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but once Lakers start playing real contenders they'll be crawling again
Nice baby steps into the right direction (finally) for the Lakers. Our backcourt carried us much like I was hoping from day one. Kobe (38/12/7) lead the way with Nash waking up as well (20pts on 7/12 shooting and 4/5 from downtown). I'm hoping for a few more games like this to really open up the middle for Howard.
When Pau returns to anchor the second unit, we should really know what the Lakers are going to look like going forward. He should be well-rested for the stretch playoff run.
In my mind, all we have to do is get into the playoffs where anything can happen. The Lakers are winners of 11 of their last 15. They are making baby steps into the right direction. Good to see (finally).
but once Lakers start playing real contenders they'll be crawling again
Lakers won't beat Miami and even your homerish imagination can't believe otherwise..
Any , Lakers will lose tomorrow in Denver.
Is OKC a contender? Just checking
Never say never. I am starting to wonder if you guys will get past the Pacers - who are balling. They have size and strength (Hibbert and West), strong perimeter defenders (Paul, Hill, and I believe Granger has returned to defend Bron and Wade), nice PG play between Hill and DJ Augustine to matchup with Chalmers and Cole; they also have some nice athleticism to also match up with you guys. Can't wait to see you guys put Bosh on Hibbert defensively or have Bosh (soft PF) try to matchup with West. Please play small ball like last year.The best part? They are an elite defensive team. So don't think you guys will have a walk into the park to the Finals like last year.
Agreed about Denver. I'm penciling that in as a loss although I'd be ecstatic if I'm wrong.
Hector is right, when they start playing middle-of-the-road or better teams, it's all coming back down to earth
Finals run ain't happening. Best case scenario for Lakers fans to hope for at this point is to get the Spurs in the first round and hope to pull off the upset, which is something I don't discount because I fully expect Tony Parker to play like a complete got against the Lakers. And since he's the Spurs only consistent 20ppg scoring threat, him not playing up to par could spell doom for the Spurs against the Lakers or even Houston.
I know Lakers fans are soaking their ies in at the recent "hot" play of the Lakers, but objectively speaking, the Lakers really aren't playing good basketball. They're escaping with single digit wins against bad teams. The only solid wins were against OKC and Boston (who is a bad team, but I'll give the Lakers credit for beating them down). Yeah, they're playing better than they have been, but are far, far away from being a contender or even a darkhorse.
The Lakers still have huge issues defensively. They're still old and slow. They're still too reliant on the 3. And they still have a very, very thin bench. Jamison has played well, but no way in can he sustain a 15-20ppg level for the rest of the season. And expecting Pau to solve that issue is a huge stretch, considering him being in or out of the lineup hasn't really made a difference this year.
Not hating. I just don't see anything with the Lakers that suggests they have a "run" in them. But I do respect the talent they have on that roster, and if it manages to click for a few games in a series against the Spurs, anything could happen. But only against the Spurs, since they don't present as many matchup problems as the Thunder and Clippers.
Lebron and Wade alone beat that same Pacers team. Don't be an idiot.Never say never. I am starting to wonder if you guys will get past the Pacers - who are balling. They have size and strength (Hibbert and West), strong perimeter defenders (Paul, Hill, and I believe Granger has returned to defend Bron and Wade), nice PG play between Hill and DJ Augustine to matchup with Chalmers and Cole; they also have some nice athleticism to also match up with you guys. Can't wait to see you guys put Bosh on Hibbert defensively or have Bosh (soft PF) try to matchup with West. Please play small ball like last year.
Agreed about Denver. I'm penciling that in as a loss although I'd be ecstatic if I'm wrong.
mid still melting down at the prospect of Kobe beating Duncan for one last hurrah...and why can't Jamison...he hasn't done all year nor has he really played from a minutes perspective...so he should be able to sustain it....
are the Clippers contenders?
and all our games against top contenders have been closely played and / or contested....the final score on some of them aren't indicative of the true game...Miami was lucky to escape with a win against us....even with Pau out and Dwight hurting....
Lkrfan is a homer and results oriented. He only considers Ws and Ls and, out of his homerism, refuses to examine deeper because he doesn't want to shatter the illusion he's created for himself.
