lakers will still be the best in West in 09

[m33p0]

if the lakers played the way fakerfans posts, they wouldn't have been humilated. fakerfans don't know when to quit or just don't have a ing idea how.

[DazedAndConfused]

Andrew Bynum isn't a scrub, and that's the mistake everyone here is making thinking that him coming back won't make an impact. Bynum was THE reason the Lakers made the jump this year and got the #1 seed before they landed Pau. I firmly believe you can't play great defense without a solid anchor, Bynum is that anchor. Nobody was calling the Lakers soft before we got Pau, and that's because with Bynum the Lakers were the #1 rebounding team in the league and top 10 in most defensive stats. In other words, they didn't suck.

I don't know how many scrub failed projects average:

13 ppg
10 rpg
2 bpg
Highest FG% of any player in the NBA

in under 30 mpg at the age of 20. Those are amazing stats considering Bynum came off the bench behind Kwame for at least 1/4 of the season. You extrapolate that to 48 minutes and he is a legit 15/10/2 player. That's a HUGE piece to be adding to a team, let alone one that is already competing for les.

[phyzik]

Andrew Bynum isn't a scrub, and that's the mistake everyone here is making thinking that him coming back won't make an impact. Bynum was THE reason the Lakers made the jump this year and got the #1 seed before they landed Pau. I firmly believe you can't play great defense without a solid anchor, Bynum is that anchor. Nobody was calling the Lakers soft before we got Pau, and that's because with Bynum the Lakers were the #1 rebounding team in the league and top 10 in most defensive stats. In other words, they didn't suck.

I don't know how many scrub failed projects average:

13 ppg
10 rpg
2 bpg
Highest FG% of any player in the NBA

in under 30 mpg at the age of 20. Those are amazing stats considering Bynum came off the bench behind Kwame for at least 1/4 of the season. You extrapolate that to 48 minutes and he is a legit 15/10/2 player. That's a HUGE piece to be adding to a team, let alone one that is already competing for les.

Andrew Bynum also isnt a superstar, and thats a mistake Laker fans are making, thinking that he will automatically come back and average those numbers. Even then, he only averaged them for about a month if I remember right before he had to have surgery.

[Oh, Gee!!]

I'm tired of predictions. Let's just get some better players to help our big 3, and get ready for 2009.

[QuietDynasty]

I still say there is no team in the West that can beat the Lakers this year and definitely not next year with there young center back in the line up. The Spurs need some young wheels to keep up, the Suns need better defense, Dallas needs a new franchise, Houston needs to rebuild, the only team that I see competing is New Orleans.

jack , they let 3 career losers win against the "mighty" west.

[GrandeDavid]

Heard this before in 04, 06 and now 08. Spurs win #5 in 09. That's all.

[1Parker1]

I love how LakerFan displays these amazing stats that Bynum had as if they are his career stats over like a 5 year period. How many games has he played in the NBA so far? 50? Over/under a little.

You have no idea how healthy or productive he's going to be coming back from 2 knee surgeries. You don't know how he's going to play in the postseason, especially as it goes deeper into the season and the stakes get higher. And you don't know if he's going to be able to defend the likes of Dirk, Duncan, Shaq, heck even Oden night in and night out over the course of a 7 game series. That's a tall order to place on a guy who's practically a rookie and has yet to even play a full season in the league.

[Harry Callahan]

The Lakers should be the favs right now. However, that exhibition in the Finals won't build up their confidence.

That was a beatdown of epic proportions.

Pau Gasoft should be that man's last name. Wow!

I think Pau is suffering some lingering effects of Grizzlyitis that Kobe could not yet slap out of him.

[0201rinckwater]

The Lakers should be the favs right now. However, that exhibition in the Finals won't build up their confidence.

That was a beatdown of epic proportions.

Pau Gasoft should be that man's last name. Wow!

I think Pau is suffering some lingering effects of Grizzlyitis that Kobe could not yet slap out of him.

The Grizzlies are still reeling from Paunfluenza

[DazedAndConfused]

Andrew Bynum also isnt a superstar, and thats a mistake Laker fans are making, thinking that he will automatically come back and average those numbers. Even then, he only averaged them for about a month if I remember right before he had to have surgery.

