The Lakers are running through the West and its only December is this good or bad.

[Donkeybong]

we really dont need to make any deals. Farmar is playing solid again and Phil has a good bench rotation going. Only person who needs to step up a little more is Sasha, but recently he's been relegated to garbage time minutes. Things are going good, let's not get greedy.

[ginobili's bald spot]

For starters, he is an idiot; he shoots in his own basket

On top of that, I don't see him fitting in the Lakers's system

Lefty is right. Nate isn't a winner. He's a dumbass. We need a role player, not someone who thinks they are a star.

[The Gemini Method]

Lets not mention that the Fakers have had like a grand total of like 2 road games....or something like that.

And?

Keep pointing to that as a real potential downfall of the Lakers. This isn't the Thunder or some other team that hasn't been to the rodeo before. The Lakers didn't make the schedule nor do they get any advantage for this because in the end they've got to do what all the other teams in the league do, and that's try and win every single game they play. That means playing the remainder of the 41 games on the road with the mentality of winning every single time they step onto the court.

[Mel_13]

Nothing personal NBA.

But the 09/10 Lakers will go down as one of the greatest teams ever. Yes, they're that good.

Enjoy the show.

They may well be, but they have a long road ahead to prove it.

They are certainly the best team in the West by a considerable margin. I don't buy Denver as a serious challenger. Denver's ceiling is a repeat loss in the WCF. George Karl and too many volatile players.

The biggest obstacle between the Lakers and the Finals is an injury to Kobe or injuries to two of Gasol/Bynum/Odom/Artest. They can probably lose one of those last four and still win the West.

[Indazone]

Regular season doesn't produce anything tangible. It's strictly a means to an end. They've got to address some various concerns: Can Yao come back by May? If so, what are they going to do about Brooks in general, and Ariza in particular (on Kobe). Is Affalo in Denver going to be a cyclical problem for Kobe, or, a structural one?

Yao can certainly come back by May but why risk it? Rockets will not be playing Yao anytime this season.

[Culburn369]

They are certainly the best team in the West by a considerable margin. I don't buy Denver as a serious challenger. Denver's ceiling is a repeat loss in the WCF. George Karl and too many volatile players.

The biggest obstacle between the Lakers and the Finals is an injury to Kobe or injuries to two of Gasol/Bynum/Odom/Artest. They can probably lose one of those last four and still win the West.

Affalo worries me. He's in the Lewis Lloyd mold who ain't gonna take any of Kobe's malarkey. You can't stop someone from playing good defense, that is why defense is so sweet (you control it).

Smith worries me as well. He believes in himself, devoutly.

The little kid (name escapes me, I can't hold a thought to save my life) will be playing game 100 by that time, + the pressure of the playoffs will most probably influence him.

Billups is their tangible weak link, as he was in Detroit.

Without Yao, our only obstruction to the Finals is Denver.

[benefactor]

And?

Keep pointing to that as a real potential downfall of the Lakers. This isn't the Thunder or some other team that hasn't been to the rodeo before. The Lakers didn't make the schedule nor do they get any advantage for this because in the end they've got to do what all the other teams in the league do, and that's try and win every single game they play. That means playing the remainder of the 41 games on the road with the mentality of winning every single time they step onto the court.

You still can't say playing 15 of the first 19 games hasn't made a difference thus far...and you also can't say you wouldn't rather have that sort of home stretch later in the season.

[Culburn369]

I certainly liked this early schedule. It got everybody back on their heels, squashed some hopes & dreams and enabled Artest to marinate in kindness, gets his feet under him, his mojo straight & solid. It's been near an extended training camp and I'm sure Jackson/Kobe have taken full advantage of it.

[21_Blessings]

Why? Supposedly, we already have two "fast guards" in Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar, and they're weak against speedy pgs. What makes you think there is a guard out there that'll do better against the likes of Brooks and Lawson? There isn't really anyone that fits that bill unless you want to revisit the Lue era. To have someone you can bring off the bench and stretch the defense would be important to re-vamp the bench and more than likely get Odom back into the swing of things.

I wouldn't call Farmar weak against speedy guards. He did well against Brooks in the payoffs and defended him well in the W over the Rockets this season. Overall Farmar is playing smarter and much improved defense. His outside shooting however...

[Culburn369]

I think it a moot point anyways. Like somebody cited earlier in this thread: Jackson does not like small guards, he barely tolerated Lue. I'm just going to keep my fingers & toes crossed that Yao stays gone and that Lawson peters out before next May.

