep with players playing big minutes (same as Utah) except LA has 2 more starters who are out?

BiZNicK

04-24-2008, 09:55 AM

Well the Spurs are already a given...last time I checked theyre still the champs.

stretch

04-24-2008, 10:02 AM

the Jazz are more built for a championship than the Suns are. Have you watched the Suns play defense?...I haven't either.

btw your signature is annoyingly too big

Thunder Dan.

I salute you for your avatar.

Problem Child FTW!

stretch

04-24-2008, 10:26 AM

You forgot the Bobcats.

On a serious note, I agree with JamStone. There were a lot of teams "built to win a championship" in the 90s. The problem was that so were the Bulls...

The Bulls werent built to win a championship. They were built to fuck everyone up and steal all kinds of title hopes away from other great players. Still the best team of all time, and not because of their wins. Because they had the perfect balance between star power and role players, they played very hardnosed-suffocating defense, had an extremely high powered offense that could run you to death or could kill you in the half court with Jordan getting whatever he wanted, played very smart ball that started inside going out, and might be the most confident team ive ever seen play, because they all believed in Jordan, which equated to everyone being a threat in one way or another on the court making it even harder than it already was to double/triple Jordan so much.

Those Bulls were a perfectly built team. I think the two most well built and balaced teams are Jordan's Bulls, and Duncan's Spurs. I know a lot of people will tell me the 80s Celtics/Lakers would dominate, blah blah blah... fuck that. Those teams didn't play NEARLY the amount of defense that the Bulls and Spurs play. Not to mention the Spurs are arguably the best defensive dynasty of all time, in an era where all kinds of rules were made to tone down defenses, such as hand checking, etc... and mentally, the Bulls and Spurs are two teams that are as strong as anyone ever, and the mental aspect of basketball IMO is always the most important one.

balli

04-24-2008, 10:52 AM

You did see the 4 games between the two teams this season right?

And how does anyone figure they are deeper than a team that goes 8 deep with players playing big minutes (same as Utah) except LA has 2 more starters who are out?

Yes. In three of them we lost by 10 pts or so. In one of them we blew you out by 24. The regular season means nothing.

Because-

A. Your 2 starters are in fact out so why would they count?

B. Millsap, Harpring & Korver are hands-down better than Vujacic & Walton. Farmar is a push because your two pg's each play about 20 mins while Deron plays 40 and he's far better than the two of them put together.

I'm not even saying we're the better team, LA scares the shit out of me, but I do think we are the deeper team right now.

2Cleva

04-24-2008, 10:57 AM

We'll see in a week.

Thunder Dan

04-24-2008, 11:01 AM

mardigan

04-24-2008, 11:04 AM

I dont know if they are or arent built for a title, but as a Spurs fan, the Hornets are a team that I wouldnt want to play.

JoeTait75

04-24-2008, 11:06 AM

I really think people are underestimating the Cavs. I'm not just saying that because I'm a fan. Having watched this team all year, it's like they dogged it through the last half of the year. These last 2 games the Cavs have shown a fire I have yet to see from them all year. They match up well with both the Celtics and Pistons so it is possible. If Gibson and Wally can knock down shots, and Ben can control the paint..this team can go far. Lebron is enough to get you 2 games in a series, but if the others just live up to their potential the team could be dangerous.

But I know everyone will knock this because they are all experts because they have watched the Cavs 10 times this year- which is enough to make a full analysis on them

Hell, I watched the Cavaliers all season and it was tough for me to get a read on them, with all of the injuries and personnel changes. Plus they seemed to be doing only what they had to do to get the fourth seed, and nothing more. Two weeks ago after that loss in Chicago when Tyrus Thomas and Noah were dunking all over them, I wasn't real optimistic either.

balli

04-24-2008, 11:07 AM

I really think people are underestimating the Cavs. I'm not just saying that because I'm a fan. Having watched this team all year, it's like they dogged it through the last half of the year. These last 2 games the Cavs have shown a fire I have yet to see from them all year. They match up well with both the Celtics and Pistons so it is possible. If Gibson and Wally can knock down shots, and Ben can control the paint..this team can go far. Lebron is enough to get you 2 games in a series, but if the others just live up to their potential the team could be dangerous.