Those were his SEASON stats. The stats he averaged the month before he went down were:

17.33 ppg
12.16 rpg
2.33 bpg

Nobody is overrating Bynum, if anything we're still underrating this kid. If the Spurs had a 20 year old C averaging those stats they'd be ting in their pants and you know it. All this talk about him not being able to come back from knee surgery is wishful thinking. He had an arthoscopic cleanup, not microfracture surgery. The diagnosis is that he will make a full recovery. And he's never had two surgeries on this knee, only the one arthroscopic cleanup.

[DazedAndConfused]

And another thing, Bynum will never have to average those stats to make the Lakers a dominant team. They have more than enough offense to go around with Kobe, Pau, LO, and even Fish. They need Bynum for his rebounding and defense more than his offensive production.

[remingtonbo2001]

Nobody is overrating Bynum, if anything we're still underrating this kid.

No, but many lakerfans such as yourself, are ignornant to the extent of his injury. Bynum has put up impressive statistics in the games he's played in.
However, it's become aparent that his body may not be able to withstand the rigors of the NBA.

Some players are incredibly talented, but their bodies arent capable of withstanding the physical demands of the NBA.

Unfortunately, it appears Bynum may be one of those players.

[Kindergarten Cop]

Nobody is overrating Bynum, if anything we're still underrating this kid.

[DazedAndConfused]

No, but many lakerfans such as yourself, are ignornant to the extent of his injury. Bynum has put up impressive statistics in the games he's played in.
However, it's become aparent that his body may not be able to withstand the rigors of the NBA.

Some players are incredibly talented, but their bodies arent capable of withstanding the physical demands of the NBA.

Unfortunately, it appears Bynum may be one of those players.

Do you remember how he got injured? He was skying high for a rebound and landed directly on Odom's foot. It was a fluke play, you act like he hurt his knee while jogging or some . Duncan has had knee surgeries in his career and Amare has recovered from microfracture surgery and both players are at the top of their game. You CAN recover from injury.

I don't buy your argument that his body can't hold up to the NBA when he managed to play two full seasons before that. If anything, he hasn't hit anywhere close to his physical peak which means he can strengthen his bones and muscles to further prevent the possibility of injuries.

In short, it's wishful thinking by Spurs to hope that Bynum's injury will cripple him from playing basketball. Keep praying.

[Marcus Bryant]

35 games and suddenly he's Wilt.

[SenorSpur]

Bruce is going to turn 38 next season. Expecting him to be the starting 3 and the defensive stopper at that age is asking a lot.

which makes the mere fact that the Spurs do not have another swingman in the pipeline yet to be Bowen's understudy simply inexcusable.

[Kindergarten Cop]

which makes the mere fact that the Spurs do not have another swingman in the pipeline yet to be Bowen's understudy simply inexcusable.

Am I the only one that really thought that Udoka started picking up the pace and playing significantly better as the season progressed (especially in the Playoffs)?

[SenorSpur]

Am I the only one that really thought that Udoka started picking up the pace and playing significantly better as the season progressed (especially in the Playoffs)?

I would agree. However it's clear that Udoka forte is that he's a more physical defender than Bowen. He doesn't necessarily have the fleetness of foot or the "hand action" that make Bowen such a superior defender.

[DazedAndConfused]

35 games and suddenly he's Wilt.

Nope, he's Andrew Bynum. And perhaps the best C prospect in the league outside of Dwight Howard. He doesn't have to be a half of Wilt for the Lakers to be dominant.

[IronMexican]

The surgery wasn't too serious if the whole organization was contemplating having him back. amare had the same surgery and came back pretty strong.

[1Parker1]

I just realized, LakerFans are the exact extension of their team; Overconfident, prone to hyperbolize, and blind to acknowledge and give credit where credit is due.

Bynum probably will come back healthy and fine. And no doubt, he's going to give the Lakers inside presence and toughness. That being said, this team lacks a lot of other problems that cannot be solved by the addition of Bynum. First and foremost is the Lakers porous perimeter defense. And Bynum isn't going to suddenly make Gasol and Odom unsoft. This is where the overconfidence comes into play.

