Reply With Quote
Thoughts?
You won't get to see the Lakers in any round !
This was the subject of debate on the show this morning and wanted your feedback.
Let's say that the Spurs Lakers meet each other at some point in the playoffs
Would you rather...
A) Meet them in the WCF Finals. 1 Vs. 2/3 Seed
B) Meet them in the 2nd Round 1 Vs 4/5 Seed
Andy said that anyone that chooses B is an idiot.
Me being the idiot that I am, believe B is not that bad of a choice.
1) Spurs Fresher (They were worn down last year)
2) Bynum still not back yet, less time to working him into rotation (Like Spurs this year.
3) If they lose, I would almost rather them lose in the 2nd round, then tease me with a WCF trip.
Your thoughts?
Thoughts?
You won't get to see the Lakers in any round !
Bynum is going to be back before that (or at least that is what all signs indicate) so that as of now is not looking good for option B. Plus, even without Bynum, they are better than the Spurs as of right now.
If the Spurs can get healthier (which they have showed some signs), get the rotations set (which is too early to tell if Pop is doing more bad than good) and if they can play more minutes (the big 3) along with finding a back up pg situation that is decent, the Spurs are better than the Lakers without Bynum.
This leads me to believe you want to play them later. So option A is my choice. The Spurs need time to gel/get healthy, so why play the Lakers in the 2nd round?
I would chose A based on reverse thinking.
The Lakers are not the most freshest team right now in the NBA. I hear reports that fatigue and tired legs are showing in Kobe/Fisher/ and Gasol already. If the Lakers were to make it all the way to the WCF's whos to say THEY wont be the tired legs?
Pop has been rotating his players and handling their minutes really well that come playoff time they would be fresh for every round. Last year wasnt the case of "tired legs" more of older legs if you ask me.
That being said Choice A would be my pick due to the importance of the matchup and what is at stake.
spork killer. You are very funny, dumber than funny, but very funny
As a Laker fan I definitely prefer A
- Bynum has more time to get into a groove.
- LA would actually have more rest because most of the West is evenly matched up besides against LA. I don't expect any of the first 2 rounds to go past 5 for LA (Dallas may give up in 3) so LA will have plenty of downtime between series. OTOH, no other team in the West is going to easily take out anywhere else.
B is the selection of my choice...
Why? we have never defeated them on the WCF...
One thing you might not be considering is that with the way the Spurs look right now, if they make it to WCF, that means they are probably healthy (because they won't make it that far unless they are), they are playing extremely well (like you said having to go through 2 tough match-ups) and will be extremely focused from having to play at a high-level.
All depends if the team airplane can get off the ground.
The Spurs being healthy doesn't worry me. The issue with SA isn't healthy alone its age as well as matchups.
Even if healthy,
- they aren't nearly as athletic as prior versions
- still have no answer for Gasol/Bynum inside
- can't effectively keep Kobe away from the basket
- Parker can't score on Ariza or Kobe
- SA can't play the lockdown physical perimeter D and grind the game out like before
- SA no longer gets easy baskets outside of TP's one-man break.
SA is going to have to beat LA in an offensive game to knock them out and no team can do that in a 7-game series. Key to beating the Lakers is making it a grind-out physical game that jams up the tri and forces LA to their 3rd and 4th choices on offense. Boston did that last year and to a degree this season, SA used to do that in the past, but this year neither SA nor Cleveland matches up to do that.
True...that's one thing the Phoenix Suns need not worry about this year!
There we go again with another Laker fan thinking they're going to tear through rounds, and thinking no one's even close to them. This is setting Laker fan up for a first round loss. And who WOULDN'T laugh at such a thing? And let me remind you. Your team was better last year...our team is better this year. This is a totally different season Laker fan. See you in the playoffs.
I'd rather A..
Kobe looks like right now..did you guys think about that? he's coming off a LONG playoff run last year, followed by the long Olympic run, and now he's going through another long season in which the Lakers are expected to make it to at least the conference finals..he's also playing through a hand injury..
if he continues to look bad, it might very well be due to fatigue..
- playoff Duncan has already proven he can stop Gasol..Duncan has never had problems with Gasol in his career..a few of the games in the series last year were pretty much the only time Gasol has ever contained Duncan..
as good as Gasol is..he's putting in major minutes without Bynum..there's a very legit possibility that this will put it's toll on his body..