But I know everyone will knock this because they are all experts because they have watched the Cavs 10 times this year- which is enough to make a full analysis on them

I've watched all or part of almost every game of LeBron's career. I do agree that they've looked better against Washington, but man, they were looking pretty bad in the weeks before that. And those Celtics? They're no fucking joke. I know it's possible, but against that team, it sure as hell isn't very probable.

balli

04-24-2008, 11:09 AM

I dont know if they are or arent built for a title, but as a Spurs fan, the Hornets are a team that I wouldnt want to play.

As a Jazz fan there is no team I would rather play. I guess they've been your guy's cryptonite this season, but I don't expect them to beat you, or even really make it interesting. They just look so good right now because Dallas is a poorly coached team full of soft & scared bitches.

Thunder Dan

04-24-2008, 11:11 AM

I've watched all or part of almost every game of LeBron's career. I do agree that they've looked better against Washington, but man, they were looking pretty bad in the weeks before that. And those Celtics? They're no fucking joke. I know it's possible, but against that team it sure as hell isn't very probable.

yeah but there was talk of a closed door meeting after the trade where the Cavs had a discussion that they wanted the Celtics in the 2nd round and not the Pistons. I never believed that and always thought it was BS up until after I watched these last two games. I guess Lebron was pissed that everyone was talking about the Celtics all year and got sick of it and wanted a shot to oust them from the playoffs. I think Austin Carr may have touched on this (maybe not, I heard it from my stepdad who is good friends with Campy Russell (does Cavs pregame)). So who knows, maybe they did want the 4 seed more than the 3 seed which would explain why they looked like shit some nights.

xtremesteven33

04-24-2008, 11:27 AM

id rather see Lakers vs Cavaliers (Kobe vs Lebron)

rather than Lakers vs Celtics.....

2Cleva

04-24-2008, 12:15 PM

ThunderDan - here's something for you and the Jazz's chances against the Lakers

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/259813/

lefty

04-24-2008, 12:26 PM

1. Spurs starters
2 Spurs bench
3. Spurs coaching staff

tlongII

04-24-2008, 12:59 PM

Detroit won't get to the Finals. 2005 was their last chance.

BLACKMAMBA24

04-24-2008, 02:19 PM

I couldn't understand what the boston crowd was chanting yesterday.Something about the lakers.

Thunder Dan

04-24-2008, 02:28 PM

ThunderDan - here's something for you and the Jazz's chances against the Lakers

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/259813/

I'm not a Jazz fan. Frankly I hate the Jazz. I hate watching a boring team full of white guys and a douche bag (Boozer). They are boring. Their state is boring, everything about them screams 'no fun.' Derron Williams has bad tattoos. Jerry Sloan looks like he died 3 years ago. The jerseys suck.

The only good thing about them is maybe some of their guy fans have 6 wives. That's it so save your article for someone who gives a shit.

2Cleva

04-24-2008, 02:36 PM

Well then it goes to ballijuana.

All you idio posters look alike anyway. :toast

balli

04-24-2008, 02:39 PM

I'm not a Jazz fan. Frankly I hate the Jazz. I hate watching a boring team full of white guys and a douche bag (Boozer). They are boring. Their state is boring, everything about them screams 'no fun.' Derron Williams has bad tattoos. Jerry Sloan looks like he died 3 years ago. The jerseys suck.

The only good thing about them is maybe some of their guy fans have 6 wives. That's it so save your article for someone who gives a shit.

I think he meant it for me.
Anyway, The Jazz aren't boring- we're an offensive juggernaut. Our jerseys do suck, pretty fucking bad actually. Our baby blue court is even uglier. Deron is spelled with one r and his tattoos do suck, although he's added some stuff since college that make them look better than they did. Jerry Sloan looks like he died three years ago, but actually it was his 1st wife. The state is not boring and contrary to popular belief SLC and Park City party pretty hard. Nevermind the partying though- we have the best skiing, hiking, canyoneering and rock climbing in the world. If that can't keep someone entertained than I can only assume that someone is fat and worthless. The mormons aren't the only good thing about us. In fact, they are the worst thing about us. In conclusion, Utah is misunderstood.

