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Health, heatlh, health.
If the Lakers stay healthy only the Hornets and Rockets have the talent to compete in the WC.
Lakers are really tough to match up with. Three seven footers in the front court who are all mobile and can score. Kobe the Shooting Guard and Fisher the point. Vujacic is a good sixth.
Rockets could have trouble with their size and with Sasha Vujacic drilling three ptrs. Yao nullified Gasol. Kobe..nobody can shut him down, probably T-Macs or Battier's job. Adleman would probably use Scola and Landry to tage team Odom or just put Artest on him. Fisher? Guess that would fall to Alston.
Spurs would have to put Oberto on Gasol, Duncan on Bynum, and who's gonna guard Odom? Kurt Thomas? T-Park and Ginobili match up well as a pair against Kobe and Fisher.
Mavs? hahahahaha
Ok, I'll try. Erik Dampier the second best center in the league and Diop Tag Team vs Bynum.
Dirk vs Kobe, Fisher vs Kidd , J. Howard vs Odom? Brandon Bass vs Gasol?
That Lakers team is gonna be really tough to beat. Jax is gonna run a triangle offense with a double post threat from Gasol and Bynum while Odom roams the baseline on either side. Kobe will be scoring from all over the place and Fisher just has to get the ball to the right place. Anytime you put a front court of 3 x 7 footers on the court, what are you gonna do to defense them?
Health, heatlh, health.
If the Lakers stay healthy only the Hornets and Rockets have the talent to compete in the WC.
Watching the 2 softest bigs in the league (Pau and Yao) will be horrible to watch.
Last edited by dirk4mvp; 10-04-2008 at 11:02 AM.
Pau Gasol is 1 person
Are you serious?
I'm a Laker guy but you're not giving the Spurs nearly enough credit. Manu is HUGE for your team and not having him at 100% was a crippling blow in the playoffs.
When Manu comes back to a team where players like Udoka and Mason have gotten used to the system faster than normal because of all the minutes available, they will be able to stand up to the Lakers. It would be a huge help if Ian turns out to be a stud.
And to be more on topic, I think Udoka could be put on Odom, he's the best fit(although not a perfect one) to guard Lamar.
The problem for the Spurs is not their Big 3.
It's everyone else. It's been how many years and they still don't have a decent backup for Parker? Finley is 90, Barry left, and the rest of the bench is made up of mostly unproven rookies.
I'm sorry I just don't see the Spurs contending this season. Maybe next year.
The main problem with the Spurs was Manu's health first and foremost.
After that, it was coming off of a 7 game series. Sleeping on a plane before Game 1. Joey Crawford. Joey Crawford seeing foul. Joey Crawford not calling foul. And that was all she wrote.
It had little to do with what the Lakers DID do and a lot to do with what the Spurs DIDN'T do. That said, the Lakers are obviously stronger with Bynum. Somehow, though, I think they will miss that rugged player in Turiaf coming off their bench, even though Bynum is clearly the more talented player.
Rockets match up better on paper, but that is just that... paper. It isn't real life. Maybe if we're playing a video game.
Seriously?
They might not be the best Texas team overall, but Dallas might match up against the Lakers best, even though Kobe has been known to handle Dallas basically by himself.
Dallas has two big, long, bulky centers to combat the Lakers front court in Diop and Dampier. Now, not saying they're great players, but at least that's two big bodies at the center position to contest Bynum and Gasol. They also have multiple athletic wing players with Howard, Stack, George, Wright, Eddie Jones (if he avoids weight room equipment), Green (if he makes the team), Singleton (if he makes the team) to throw at Kobe.
Now, again, that's not to say Dallas is better than the Spurs or Rockets. They probably aren't. But, I think they might match up against the Lakers better than those two.
In typical Phil Jackson manner, the guy just loves big players.
Chris Mihm is also a 7 footer
Radmanovich is 6-10"
Josh Powell is 6'9
Ariza is 6'8"
Luke Walton 6'8"
Didier Ilunga-Mbenga 7'0"
C.J. Giles 6'10"
For cryin out loud, they got five 7 footers on their squad.
Even their guards are big.
Kobe 6-6"
Fisher 6-1"
Sasha 6-7"
Farmar 6-2"
Bradon Heath 6'4"
Joe Crawford 6'5"
Dwayne Mitc 6'5"
Sun Yue 6'9"
Coby Karl 6'5"
Just sayin, that Lakers team is really big.
Being tall helps, but sure isn't everything. See Chris Paul.
Are you kidding? The front court of Bynum, Odem, and Gasol would eat up the Dallas front court in a heartbeat.
The team that matches up with the Lakers the best isn't in Texas.
Might be true, but they'd eat up Houston's frontcourt and San Antonio's frontcourt even more. Isn't that the point of the question, to compare among the three Texas teams?
Yao is slow and the only size Houston has upfront. Their back-ups are 6-9 and shorter.
Tim Duncan is the entire front court for the Spurs. Kurt Thomas does a decent job against stronger players like Shaq at times. But, now it's not just size and strength, but youth and athleticism to boot. Kurt Thomas is still only 6-9 and about 230.
The question is which among the three Texas teams match up "best" against the Lakers. I'm not saying Dallas will do well against the Lakers. Dallas still might not be able to handle them. But, I think they match up "best" among the three teams from Texas.
Last edited by JamStone; 10-04-2008 at 01:40 PM.
i think the rockets match up the best.
yeah, sizewise, the Blazers match up well with the Lakers. Front court talentwise, I think the Rockets can more than hold their own against the Lakers. As for the Spurs, the Lakers cannot defend Duncan. They can however use their size to abuse Bruce Bowen or Kurt Thomas. Spurs will be playing a lot of smallball.
The Rockets for sure.As of recently, the Rockets have beaten the Lakers on their floor more than the other two teams.
Haven't played LA with Gasol, so let's give that some time. Plus Bynum wasn't nearly the player in the first game of the season as he was later on.
Yup and Lakers vs Rockets + Artest for this year. I can't wait to see these two teams play each other.
All the Texas teams have questions to answer going into the season. I would say Rockets but that's just on paper. I'll get back to you in about 2 months.
i love how fernandez, oden and bayless are all rookies, if they're starting it will be funny for about 2 yrs.
You honestly think the blazers match up anywhere close to the lakers.
I like Oden but Bynum will on him, no offense.
rockets
bynum vs yao
pau vs scola
odom vs tmac
artest vs kobe
alston vs d fish
I would say the Mavs for their 2 big bodies, but i dont see them playing Diop and Dampier at the same time, that would be playin 3 on 5 on O. It could work for short stretches because Dampier can at least finish around the rim.
Diop - Bynum
Dampier - Gasol
Dirk - Odom
Howard - Kobe
Kidd - Fisher
I dont think they could afford to play thay line up too long.....
At some point they would have to put Dirk on Gasol, and have the Diop/Damp combo on Bynum which is a tough one to deal with.
Diop/Damn - Bynum
Dirk - Gasol
Howard - Odom
Kidd - Kobe
Terry - Fisher
An injury-free Horry would have been a good option to throw at Gasol but now id say the Spurs would go with Thomas and Oberto on Gasol and Duncan at Bynum.
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