Hector is right, when they start playing middle-of-the-road or better teams, it's all coming back down to earth
Case in point:
http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400278541
Homers see a great win. Realists see that the Lakers played about as well they can as a team, with Dwight, Jamison, Clark, Artest, and Meeks all scoring in double figures and shooting over 50% combined. Kobe had one of the best games he's had all year, the Lakers dominated the boards, shot 22 more FTs, had 18 more points in the paint, and kept their 3 point attempts under 20. The Lakers dominated pretty much every stat category and yet they barely won against a very bad team on a 7 game losing streak.
That would worry me if I were a fan of the Lakers. It tells me they are nowhere close to solving the turnover and defensive issues that have plagued them all year. Sure, they'll notch a few wins where they'll have appeared to solve those problems, but the good teams of the league will quickly expose their faults.
Last edited by midnightpulp; 02-24-2013 at 11:38 PM.
Miami didn't "escape." They pushed that up to double figures with 3:00 min to go and never looked back.
And no, "all your games against top contenders have not been closely contested." With the exception of the OKC win and the first game against the Spurs, the top teams have controlled the Lakers from the opening tip to the final whistle in pretty much every game played. The only reason it looks close in the box score is because the Lakers go into game 7 mode during garbage time and make the final score respectable.
Keep believing, though. It's cute.
miami escaped...but the Spurs won't come the 1st round
I'm not sure Lakers could beat Spurs ...if they even make playoffs but if they do the meltdown will be worsrvthan the backdoor sweep or losing the 8th seeded Grizz to be honest
and it also can go the other way a small market team eliminating a 100,000,000 team
Man, I don't even know... some games, they look absolutely terrible and get their asses kicked, but then they'll have random stretches of brilliant offense and stifling team defense.... they don't seem to have quite the same regular-season consistency as the Spurs or the Thunderefs, tbh... I hope they're just saving it for the playoffs like Miami is doing...
insecurity much
What you saw the other day vs the Spurs is what you'll see in a game involving the Clippers and the big dogs of the league. They will be exposed against a superior half-court offense.
You mean like how they were supposed to be "exposed" against Memphis' "superior half-court offense" last year?
Tbh, you should just hope and pray that Westbrick doesn't throw another on-court temper tantrum and/or start chucking your Thunderefs out of games come playoff time...
Yes it would. It's a matchup no Spurs fan really wants (of course there are those Spurfans who think we'd bulldoze the Lakers, and I hope they're right, but I just don't see it from a matchup standpoint).
Given the history between the two clubs over the past 15 years, I think the Spurs might put too much pressure on themselves to beat the Lakers and crack. You damn well know Duncan, Parker, and Manu haven't forgotten .4 or 08, Manu specifically as 08 goes, since he allowed himself to get shut down by Sasha in' Vujacic. The Spurs' big 3 might try too hard to redeem themselves and play badly as a result.
Kobe is the only hold over from those days, so collectively, the Lakers won't be facing the same kind of pressure. Nash might, but I think he rid himself of that psychological baggage in '10 when he finally beat the Spurs.
This too. And the "injury excuses" will be meaningless at that point since the Lakers will have a fully healthy team (yeah, yeah, Jordan Hill, but he doesn't go down, Earl Clark, a better player and better fit for the Lakers, never gets the opportunity).
It'll be Armageddon on ST either way
Poor Lkrfan will have to take it all on himself, sadly.
You know damn well that a team having Rudy Gay chuck brick after brick does not really fall into the category of a "superior half-court offense".You mean like how they were supposed to be "exposed" against Memphis' "superior half-court offense" last year?
A team that comes to mind that has a superior half-court offense is the Spurs. Look at what they recently did to your ty fool's gold team
Tbh, you should just hope and pray that Westbrick doesn't throw another on-court temper tantrum and/or start chucking your Thunderefs out of games come playoff time...
spurs will need a strong performance from parker if they take on the lakers in the first round imho, and the key to beating lakers will be exploiting their defensive weaklink at PG
lakers paint will be stronger than spurs even without pau imho. DH will probably come out of the s and work hard in order to earn a good contract, and earl clark is a true mutha er too
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