- I'll take my chances with Bynum..it took him until January to finally play at a high level..he's going to be coming off an injury with little chemistry with the team..it always takes bigs longer to re-adjust, especially when they're cautious after their 2nd major injury in consecutive seasons..
Bynum has to play the defensive anchor and rebound..he didn't do that for most of the season, which had Laker fans complaining..if Bynum comes out as a scorer, I don't mind at all..anything to take the ball away from Kobe and Gasol is fine with me..
- Ariza might be able to defend Parker effectively, but Kobe? no chance..Kobe would get torched by TP..
Kobe covering Manu would be even better..if Kobe has to put in so much energy defensively, the better for us..
- our D has been the best in the NBA for the last month and a half..
Hmm.......hard to choose...I don't think the Spurs would be favored either choice; the Lakers, as a collective, seem to be the better team at this point even worn down and they will be getting Bynum back which will give them a boost. I would tend to lean towards A because hopefully the Spurs will be healthy, playing at full strength and more consistently.
Lakers: 2 allstar caliber players
Spurs: 3 allstar caliber players
I'd probably go with B. since Pop needs more time to solidify his rotations, I can't figure out what he's trying to do from game to game. But if the issue was strictly health we may want to get them over with sooner than later. I still see the Spurs as the underdog until I am proven otherwise.
We'll see indeed.
But its all about matchups. SA/NO is a war - especially if both teams are healthy. LA vs Dallas? Even when LA was struggling to make the playoffs, they would kick Dallas' ass. Now with a Laker team fully loaded they are going out in Round 1? Please. This isn't GS vs Dal - where GS had Dallas' number and coach. Denver was a tougher matchup for LA last year than Dallas is this year and we saw how that ended up.
Not only is LA have the 2nd best record in the league (playing in a tougher conference) but they have the best road record in the league (27-10) - a sign of a championship level ball club. I just can't see this team with Bynum and Ariza healthy losing 2 in a row on the road.
I also don't see a team in the first 2 rounds with a strong enough road record to take them out either. The only other team in the West thats comfortably over .500 is SA. The rest of the playoff teams are no better than 2 above .500, some are even below. Yet they are going to push LA in Staples? Please.
LA cruises to the WCF. If SA is able to get there and they aren't too wore out, it may be a good series. Anyone else and its no contest except I'd give a nod to Chris Paul. He's the only player in the West (Spurs included) who can beat the Lakers by himself. SA's Big 3 does it with teamwork and are a better team but Paul is a Laker Killer. He wills the Hornets above their ability - especially against LA.
LOL. Considering Kobe may be just as good as Parker and Ginobili combined, I'd call it a draw.
Also, come WCF time Bynum would have almost 2 months under his belt. He should be rolling by then.
I definitely have to agree that LA getting Dallas in the 1st round would be horrible for the rest of the West..
I'm hoping the Hornets fall to 8th..
This speculation is interesting but I come back to: it's entirely possible that the Spurs/Lakers won't even meet in the playoffs. Lakers appear unbeatable in the West, the Spurs are the Spurs but anything can happen.......things, as they appear, aren't always a given.
at 2Cleva thinking that Kobe on TP is the answer... if he does that.. will Sasha stop a healthy Manu?
Odom maybe.. i dunno how skilled he is defensively but the fluke you saw last year of a one legged Ginobili being stopped by a scrub is not what will happen if we get to play y'all healthy...
Kobe will guard Manu... and TP will Fisher as never before... TP is the key for that series if we;re going to win it..
it has been way too long with Gasol having great games against Duncan... that tendency is about to get stopped... Bynum could get a handsful with an experienced Thomas...
The only place where I see us failing to match up is against Ariza... unless Sue and Morrison suddenly become playoff contributors...
Damn i have agr8 feeling about that series now that i thought about it again... ofcourse considering everybody get their pieces healthy on a potential match up...
I want to see LA vs SA with both teams healthy. I think the best round for that to happen in is the 2nd. SA is going to expand a lot of energy getting to the WCF, because they are a bit older.
it's all irrelevant if we don't get healthy and get some chemistry though, so we'll see..
currently, the Lakers are much better than us..
If Kobe is on Parker, Ariza can guard Ginobili. More than likely it will be the other way around though. No worries for me either way.
Check every 2nd half for Parker against LA over the last 2 years and you know how any playoff matchups will end up. He might as sit with Eva because they will both be contributing just as much.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
