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Fixed.
And no LA isn't better than last year but they still remain as the top contenders IMO.
09 Kobe > 10 Kobe
09 Gasol = 10 Gasol
09 Ariza = 10 Artest
09 Odom > 10 Odom
09 Fisher > 10 Fisher
09 Farmar ?=? 10 Farmar
09 Walton ?=? 10 Walton
09 Vujacic ?=? 10 Vujacic
09 Bynum ?<? 10 Bynum
I just don't see the improvement, I just don't see what all the fuss is about
Odom won't match his contract year production
Artest won't help the team anymore than Ariza did
Fisher continues to fade, and he was vital to their success last year
Kobe is no spring chicken, he's still great, but has played his best basketball already
the only way they improve is if Bynum becomes a dominant force.
meanwhile, we will be better at every single spot down the depth chart except for TP this coming year.
Fixed.
And no LA isn't better than last year but they still remain as the top contenders IMO.
who's saying they're better?
they're still the favourites though
Bynum should vastly improve if he can stay healthy.
Improved Bynum (i.e. healthy Bynum)
More minutes for Shannon Brown
Artest > Ariza
One more year of chemistry with the core
The team will be better.
adam morrison will play more, they should be a lock to win it all
Bottom line is they are the champs, and are bringing back essentially the same team, they are the team to beat.
They arent an old team. They now know what it takes to win it all. They will be improved within themselves. Artest >>>>> Ariza.
no doubt, bringing lamar back was huge, i dont think odom will produce like last year, but he makes the lakers a matchup nightmare,
i cant wait to see shannon browns first full year in the system, he has alot of upside, but i honestally dont like the artest addition, i think he takes away from the team chemistry that phil wants to have, ron taking too many shots are not good for the lakers
should be a fun year
After Gasol for nothing
Richard Jefferson = $14,200,000 for the Spurs
Artest + Odom = $ 13,000,000 for the Lakers ????????
I agree with the great Dr. Cox, Shannon Brown does have upside. Odom is damn hard to defend when he decides he feels like playing. But Ron....he's the factor I'm interested in. He has great skills but I can't wait for him to strip the ball from Gasol for an easy layup
09 Kobe > 10 Kobe with all the ref pampering he should at least = 09
09 Gasol = 10 Gasol gotta say he should be better. Why you say =?
09 Ariza = 10 Artest debateable. Remember Artest is being coached by Phil, he might know how to use the mega user Artest. (Kills me to say that, freaking user Artest. Larry Bird must be sick.)
09 Odom > 10 Odom Agree his contract year will show his true candy colors.
09 Fisher > 10 Fisher joke. He'll have (rigged) defenders backing up again to give him clear shots.
09 Farmar ?=? 10 Farmar Oh no Farmar will be better.
09 Walton ?=? 10 Walton Either way better then Finley or Boner.
09 Vujacic ?=? 10 Vujacic Ask a .
09 Bynum ?<? 10 Bynum Byns should be much better. Health.
With the Lakers usual additional lineup of Joey Crawford, Bavetta etc and the new players now knowing how to use such an advantage, its looking good for LA.
Phil J >>>>>> to the googleth power then Popped.
We can hope we don't face LA in the playoffs.
Spurs: Timmy Ds health is #1.
Popamorons lineups #2.
SuperGnobs health #3 (related to how Popped does or does not use him).
haha thanks, like i said it should be fun to watch, they could be even better next year, but i just see artest hurting more than helping that team...but hey we will see in like 90+ days!!! cant wait!
cox out
Only on SpursTalk is a Laker team that kept the same core and added Artest worse than they were last season. You guys will rationalize anything.
on Kobe: no man escapes the aging process, it could be ever so slight, but guards typically start to decline somewhere around 31.09 Kobe > 10 Kobe with all the ref pampering he should at least = 09
09 Gasol = 10 Gasol gotta say he should be better. Why you say =?
09 Ariza = 10 Artest debateable. Remember Artest is being coached by Phil, he might know how to use the mega user Artest. (Kills me to say that, freaking user Artest. Larry Bird must be sick.)
09 Odom > 10 Odom Agree his contract year will show his true candy colors.
09 Fisher > 10 Fisher joke. He'll have (rigged) defenders backing up again to give him clear shots.
09 Farmar ?=? 10 Farmar Oh no Farmar will be better.
09 Walton ?=? 10 Walton Either way better then Finley or Boner.
09 Vujacic ?=? 10 Vujacic Ask a .
09 Bynum ?<? 10 Bynum Byns should be much better. Health.
With the Lakers usual additional lineup of Joey Crawford, Bavetta etc and the new players now knowing how to use such an advantage, its looking good for LA.
Phil J >>>>>> to the googleth power then Popped.
We can hope we don't face LA in the playoffs.
Spurs: Timmy Ds health is #1.
Popamorons lineups #2.