Thunder Dan

04-24-2008, 02:51 PM

I think he meant it for me.
Anyway, The Jazz aren't boring- we're an offensive juggernaut. Our jerseys do suck, pretty fucking bad actually. Our baby blue court is even uglier. Deron is spelled with one r and his tattoos do suck, although he's added some stuff since college that make them look better than they did. Jerry Sloan looks like he died three years ago, but actually it was his 1st wife. The state is not boring and contrary to popular belief SLC and Park City party pretty hard. Nevermind the partying though- we have the best skiing, hiking, canyoneering and rock climbing in the world. If that can't keep someone entertained than I can only assume that someone is fat and worthless. The mormons aren't the only good thing about us. In fact, they are the worst thing about us. In conclusion, Utah is misunderstood.

I've been skiing 3 times there (Park City twice and Deer Valley once) and the reason that people party there is because they are not from Utah. They are on vacation so they like to have fun. I don't really HATE the state of Utah, I just don't like their basketball team, and I always have. I've always hated the colors, the jerseys (especially the ones around 1998), Karl Malone, Stockton's tight shorts, everything. If you look at their roster, it is comprised of a bunch of mingers. Look at (I'm going to spell basically all these names wrong) Kirolinko, Okur, and Williams out of their starting 5...you wouldn't want to go out with these guys. There would be no hope picking up women, they are all a bunch of weird looking guys. Harpring and Korver are just giant tool bags. Boozer is a liar. I just hate them all. That said, they still have a good basketball team and could go far in the playoffs.

*if nobody knows what a minger is, check out this www.mingers.com anyone on the Jazz could easily make the front page.

Girasuck

04-24-2008, 02:59 PM

Look at (I'm going to spell basically all these names wrong) Kirolinko, Okur, and Williams out of their starting 5...you wouldn't want to go out with these guys. There would be no hope picking up women, they are all a bunch of weird looking guys.

That's funny because DWill, AK, and Okur have 3 of the hottest wives you'll ever see.

Cry Havoc

04-24-2008, 03:07 PM

I've been skiing 3 times there (Park City twice and Deer Valley once) and the reason that people party there is because they are not from Utah. They are on vacation so they like to have fun. I don't really HATE the state of Utah, I just don't like their basketball team, and I always have. I've always hated the colors, the jerseys (especially the ones around 1998), Karl Malone, Stockton's tight shorts, everything. If you look at their roster, it is comprised of a bunch of mingers. Look at (I'm going to spell basically all these names wrong) Kirolinko, Okur, and Williams out of their starting 5...you wouldn't want to go out with these guys. There would be no hope picking up women, they are all a bunch of weird looking guys. Harpring and Korver are just giant tool bags. Boozer is a liar. I just hate them all. That said, they still have a good basketball team and could go far in the playoffs.

*if nobody knows what a minger is, check out this www.mingers.com anyone on the Jazz could easily make the front page.

WTF are you talking about? Deron looks perfectly normal.

In fact... random GIS search:
http://www.mix945.com/file_library/1145326247__.JPG

He looks weird to you? My guess is if you went out you wouldn't get laid because he's better looking, taller, and better built than you are. Just speculation, obviously.... :wakeup

balli

04-24-2008, 03:20 PM

I've been skiing 3 times there (Park City twice and Deer Valley once) and the reason that people party there is because they are not from Utah. They are on vacation so they like to have fun.

Being a lifer here, I would disagree. Our local non-mormons have one of the coolest cultures in America. Utah's full of ski-bum, chronic smoking, pale ale drinking hippies and yes, we do party. Wu-tang and the like wouldn't love coming here repeatedly if we didn't. Park City's for tourists and Deer Valley's for rich assholes. I know you're a tourist, but are you a rich asshole too? I'd say try Alta next time as it's the best, but actually, nevermind. We don't want non-locals at the worlds best resort.

Thunder Dan

04-24-2008, 03:50 PM

That's funny because DWill, AK, and Okur have 3 of the hottest wives you'll ever see.

it's a mans world, and if they sold insurance they wouldn't have those hot wives.

