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hey i dont like houston either there trying to take over texas as the best team while the spurs havent even gave up that le
you get my screename ha
but i see houston getting out the second round and playing us and murdering the rocekts
Everyone gets a beat down now and then! Houston is soft as butter, TMac is never gonna go anywhere he has no love for the game. Artest thinks hes the best player on the team an jacks up all kinds of trash, and Yao will suffer when they get everybody back.
Im not sure Houston doesnt make a move before the deadline, I can see looking to deal Artest or Tmac. I heard a rumor on a talk show were I live that Houston was talking to Mil about Redd and Alexander for Artest, Alston and picks and cash.
hey i dont like houston either there trying to take over texas as the best team while the spurs havent even gave up that le
you get my screename ha
but i see houston getting out the second round and playing us and murdering the rocekts
meanwhile, bynum has 36 and 12 midway through the third on the road . . .
LA writers are so amusingly y. The stuff I read pre-Finals last season still makes me smile.
Anyway, if "healthy Houston" wasn't an oxymoron, the Rockets would be the worst matchup possible for the Lakers. I'd favour the Rockets to beat LA with or without HCA in 6 games or less. The Spurs can beat them: they have 3 players who can score 20+ points, 3 wing defenders to throw at Kobe, 4 legit rotational bigs, including 2 good post defenders, better rebounding, too many firepower in the wings for the Lakers too defend and are competent reversing the ball. The Hornets are too heavily reliant on Paul, don't have a defensive stopper and lack big men depth. No chance, unless they get incredibly lucky.
how the heck is it on the road they play in there same building lol
and more of the fans are laker fans anyways
A frontline of DeAndre Jordan, Brian Skinner and Steve Novak is something for the ages.
bynum with 42 and 15 on the road--wait until he gets his legs back!
Bynum's a good scorer, but that's completely irrelevant..I'd rather have the ball in his hands, as opposed to Kobe or Gasol, so his scoring doesn't bother me..
he's an insignificant rebounder and defender..this game is against a depleted Clippers..
meanwhile..did you see what his counterpart Deandre Jordan(LOL) did?..ya..
The lakers are the only team that beats the lakers. In the west that is.
The Lakers play 43 home games per season while the Clippers only play 39.
With Bruce Bowen's having lost a step defensively, and with the sorry state of the Spurs' frontcourt, the prospect of beating the Lakers in a playoff series is dim. I don't see the Spurs winning a majority of games against good teams when scores are in the 110's.
Spurs,Hornets,Cleveland
The Spurs are not a threat at all to a healthy Laker team.
The spurs may not even get past NO this year if they face them first. The Hornets will have added hunger after blowing it last year and with last years playoff experience they will be more battle tested.
The Spurs need more front court help and getting anyone for what they are willing to trade won't be any type of difference maker.
The conversation continues.
Why the Spurs Are the Most Dangerous Team in the West
By Andrew Katz
Even if there are six teams in the West playing plus-.600 ball right now, it’s really just a two-horse race. You’ve got the 32-8 Lakers who have obviously put together the best first half of anyone in their conference bar none. And you’ve got the one team capable of knocking off L.A.: the Spurs.
It’s not just that San Antone edged the Lakers in their first meeting this season 112-111 on that crafty Roger Mason, Jr. leaning 20-footer, in which he drew a foul on Derek Fisher. It’s that the Spurs are really the only team who are capable of, and know how to stop the triangle offense.
That’s step one in the Beat L.A. Blueprint. ESPN Analyst/Kevin Martin’s basketball guru/IMG Academy basketball genius David Thorpe and the guys at Forum Blue & Gold point out a couple key moves to beating the Lakers:
* Keep the Triangle on one side of the floor.
The Celtics did this in the Finals last year, preventing the ball from rotating to the weakside.
Like Boston, San Antonio plays superb team defense. (Editor’s Note: Thanks to Ranger John, we realized the stats previously mentioned here were from a previous season… But the point still holds true that they play great team D. The Spurs are leading the League in defensive rebounding percentage at 77.6%, which measures how many defensive boards they grab out of the total rebounds possible. They also give up the fewest free throws per night of any team on a per game basis. Overall, they’re ranked fifth in total defense in the NBA.)Yes-forcing the triangle to stay on one side of the floor is always a smart plan defensively. It helps define help positions while allowing those helpers to stay more stationary, as opposed to moving from help to strong side positions. In short-it allows players to know with more alacrity that they are the helpers on a particular possession. So it ends up bottling Kobe and Pau on slashes/cuts to the paint, as helpers are already there.
