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Good point, I dont see LA being able to acquire Salmons though. As for San Antonio, or perhaps another team in the West needing a big(Denver), anythings possible.
Bynum was the cherry on top, icing on the cake. The core of the Lakers is still very much intact and now they have a healthy Trevor Ariza as well.
If Bynum can make it back in 8 weeks I am very hopeful the Lakers will be fine for the playoffs. I do believe they will need him against SAS though, I'm not sure they get past the Spurs this season without him.
Good point, I dont see LA being able to acquire Salmons though. As for San Antonio, or perhaps another team in the West needing a big(Denver), anythings possible.
tbh, i think a healthy blazers team can be very very dangerous in playoff.
Lakers slight favorite over spurs ...but i can see the argument the other way as well ...but we no worse than 2nd ...
that is a gREAT point bynum was overrated ...bust etc. Now he is the reason the Lakers cant win gotta love it ...
It's not the Blazers.
LA by a small margin - but if I'm a Lakerfan, I'm very disappointed Bynum is down once again right as LA starts to get into the thick of things.
As a homer, i think without Bynum spurs take LA in 6.
the in' lakers
Bynum was a big problem for the Spurs, without him and with a healthy Manu things are quite even now.
Tho... Odem is still much better than any of our bigs minus Duncan, so they still have a clear advantage there.
Lake Show are still the favorites.
tlong, how about the Blazers a.) finish over .500, and b.) make the playoffs with this current group before you coronate them. Second round of the playoffs/backdoor trip to the WCF a la Utah in '07 would be a success for Portland this year.
blazers are crap
Blazers are way too young to scare anyone in the playoffs. I can see them winning a playoff series though.
30-17 with our schedule to date is definitely NOT crap! We are for real and our opportunity HAS ARRIVED!
darius miles says no
not the blazers.
Blazers defence is too bad to carry them too far in the play-offs.
I say the Lakers, by a much smaller margin. But Bynum will be ready for the playoffs.
still the lakers mann...yall act like bynum is out for the season. he'll be back when the playoff starts.
L.A. es!
Ariza>>Mason
EA
If Manu plays like he has been the last few games, the Lakers and their fans are going to be very sad come May ..
Mason shows up or not, Manu is still too good for a single defender, only a tough team defense is going to stall him much - and the Lakers don't exactly have that. Right as Bynum is doing well, he goes down and any chance of developing that good Team D chemistry is going to be gone. Even if he plays in the PO, the Lakers' softness on D is going to be their downfall.
Manu is ing unstoppable still ..in the last three games, he's scored and got to the paint at will on Stephen Jackson, James Posey, and AK47 ..
I think it's Spurs or Lakers... Whoever gets there in better overall shape, both physically and mentally. The only reason I see one of them falling short is some injury.
The Hornets are going to be a tough matchup if CP3 and Chandler come back in good shape and West works out his slump. They can be hard to beat in their home court.
After that, I would say Denver upgraded nicely with Chauncey and they might actually make the 2nd round this time around, depending on the matchups.
The rest are playoff fodder at this point. The Mavs seem to show signs of life, but you have to wonder if JHo will stay interested for long. Portland has a decent coach, and Roy is fairly good, but even then they basically have next to none playoff experience. It's going to take a while for them to learn the ropes. Utah depends on Boozer, but other than wearing out the opponent for the next round, I don't see them with a lot left in the tank. And finally Houston... TMac seems uninterested when he's not actually injured... Yao actually cares when he's not injured... And Artest can be a great defender and an offensive blackhole at the same time. I don't think Adelman really got the pulse of that team yet, and that says a lot.
Like the 9 points he torched the Lakers for last week? Manu is the definition of streaky - he's good for 1-2 or big games in a 7 game series but that's about it. Meanwhile, the Spurs still have nobody that can guard Kobe. He raped the out the Spurs last post-season with a fractured pinky finger. Expect the same again.If Manu plays like he has been the last few games, the Lakers and their fans are going to be very sad come May ..
Mason shows up or not, Manu is still too good for a single defender, only a tough team defense is going to stall him much - and the Lakers don't exactly have that. Right as Bynum is doing well, he goes down and any chance of developing that good Team D chemistry is going to be gone. Even if he plays in the PO, the Lakers' softness on D is going to be their downfall.
Manu is ing unstoppable still ..
Other than that, Ariza is 10 times the defender Sasha is. He even has the ability to annoy Parker with his length. His versatility brings more than anything Bonner, Hill or Mason gives the Spurs, that much is for sure.
Lakers in 5, again, without Bynum
Except Bynum will be back for the playoffs this time. Suckers.
Assuming Bynum comes back in 8 weeks it really won't matter what any team in the WC does. The Lakers should advance to the Finals. Nobody in the WC has the coaching, talent, depth, and size to match LAL.
Lakers are probably better than the Spurs even without Bynum. People act like a BIG reason why the lakers were successful is because of Bynum, I really don't think it is. He's just a luxury that puts them over the top, but they're still elite without him. They need him to compete with Cleveland Boston and Orlando, but not to stay ahead of teams like the Spurs/Nuggets.
The Spurs and Lakers are about even defensively but the Lakers are a MUCH better offensive team, there's your difference. The Spurs trademark was being the premier defensive team in the league, they no longer are. Orlando, Cleveland, and Boston are clearly better defensively and LA and HOuston are right there w/ the Spurs.
The Spurs aren't looking as good lately as some Spurs fans would like to believe. they've beaten some good teams, but 2 of them were battling injuries and aren't that great to begin with and the Suns are simply mediocre. Then tonight they had a close call with the Warriors.
They're still just 4 games removed from getting blown out in Staples, yet some think the last 4 games should suggest the Spurs are right there with the Lakers?
So with all that being said, the Lakers IMO are still the favorites in the West.
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