He looks weird to you? My guess is if you went out you wouldn't get laid because he's better looking, taller, and better built than you are. Just speculation, obviously.... :wakeup

I'm 6'2, so he is probably taller than I am. I got him with the shirt off because I don't have gay tats. Here is a pic of me you can judge if he is better looking than I am

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj20/thunderdan317/?action=view&current=Dan.jpg

balli

04-24-2008, 04:24 PM

Hmmmmmmmm...... Lacoste and half a bottle of hair gel.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cheese+dick

Allanon

04-24-2008, 04:48 PM

Yes. In three of them we lost by 10 pts or so. In one of them we blew you out by 24. The regular season means nothing.

Because-

A. Your 2 starters are in fact out so why would they count?

B. Millsap, Harpring & Korver are hands-down better than Vujacic & Walton. Farmar is a push because your two pg's each play about 20 mins while Deron plays 40 and he's far better than the two of them put together.

I'm not even saying we're the better team, LA scares the shit out of me, but I do think we are the deeper team right now.

Game 1 - Lakers 10 point win
Game 2 - 24 point Utah blowout of the Lakers
Game 3 - 14 point blowout of the Jazz (Kobe, Lamar played 29 minutes, Bynum 26, Fisher 27)
Game 4 - 11 point Lakers win (both Pau and Bynum missing)

So the series was 3-1, the one Jazz win was during the early part of the season. The Lakers were not a very good team then...they were only playing .500 ball at the time. Since then (November), the Lakers have only lost 17 games.

B. Millsap, Korver and Harpring are players I like. But the Utah bench ends there I believe. Beyond those 3 Lakers, you have Ronny Turiaf, Trevor Ariza and Chris Mihm. These 3 extra guys give very good minutes.

The Lakers will also possibly have Bynum coming off the bench.

I think the turning point this year was when Fisher was booed in Utah, ever since then, the Lakers have made it a point to beat the Jazz "It's personal now" was what Kobe said. Similar to how DWill will always make the Jazz own the Hornets.

TampaDude

04-24-2008, 04:54 PM

Detroit won't get to the Finals. 2005 was their last chance.

We'll see about that...but it's gonna be either the Celtics or Pistons coming outta the East...I'm rooting for the Pistons.

Spurs and Pistons in the Finals...LET'S DO IT!!! :toast

JamStone

04-24-2008, 04:55 PM

That's funny because DWill, AK, and Okur have 3 of the hottest wives you'll ever see.

Not every straight male likes skinny, pasty, Euro women.

I've seen all of their wives. I don't find that "type" hot. They're not ugly. But, they aren't even anywhere near among the hottest women I've ever seen, as far as my taste goes.

JamStone

04-24-2008, 04:58 PM

Detroit won't get to the Finals. 2005 was their last chance.

What's up with the sneak attacks out of nowhere?

If Detroit is done, fine. Why is it necessary for you to go at the Pistons? Something really bitter and insecure about you, tlong.

I think I should bump the "The Blazers will win the 2008 NBA Championship" thread again.

balli

04-24-2008, 05:01 PM

Game 1 - Lakers 10 point win
Game 2 - 24 point Utah blowout of the Lakers
Game 3 - 14 point blowout of the Jazz (Kobe, Lamar played 29 minutes, Bynum 26, Fisher 27)
Game 4 - 11 point Lakers win (both Pau and Bynum missing)

So the series was 3-1, the one Jazz win was during the early part of the season. The Lakers were not a very good team then...they were only playing .500 ball at the time. Since then (November), the Lakers have only lost 17 games.

B. Millsap, Korver and Harpring are players I like. But the Utah bench ends there I believe. Beyond those 3 Lakers, you have Ronny Turiaf, Trevor Ariza and Chris Mihm. These 3 extra guys give very good minutes.

The Lakers will also possibly have Bynum coming off the bench.

I think the turning point this year was when Fisher was booed in Utah, ever since then, the Lakers have made it a point to beat the Jazz "It's personal now" was what Kobe said. Similar to how DWill will always make the Jazz own the Hornets.