You post all these fantasic stats on Bynum where he scored a double double, had the highest FG% in the league, etc. etc. Exactly how many full games has this guy played in the NBA, as a starter with big minutes? And if I were to take any player in the league and just dissect their stats for a single, given month, I'm sure more than 1/2 of them will also look like the second coming of MJ/Wilt too. Playing good basketball for a month or for 50 games in the regular season doesn't mean anything in the playoffs. This is where the prone to hyperbolize comes into play.

Lastly, you fail to acknowledge that in 2009, the West is going to be even better and it's no guarantee that the Lakers will have the cakewalk they did to the WCF that they did this season. Teams like the Hornets are only going to get better with a year's experience under their belt. Up and coming young, atheletic teams like the Blazers can prove to be a big mismatch for the Lakers. Ginobili, Parker, and Duncan may just be healthy next postseason. And that's not even to mention all the possible trades and stuff that can happen to suddenly make teams contenders, Lakers fan should know this better than anyone. Not acknowledging all the other great teams that are in the West and downplaying them, while hyping up what could be a great Lakers team, that's where the blind homerism comes into play.

Lakers are going to be a great team next year. No doubt the addition of Bynum can only help them. But he has been inconsistent, he has yet to play a full season as a starter in the NBA, and he has yet to face the pressures of the postseason. I don't think the Lakers are going to be the best in the West in 09. There are too many other great teams out there.

[Juanobili]

I still say there is no team in the West that can beat the Lakers this year and definitely not next year with there young center back in the line up. The Spurs need some young wheels to keep up, the Suns need better defense, Dallas needs a new franchise, Houston needs to rebuild, the only team that I see competing is New Orleans.

Very original post

[DazedAndConfused]

I just realized, LakerFans are the exact extension of their team; Overconfident, prone to hyperbolize, and blind to acknowledge and give credit where credit is due.

Bynum probably will come back healthy and fine. And no doubt, he's going to give the Lakers inside presence and toughness. That being said, this team lacks a lot of other problems that cannot be solved by the addition of Bynum. First and foremost is the Lakers porous perimeter defense. And Bynum isn't going to suddenly make Gasol and Odom unsoft. This is where the overconfidence comes into play.

You post all these fantasic stats on Bynum where he scored a double double, had the highest FG% in the league, etc. etc. Exactly how many full games has this guy played in the NBA, as a starter with big minutes? And if I were to take any player in the league and just dissect their stats for a single, given month, I'm sure more than 1/2 of them will also look like the second coming of MJ/Wilt too. Playing good basketball for a month or for 50 games in the regular season doesn't mean anything in the playoffs. This is where the prone to hyperbolize comes into play.

Lastly, you fail to acknowledge that in 2009, the West is going to be even better and it's no guarantee that the Lakers will have the cakewalk they did to the WCF that they did this season. Teams like the Hornets are only going to get better with a year's experience under their belt. Up and coming young, atheletic teams like the Blazers can prove to be a big mismatch for the Lakers. Ginobili, Parker, and Duncan may just be healthy next postseason. And that's not even to mention all the possible trades and stuff that can happen to suddenly make teams contenders, Lakers fan should know this better than anyone. Not acknowledging all the other great teams that are in the West and downplaying them, while hyping up what could be a great Lakers team, that's where the blind homerism comes into play.

Lakers are going to be a great team next year. No doubt the addition of Bynum can only help them. But he has been inconsistent, he has yet to play a full season as a starter in the NBA, and he has yet to face the pressures of the postseason. I don't think the Lakers are going to be the best in the West in 09. There are too many other great teams out there.

Good post, I agree with a lot of what you said. There are no guarantees in basketball and if I've learned anything about the NBA it's to expect the unexpected. The WC will be better, but I still don't see any of the elite teams adding as much as the Lakers will be adding this off-season to their teams which makes me hopeful the Lakers can get back to the Finals next season.

[Spur-Addict]

Good post, I agree with a lot of what you said. There are no guarantees in basketball and if I've learned anything about the NBA it's to expect the unexpected. The WC will be better, but I still don't see any of the elite teams adding as much as the Lakers will be adding this off-season to their teams which makes me hopeful the Lakers can get back to the Finals next season.

You don't have to. Just like the league didn't see Pau going.

[Lake_show]

LA should of took Boston to 7 if they didn't lose game 4. Give us Bynum back and you can book it for the next 5 years.