[The Gemini Method]

You still can't say playing 15 of the first 19 games hasn't made a difference thus far...and you also can't say you wouldn't rather have that sort of home stretch later in the season.

It has made a difference, but what I'm saying is this is a battle-tested team now. This isn't the team from last year where the beatdown in '08 was fresh in their minds and their will to win was in question until they started planning for the parade in June. They will get their lengthy roadtrip coming up soon and I think they'll do fine. If this were a team that hasn't fought through the barriers, I'd be more concerned or probably more agreeable that the favorable schedule is more impacting than it really is.

[hater]

I remember when Mavs were killing everyone same way as Lakers and then lost to the Warriors. Their matchup problem

Celtics are their matchup problem.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Running through the West? Last time i checked, the Nuggets are only 1.5 games behind the Lakers, despite playing 6 more road games.

[21_Blessings]

Running through the West? Last time i checked, the Nuggets are only 1.5 games behind the Lakers, despite playing 6 more road games.

Denver Nuggets: The November Champions

[cobbler]

I remember when Mavs were killing everyone same way as Lakers and then lost to the Warriors. Their matchup problem

Celtics are their matchup problem.

Care to expand on that? How so?

[LakeShow]

The Lakers will most likely make a trade with Minnesota. The Lakers have an have an inside source there now that can give us an attrative player for nothing.

[21_Blessings]

Only matchup problem the Lakers have is Houston. Quick point + quick undersized frontline.

Ron is going to slap Paulina.

[Capt Bringdown]

Care to expand on that? How so?

Agreed, how so? This isn't 2008.

[ginobili's bald spot]

I remember when Mavs were killing everyone same way as Lakers and then lost to the Warriors. Their matchup problem

Celtics are their matchup problem.

Do you remember when the Mavs were the defending Champs? Because we are. SSSSStings don't it?



That reminds me, I remember when any team with a winning record was the Spurs matchup problem. Oh ya... because that's right now.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Denver Nuggets: The November Champions

That's right, because come November 2010, the Denver Nuggets will be the defending Champions Thanks for recognising that

[DPG21920]

Do you remember when the Mavs were the defending Champs? Because we are. SSSSStings don't it?



That reminds me, I remember when any team with a winning record was the Spurs matchup problem. Oh ya... because that's right now.

Once again, showing your insecurity.

The Lakers are the best team in the league. Everyone just needs to deal with it. If they are healthy and they do not win a le, it would be a major upset.

[bostonguy]

Celtics are their matchup problem.

I think the tides have turned in terms of who has the advantage in matchups. Celts dont have a james Posey type of player to put on Kobe. Daniels is a nice pickup but Kobe will destroy him and Ray Allen. Say you decide to put Pierce on Kobe. That means Ray/Marquis will have to guard Artest. Ron is a strong guy and would easily over power either one of those 2.

You can put Kobe on Rondo and Artest on Pierce. Fisher/Brown just need to not give Allen space and he will struggle.

[DPG21920]

I think the tides have turned in terms of who has the advantage in matchups. Celts dont have a james Posey type of player to put on Kobe. Daniels is a nice pickup but Kobe will destroy him and Ray Allen. Say you decide to put Pierce on Kobe. That means Ray/Marquis will have to guard Artest. Ron is a strong guy and would easily over power either one of those 2.

You can put Kobe on Rondo and Artest on Pierce. Fisher/Brown just need to not give Allen space and he will struggle.

I agree, but the Celts front line is the match up that is key. No one can really match up with the Lakers front line and the Celts can if they are healthy and playing well.

You can live with Pierce trying to match Kobe and Rondo trying to match Fish/brown/farmar.

Other teams may have the ability to match up with Kobe/..., but that is not where the Lakes hurt you, it is upfront.

[23LeBronJames23]

Lakers only playin easy teams thats why they good.

CAVS R THA BEST FOO!!! u film it?

[Ghazi]

I remember when Mavs were killing everyone same way as Lakers and then lost to the Warriors. Their matchup problem

Celtics are their matchup problem.

lmao.

this isnt June 08 anymore

Look at those box scores, I think Vujacic/Rad/Walton averaged a combined 50 minutes per game or so.

Now Rad is replaced by Artest, Vujacic isn't a part of the rotaiton anymore, and the top 3 bigs are Gasol/Bynum/Odom instead of Gasol/Turiaf/Odom.

Meanwhile, Kobe/Gasol are still in their primes whereas the Big 3 in Boston is past theirs.