The Utah bench does not end there. We don't play him and there's no way he stays this summer, but CJ miles is going to be a star in this league. If one of our SG's got hurt he would fill in without missing a beat.

Turiaf is awesome. but he's only played 3 minutes so far in this postseason. Chris Mihm's always sucked, but his career is pretty much over at this point. Ariza is injured, has been for some time and I haven't heard that he's going to be back. Yesterday Phil said Bynum would be coming off the bench IF he were to come back, but he's not expecting him to come back.

Injured players do not equal depth. You need to take the Laker goggles off and get out of the forest if you're going to throw Chris Mihm and two injured guys at me to claim your team is deeper than Utah.

Also, I'm sorry our one win doesn't count because you were playing bad at the time. In fact, we were too, but like I said, the regular season results mean nothing to me.

TampaDude

04-24-2008, 05:07 PM

I think I should bump the "The Blazers will win the 2008 NBA Championship" thread again.

:lmao

Allanon

04-24-2008, 05:19 PM

Turiaf is awesome. but he's only played 3 minutes so far in this postseason. Chris Mihm's always sucked, but his career is pretty much over at this point. Ariza is injured, has been for some time and I haven't heard that he's going to be back. Yesterday Phil said Bynum would be coming off the bench IF he were to come back, but he's not expecting him to come back.

Injured players do not equal depth. You need to take the Laker goggles off and get out of the forest if you're going to throw Chris Mihm and two injured guys at me to claim your team is deeper than Utah.

Also, I'm sorry our one win doesn't count because you were playing bad at the time. In fact, we were too, but like I said, the regular season results mean nothing to me.

CJ Miles I like alot, I don't get why they don't play him.

Bynum will be there for the WCF so I imagine he'll get in at least 2-3 games against the Jazz as a warm-up.

Turiaf currently has the Flu or Bronchitis or something like that. He should be fine in Round 2.

Ariza is coming back in this series against the Nuggets (probably Saturday). Ariza is a bigger version of Raja Bell.

Chris Mihm was actually our starting Center before his injuries. He might be done but it's not for lack of talent...as a scoring Center, he's pretty good. He's been moving well lately and I'd say he' better than Jarron Collins and Fesenko.

Your original win counts, it was an absolute blowout. But I think it is also the catalyst for making the Lakers better this year. It was after that 24 point blowout in Utah that the Lakers decided to wake up.

Thunder Dan

04-24-2008, 05:27 PM

Hmmmmmmmm...... Lacoste and half a bottle of hair gel.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cheese+dick

lol, I don't use hair gel. Actually I don't have any hair right now either

tlongII

04-24-2008, 06:17 PM

What's up with the sneak attacks out of nowhere?

If Detroit is done, fine. Why is it necessary for you to go at the Pistons? Something really bitter and insecure about you, tlong.

I think I should bump the "The Blazers will win the 2008 NBA Championship" thread again.

WTF dude? Why would that make me bitter and insecure? That's just a fact. The Pistons don't play with an edge any more. They haven't since 2005. They had something special going with Larry Brown, but that is over now. Don't shoot the messenger.

21_Blessings

04-24-2008, 06:18 PM

Claiming the Lakers aren't built for the title just screams ignorance. Go back to school, you rube.

tlongII

04-24-2008, 06:19 PM

CJ Miles I like alot, I don't get why they don't play him.

Bynum will be there for the WCF so I imagine he'll get in at least 2-3 games against the Jazz as a warm-up.
Turiaf currently has the Flu or Bronchitis or something like that. He should be fine in Round 2.

Ariza is coming back in this series against the Nuggets (probably Saturday). Ariza is a bigger version of Raja Bell.

Chris Mihm was actually our starting Center before his injuries. He might be done but it's not for lack of talent...as a scoring Center, he's pretty good. He's been moving well lately and I'd say he' better than Jarron Collins and Fesenko.

Your original win counts, it was an absolute blowout. But I think it is also the catalyst for making the Lakers better this year. It was after that 24 point blowout in Utah that the Lakers decided to wake up.

Baloney! My sources tell me that Bynum is unlikely to play in any of the playoffs, regardless of how far the Lakers advance.