What team got swept in the first round?Says the fan of the team that got swept in the first round.
It wasn't the Spurs!!
And again...it was the first time they lost in the first round of the playoffs in 9 years.
Remember the Lakers lost the 1st round twice in the middle part of the decade.
Nice try!!
WERD...and don't forget, it was actually only 2/3 of the Spurs this year...What team got swept in the first round?
It wasn't the Spurs!!
And again...it was the first time they lost in the first round of the playoffs in 9 years.
Remember the Lakers lost the 1st round twice in the middle part of the decade.
Nice try!!
6) TheMachine is broken
That one is True so far. Against the 3 pointing Magic, the Lakers are gonna have to make their 3's as well.
One last shot at Salvation for The Machine.
This Finals is going to be
Lakers is 5. It could go 6 if the Magic shoot well.
lol. Game 1 is sure like that.
The Magic are a year or two away from being true championship contenders. LeBron's supporting cast still sucks too much. The Nuggets are an implosion waiting to happen.
Congrats to Kobe for winning one without Shaq. Congrats to Phil Jackson for ring number 25 or whatever the . And congrats to Laker fans.
Now I feel bad for every mean thing I ever said about the Spurs…Forgive Me?
So the hardest challenge for the Lakers was...?
I reckon the Nuggets - if Denver hadn't have been so dumb as to throw away two games, they might have pulled off the upset.
Not exactly the most glorious le run, but they can't pick who they play against.
A healthy Celtics team probably would have given the Lakers the toughest challenge although the loss of Posey really hurt 'em.
I wouldn't be surprised if we see a Celts/Lakers rematch next year. Furthermore, the Lakers look poised to grab 3 or 4 more les. Spurs certainly aren't stopping them, unless something unprecedented happens.
A lot of that is going to depend on what happens with the Odom and Ariza situations this summer. In order to sustain this we need them both IMO.
This was a pretty boring le run. 2007 Spurs-like.
Can we wait for the props UNTIL this series is over guys?
Your team almost got taken out by a team that featured Aaron Brooks as their best player. You have a weird sense of what a non boring le run is.
That's like saying the Celtics almost lost to the Hawks last year. Every game the Lakers won that series, it was by double digits. I was pretty worried when they were tied 2-2 vs Denver though.
And I doubt any Celtic fan considered that boring.
Meh, that's taking it a step too far. Kobe Bryant has a ton of games under his belt (significantly more than TD even) and if he slows just a little bit, the whole entire equation changes. Phil Jackson is also getting pretty damn worn down. If he retires, that's a huge loss. To a lesser degree, Derek Fisher seeing the end of the line will hurt. And to top it off, they'll have a somewhat difficult time keeping all this talent on board without another team being able to jack a piece or two.
They have a shot to reel off a couple in the next few years but there are definitely some obstacles they have to maneuver around.
I have to disagree.
These Lakers are not even at their best yet with a sub-par Bynum. Match this with declining compe ion.
The Best the West could offer this year was Rockets/Nuggets. Best the East could offer was the Orlando Magic. I have no doubt the Lakers probably would have swept the Cavs.
The future of the old powerhouse Mavs/Spurs/Suns is still yet to be determined. Portland still lacks cohesion and experience.
If either Ariza or Odom walks this summer, then sure, things could get real interesting.
Meanwhile, next year's Lakers should be even better than this year's version. If the Lakers can keep Kobe/Pau/Bynum/Odom/Ariza they'll keep winning.
I think it's bad for the NBA, bad for fans and I hope some challengers sprout up. But it is what it is and what it looks like is a multiple championship team right now.
The OKC Thunder will be a contender in a few years. Their future is better than Portland's. IMO Portland's future is overrated.
If the front office can get them some vets, that's a very dangerous team. Kevin Durant in my opinion, is the most unstoppable offensive player in the NBA right now, not LeBron (inconsistent midrange game)
LeBron is still the best overall player in the NBA. But on offense:
1) Durant
2) Kobe
3) Wade
4) Melo
5) Tony Parker
6) LeBron
Agreed about Portland but they need a legit big man to be a contender though. Maybe Thabeet. If they draft PG they should probably look to trade Green for more of a center type.
I'd say you're overrating Durant by alot here. He hasn't proven to have the ability to create shots for his teammates like Kobe, Wade and Lebron do. He's just a skinnier, less physical version of Melo at this point.
Agreed he can't create shots for his teammates.
I'm just talking about pure offense for himself.
I don't think there's a defender out there that can stop Durant from scoring.
Melo is a pure scorer as well, but he's not lightning quick (for a 6'9 guy) like Durant and Durant has better range than Melo. Melo is money mid-range on in, Durant is 5 feet beyond 3 point deadly.
I think Durant's shot is a lot better than Melo's
They're probably drafting Harden which makes sense. They have a 6'10" player from Congo coming over next year who will probably play center if he bulks up.
Keep in mind they could have two top 10 picks in next year's draft which everyone is saying is a great class. I agree they desperately need a center but they've got tons of assets.
There's no sign of Kobe slowing down - quite the opposite, really. If anything, he can afford to take it easier with the stacked lineup the Lakers have now.
Fischer is probably the weakest link, and I don't think he's going to be that difficult to replace.
Phil wants to deliver a hearty "FU" to the legacy of Red Auerbach, so I can see him sticking around to rack up some more les.
The Gasol trade changed everything and tilted things so much in the Lakers favor it's hard to imagine them only getting one or two rings out of this deal. I wish it wasn't so, but this is going to be an epic Laker run. Look at the trajectory of the Gasol deal: the first year Gasol was donated to the Lakers, they went from being second-round cannon fodder to championship contenders. Second year, champions. Third year, fourth year...
Lakers could lose Ariza and still be contenders IMO.
Odom is MUCH more important than Ariza too. Some say it as if losing one or the other would be equally bad, losing Odom would be much worse.
Stats dont lie!
The Lakers are still contenders without Odom as well.
But heres the fact, Ariza goes out and guards the best perimeter player on the other team night in and night out. There is no stat for that. He's only 23, so room for improvement. Odom will be 30 soon and is known for ty work ethic.
Losing Ariza will hurt more because that forces Phil to start Luke Walton, play Sasha more minutes and leaves Kobe to do more work on the defensive end which will hurt his offense.
Losing Odom will hurt the bench but with Bynum healthy next season, you don't lose as much since his minutes would increase.
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