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Meh, they looked like in the regular season last year as well, particularly after the ASB..
LOL Losing to the Bron-Brons
LOL Losing to the deers
LOL losing four straight to start the season
LOL thinking that they're still the top team in the West even if their record says otherwise
LOL Kobe thinking he's 25
LOL thinking that this soft team is headed to the Finals
LOLOLOLOL
Meh, they looked like in the regular season last year as well, particularly after the ASB..
They didn't look this bad last season. And oh, the Mavs and Spurs look terrible at this point last year.
I don't know why everyone keeps comparing this team to last year's Lakers team?
"Oh, they were cruising last year, too. What makes you think this year is any different?" is what we keep hearing from Lakers apologists.
The difference? No one was a threat last year in the West. The Lakers would go through stretches where they would drop a few games, but they ran out to such a commanding lead in the first half of the season, those mediocre stretches didn't impact the overall standings all that much. The Lakers essentially had the West wrapped up by the ASB, so there was nothing to do in the second half but cruise.
The season is unfolding much differently this year. They are 5 games back, currently occupying the 4 seed. You don't think the Lakers on a quest for a 3 peat don't want at least the 2nd seed? They can't afford to be lax this year like they could last year.
They're not cruising; they're not bored. They are simply a "good" team right now and not a championship team. They might figure it out, they might not, but to simply declare the Lakers the favorite on the basis of what they did the last two years is illogical.
Mid once again with the goods. TBH, Pau looks really content out there. Not sure, but the fire and intensity aren't there anymore. In fairness to Kobe, he wanted this win bad. Sadly, there were two guys who are better than him this game: Wade and Lebron.
It's scary seeing how Wade and Lebron took turns ting on Kobe's plate.
Excellent post.
I'll continue to consider them the favorites, regardless of how the regular season plays out (barring a significant injury; obviously, if Bynum is out, they're no longer favorites). But I've been saying in recent weeks, why is it just a given every time they're on top? In '08, when they acquired Gasol and seemingly couldn't lose, did anyone go "the Spurs are the defending champs and as such, deserve the respect afforded to champions"? No. They damn near instantly proclaimed the Lakers the team to beat in the West. So, at what point does what the Spurs and Mavs (even though I believe they lack the go-to perimeter scorer needed to win the championship) are doing supersede the Lakers being the two-time defending champs?
I'm fairly certain that the Spurs have the best regular season record and point differential in the calendar year. I realize they were swept in the 2nd round of the playoffs, but those are two fairly telling stats. I could see if a young, unproven team like the Thunder accomplished those things, but this is a team with a proven championship core.
You don't have to consider them the favorites because of this, but this notion that "if the Lakers aren't at their best, they could be beat" is outdated. This season, people need to start looking at it like, even if they're at their best, there's a legit possibility that they could be beat.
It's not going to be, the Lakers just show up and cruise. Their stiffest compe ion is (for now) healthy and it isn't some severely undersized team or a team always on the verge of self destruction and it isn't on a Cinderella run.
If everyone is beating them, they are obviously the team to beat. It's like saying "she's the to ". You wouldn't say that about a prude who never gave up the poon.
Seriously though, defending champs are always the team to beat.
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142814
Same different day
i think they lost something like 6 out of 8 to finish out the season. i think they even almost set themselves up to play the spurs in the first round by losing to a crap blazers team without roy, but all the other factors and tie breakers left the thunder for round one. kobe had to get his knee drained just to survive a thunder team with no inside prescenece.
No they didn'tyou are so in dumb.
I hope you're right, I'm so f'n tired of Kobe & Phil's smug mugging. I wanna see tears!
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basket...7404357.column
So, as bad as the Lakers looked, with the Heat walking on them in a 96-80 rout, that doesn't mean it's time to start worrying.
It was time to start worrying a week or two ago, with San Antonio and Dallas showing they weren't the same old Spurs and Mavericks.
For the Lakers, who dominated the West for three seasons, spending 34 days out of first place in the last two, it's a whole new deal.
In 2007-08, the second-best team in the West was the overachieving New Orleans Hornets.
In 2008-09, the second-best team was the volatile Denver Nuggets.
Last season, the second-best team was the reborn Phoenix Suns.
At this point, the Spurs and Mavericks are bigger, deeper — and better — than any Lakers challenger over that span.
Didn't the Lakers finish at the top of the conference last year, like 5 games or more on Dallas or something stupid like that?
Lakers didn't look this bad last year. They have a lot of work to do to improve to the point of becoming one of the "favorites" this season. But it's still pretty early in the season and there is enough time and enough regular season games for them to get there. Whether they will is something we'll just have to wait and see. However, I do agree that defending championship teams that haven't lost key players (e.g. the 1998-99 Chicago Bulls) should be given the benefit of the doubt. And back-to-back champions should probably be given even more.
On a sidenote, if you truly believe the Lakers have fallen off and are no longer a threat, stop talking about them. Stop making threads about them.
Just because they are no longer a threat doesn't mean it's no longer fun to remind them of it.
I pretty much agree with this sentiment..
If I had to bet my $ on a team winning the West, I would still take the Lakers, but it has absolutely nothing to do with how they have played this year..they don't look like a contender..however, they get respect from being the defending, 2-time champions, and they still have arguably the best roster, at least on paper..
I completely disagree with anybody saying they're coasting, and they clearly don't look as good as they have in the past few seasons..
The Lakers lack of athleticism/quickness has been a glaring weakness this season, and their main players must be fatigued from playing so much basketball the last few years..
They should definitely be given the benefit of the doubt, but they may have more question marks on that team than any other contender..
Bynum's health
Artest's shot and defense
Will Gasol man up, and how tired will he be
Barnes
Blake is usually garbage in the playoffs
They looked like last preseason, even in April. Then factor in those 7 Kobe game winners and they could have been battling for the 6 seed.
The Lakers were clearly coasting to the start the season and they were still killing people with minimal effort. Streaky shooting, Pau's fatigue (Phil's fault here) and the lack of a functional Bynum caught up with them but doesn't mean in the grand scheme of things. This team has a well defined iden y with absolutely nothing to prove to anyone.
The only time the Lakers gave a about the regular season since the year 2000 was after the 39 pt game 6 massacre for more than obvious reasons. And even then, they coasted for the most part of that season and only showed for the statement games.
Defending champs, and should I add REPEAT champions and 3-time Finalists, earn the right to slack off a bit in the regular season.
If the Lakers are still playing like this coming into the playoffs then I think the criticisms are warranted. Bottom line, Lakers got trashed by the Cavs last XMAS and look what happened.
Spurs fans are being remarkably short-sided for a fanbase that preaches SPAM.
16-12 after ASB w/ 5 double digit losses..No they didn't
True, however, who in the West challenged the Lakers last year? This year you have Dallas and San Antonio playing unbelievable basketball, and if the Lakers keep playing like , then the Mavs and Spurs will run off with the first and second seeds. Would you rather the Lakers NOT have homecourt throughout?
Who is claiming? Media/Spurs/Mavs/Heat fans apparently.
That's irrelevant since the Lakers didn't play the Cavs in the Finals.
What does short-sided mean?
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