SuperGnobs health #3 (related to how Popped does or does not use him).
on Gasol: how should he be better? he was outstanding last year, and now they have Artest, Gasol will probably see less touches in the paint and he doesn't like that, Gasol gets better the more he gets the ball.
Artest/Ariza: that team is loaded with players that want/need the ball in their hands, Ariza was an outstanding role player on a team that needed good role players, Artest isn't going to catch and shoot 3's at the percentage Ariza did, especially at the erratic frequencies Ariza was called upon, and at this point, Ariza is probably a better defender than Artest.
also I don't see Farmar getting much better, how often do PG's significantly improve their decision-making, court-vision, and overall basketball IQ
Mcdyess will be the X Factor.
We know the Big 3 will perform (if healthy) and RJ is still in his prime...Can Mcdyess still perform at his advanced age??
I'm not going to sit here and claim that Artest on the Lakers knocks them down a peg, but it's my opinion that retaining Ariza would've been better for the team. He should fire his agent.
For Nurse head. You support a powerful team. So do we.
Your Experienced Core is as follows:
Bean
Gasol
Odom
Fisher
Bynum (This is a reach because he's missed large parts of the past 2 seasons, if you're honest with yourself(I know most times you are blinded by P & G Blindness),you'd say he played like in the playoffs and was happy that Odom was there to bail him out).
Artest cannot be placed here as experienced. While he did play for 2 years in Chicago, the head coach at the time was Bill Cartwright. His triangle experience is severely limited. Since Chicago was going through a youth movement, the tri wasn't the offense they implemented. Both seasons Artest was there, that team won about 20 games. Maybe his relationship with LO helps him bridge a gap but the Tri, is not an easy system to understand. If you think it's easy for a player to come in and learn the tri, then ask yourself...why was it hard for a former perennial All-NBA player like Karl Malone to even grasp the workings of it? It's been said that during his year with LAL, the Tri looked more like an oblong. Be prepped, that can happen yet again.
Your Experienced Bench is as follows:
Luke-Great passer, unreliable shooter, as a defender...he's just 1 step higher than Casper The Friendly Ghost.
Sasha-He is pretty much Casper The Friendly Ghost. He can't make shots, He fouls a lot, he's really good a crying. He's not quite the player you guys made him out to be when Ginobili was playing with only 1 good ankle.
Shannon Brown-OK, so the throw-in player with Morrison has some value, great. We'll see if he can keep Parker in front of him. It's unlikely but I will agree that whatever he gives you defensively is better than Turnstile DFish.
Jordan Farmar-You'd think with his type of game, he'd be Parker lite. Only problem though, is the guy doesn't have it mentally. Able to effect a game in both negative and positive ways. A veritable zero when it comes to plus minus stats.
Mbenga, Powell are just roaming Gnomes. Ok not gnomes. They are role players who only play if there is crazy foul trouble or injury. You better hope for foul trouble, because if these guys are counted upon for large periods of time, well...consider the reign over.
Morrison-Something about white guys that lead the NCAA in scoring. They don't translate their game to the NBA very well. Both Re and Morrison were college demi-gods. But in the NBA, they aren't starting material. That may change but probably not. Ammo as you call him, shoots blanks. A lot has to be said about a lottery pick playing Summer League Ball 3 years AFTER he was drafted in the 1st round. Good shooter, crappy defender. So bad that Casper gives him tips.
OK. So the Lakers have a strong team. So do the Spurs. These games aren't played on message boards or on paper, they're played on the court. I haven't seen this type of piss gold bravado since the 3peat years. I can't wait for the Silver & Black to knock the smug off your faces.
Why Are People So Worried About the Lakers??? They Are The Champs until Someone beats Them..... Just Like In 2003 when we ended them goin for a 4 Peat..... The Spurs Made alot more Improvements This Off season then The Lakers...... We dont Need to worry about them.... Let them Worry about Us!
Don't forget, Farmar, Morrison will be in their contract year. they might have a break out season like ariza did to get a new deal! just saying..
and i still have a tiny faith in Vaju that he can bounce back and be productive again.
all in all the lakers still a stacked team and the team to beat.to next year!!
I liked Ariza more than Artest on the Lakers. But, if Mitch feels Artest was the better fit, so bet it.
No way Artest is better than Ariza...
I can't think of anything where Artest would be better than Ariza. Maybe only in certain defensive matchups. But in other 99 categories Ariza is a better player and a teammate.
And yes... Fisher will be a year older. If Brown can step up it maybe won't hurt them that much.
We had finite choices:
Ariza, but no Artest & Odom.
Artest & Odom, but no Ariza.
That's it.
Just thank Christ, Buss acted with extreme prejudice in rushing Ariza out of LA and inking Artest. That left Odom committed...& he did it to himself. Buss just jumped all over it.
There was a reason why the lakers had to reduce their offer to Lamar, according to Ric Bucher, after Dr. Buss found out the projected salary cap numbers dude almost had a heart attack.
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