* Keep the ball out of Bynum/Gasol’s hands
This isn’t just because of what Bynum did last night. It’s because the Triangle runs through the big fellas. Kobe’s going to get his no matter what, so it’s almost a better idea to force him into taking a ton of shots, while keeping him off the stripe as best possible.
In their only matchup, San Antonio didn’t do a great job keeping L.A.’s twin towers from scoring, but they did hold them to a total of eight rebounds combined.
* Don’t turn the ball over against L.A.’s bench
Phil’s energy guys really like to get out and run. It’s never a good idea to turn the ball over, but L.A.’s second line will really make teams pay. San Antonio is best in the NBA right now, turning the ball over only 12 times per night.
* Pull L.A.’s bigs away from the basket
Tim Duncan’s 18-foot bank shot forces either Bynum or Gasol to stay with him wherever he goes on the floor. But it’s not just TD’s jumpshooting that could pull L.A.’s bigs away from the rim, thereby making their defense incredibly vulnerable. When Fab Oberto plays, Popovich likes to use him to run pick-and-rolls out by the three-point line. With Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker able to knock down a 20-footer consistently, the guy guarding Oberto has to help and hedge on the perimeter.
Do you think this blueprint works to beat L.A.?
Yeah, Tim Duncan has no compe ive fire at all. And Manu Ginobili? That guy's so full of success that he just rolls over and refuses to compete when it matters most.
Since when was allowing a depleted Laker team to score 111 pts stopping the triangle?
Chill out folks, it's still only Jan. These debates will actually be worthwhile in May.
FTL!!!
Now, that that is taken care of...
Every team is a threat in the NBA. Whoever the Lakers will face will be a challenger. They are currently seeded #1 and have that pretty little bullseye on their backsides. If you need proof, look at Golden State vs. Dallas in '07 I think it was.
The Spurs are talented enough to beat LA if the big 3 and key complimentary players are all 100%.
I'd love to see an athletic big man emerge for SA. All he'd have to do is rebound and defend...scoring not necessary. If such a player was in place I'd feel really good about their chances of beating LA. I was holding out hope for Ian to be that guy but it doesn't appear that is to be this year.
With the current group it will all boil down to who's hot and who's healthy when the playoffs roll around.
On a side note, I'd love to see NO fall to the 4 seed and play LA in round 2 instead of the Spurs. That series was a killer last year, and likely would be again. The Spurs could easily end up battered and bruised for the 3rd round even if they got past the Hornets. NO would provide the same tough matchup for LA.
I honestly think we're gonna pass Denver. We're already ahead of them now and if we can beat them next week in New Orleans, we have a good chance of getting the tie-breaker. They have a lot of talent, but once we start to involve Julian Wright back in the rotation, he will make our bench stronger with Posey, Daniels, and Hilton Armstrong. Besides, JR Smith is a piece of .
I think it's a bit premature to say what the seeds are going to be, 1-4. Denver might not even hold onto the 4 seed by the time playoffs roll around. However, an injury to NO and they could be a really dangerous 5-7 seed.
But even if we assume the rankings today are how they turn out....
1. LA vs. 8. Phoenix - Wow, talk about a horrible 1st round matchup for LA. Shaq will do a lot of damage, and the Lakers would probably need 6 games to knock out Phoenix.
2. SA vs. 7. Utah - Ugh. Horrible 1st round for the Spurs. It would be a gritty 6 game series unless we steal the first two. Lots of pounding on our ballhandlers via AK and Boozer.
3. NO vs. 6. Portland - Is this a lock? I mean, I'd have to go with NO in 6, but this is a series that could be upset. If Portland steals an early game and manages to take a little confidence from the Hornets...
4. Denver vs. 5. Houston - I'd take Houston, if healthy, to be honest. I realize that Billups is about 8 million times the clutch player that McGrady is, but I think I'd have to take this as the "upset" of round 1.
What happens if Houston falls to #6? I think they'd be a much worse matchup for NO than Portland. They could play intermittent zone and let Yao continually clog the paint and shut down the lob passes by Paul.
I think, as deep as this West is, a team like Portland or Houston if they get hot is not someone you want any part of during the playoffs. Is LA or SA even completely invulnerable to being knocked off? The 8 seed this year is going to be a of a lot better than the Warriors were when they beat Dallas, who looked unstoppable that season.
horrible matchup? if we play Utah, it's going to be 4-1 or even a sweep..incase you guys forgot, we absolutely OWN the Jazz..
as for LA..if it was up to me, I would hope they play Phoenix or Houston..assuming Amare has turned it around by then, and assuming McGrady has a sex change and turns back into a man..
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