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I forgot to mention karma. Karma could finally catch up to Kobe and he could rape some new white girl and finally have karma bite him in the ass. That would be a threat to the Lakers next season if it happens.
Yup...that's the main thing I noticed when watching the Lakers...their frontcourt is HUGE...Gasol, Bynum, and Odom all look like they're 9 feet tall out there compared to the other team. It's very, very difficult to beat a team that's so tall and long like the Lakers when all their bigs are healthy, unless you have the size to match. It's basically unfair, but such is life.As long as the Lakers have Gasol and Bynum manning the middle no one from the West is going to challenge them. They're simply too big of a team and the other West teams are playing with midgets in the paint. The Thunder have nobody in the middle. The Suns and Jazz don't either. The Spurs are done because Duncan is too old. I don't expect Yao to be himself after the injury. He's a question mark. Portland is really the only team with any length and athleticism to give the Lakers any trouble but good luck to that team staying healthy
I forgot to mention karma. Karma could finally catch up to Kobe and he could rape some new white girl and finally have karma bite him in the ass. That would be a threat to the Lakers next season if it happens.
I think Dallas would have a better shot than anyone else in the West, unless OKC can land Bosh or something. The Spurs have too many question marks and need to make some serious moves to have any kind of chance after getting swept despite being healthy. Sarver's probably going to be too cheap to keep Amare from bolting to play with D'Antoni in NY, so scratch Phoenix off. As for the east, I don't like Orlando's dependence on the three point line, I wonder if the Celtics can possibly make it another season after having to basically concede the second half of the 09-10 season, and Cleveland wasted too much of their money on low-level talent. If Chicago can land James and make a play for Ray Allen, then I could see them challenging the Lakers.
i don't think OKC can challenge LA w/o another scorer. maybe Harden steps up his game, but they also need to upgrade their frontcourt. Kristic can't lead you in that area if you want to compete for a championship. it's also always harder to have a great second year when everyone is prepared. they won't be catching anyone off-guard.
The Western conference is sort of in a weird position because there are a bunch of team's from the previous era that are clearly on the downside like the Mavs, Spurs, Suns, but other teams that were expected to overtake/replace them haven't because of injuries, like the Rockets and Portland. theoretically, those two teams, when healthy, would really pose a threat to LA. problem is they can't stay healthy. this situation has made for a lack of challengers to LA, and probably will continue to.
The Nuggets and Jazz are in weird spots because of, for the Jazz, Carlos Boozer (if he leaves they're irrelevent), and for Denver because the health of Kenyon. both those teams seem to be heading in the wrong direction and toward oblivion.
so the West is, at this point, all to the Lakers. aside from OKC, everyone enters next year with some serious question marks. even OKC has their share as i mentioned before. LA has been the beneficiary of hitting their stride during a time of aging and/or injured compe ion. that's not a knock on them. it just is what it is. they're a very good team in their own right. the current landscape of the West makes it there's for the taking.
the FA situation is what will answer this question. where Lebron goes, who teams up with Wade, Bosh. the Celtics will be prob. lose Allen. i think he realizes that with a KG a year older, his chances would be better elsewhere for a ring. after all the summer signings it'll be possible to answer.
If they get better... (trades & staying healthy) maybe Spurs, Blazers or even Houston if by some miracle Yao would be healthy a fully season plus the playoffs.
Suns could possiblly be right there if Amare stays and Lopez&Dragič would get much better; but as for all the teams they must be completely healthy come playoffs. But as it looks it is 90% sure Amare is out and that probably puts them into lottery land...
Lets see what happens in the offseason especially in the East.
It all depends on what LA does in the offseason.
They absolutely have to upgrade the bench and find a replacement for Fisher. If they can acquire a Steve Blake or Luke Ridnour type of PG along with some ring-chasing vets on the cheap they should be in good shape for the 3-peat.
This is all assuming Bynum+Gasol+Kobe+Odom are healthy next year.
Replace Fisher with Blake or Ridnour last season and you don't have #16. I get what you're saying though
Truth.....Fisher plays like dog in the regular season, but is clutch as in the playoffs. Letting him go would be a big mistake
Any team with healthy bigs. Houston in 2009 wins the series vs. the Lakers if Yao is in the entire series, and it's very obvious that Boston wins the championship this year if Perkins plays the entire Game 6 and Game 7. This Lakers team is no better than any top three West or East team, they just always catch the breaks at the right time.
a gigantic raspberry goes right here
I would say Denver.
They are the one team in the West that doesn't seem to be intimidated by the Lakers and they present some matchups that hurt us.
The Lakers moves in the off-season will be very interesting, we have some dead weight on the bench that make too much money and it is clear the team wants to cut payroll.
Lakers really shouldn't fear anyone in the West. Their toughest series came from a four seed in the Eastern Conference.
With that said, we'll have to wait until early September to really figure that out. A lot of people will be moving around.
It's going to be hard for any team in the league to match up with the Lakers talent, size, and chemistry on the offensive and defensive end. EVEN if a team is somehow able to match the lakers in those regards, the Lakers are going to have an edge mentally than those teams. Winning 2 championships in a row does alot for a team's confidence is shaky situations. All of a sudden, Ron Artest isn't going to be scared to shoot a big shot; Pau can play his game effectively without worrying if he messes up; the role players that remain can play loose in clutch situations.
If the Lakers had not won last year's le and we had the exact same finals matchup then I think it's safe to say the Celtics would've had that edge against them the entire series, and the Lakers would've faded when they were down 13 in the 3rd in Game 7. In Game 7, EVERYONE was nervous as and it showed in almost everyone's play... and that's even with everyone already having a le. The more les you win, the more you start expecting to win even when things aren't going right.
According to all the Laker/Kobe haters who are so obsessed here it will be:
Ron Artest imploding the team and chucking up a terrible shot to cost the team a game at the most crucial moment.
PJ being being an overrated coach who can't make in game corrections.
Pau being a pussy and folding against any pressure.
Bynum being injury prone and such a pussy that he won't play through the slightest amount pf pain.
Kobe being a glory hog and not trusting his teammates to make clutch shots.
Team chemistry because clearly no other Laker likes playing with Kobe.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh wait... My bad... That was this year.
Testify, Cobby, testify my Laker Brother!
There is no threat to the Lakers
/thread
/discussion
/2010-11 season
anyone who disagrees with me is such a disgrace to life that they should've never been born
My comment was just so well thought out and correct that anyone who even responds in this thread should get banned on the spot and if you view this you can't even come back to look at it because my opinion was just so epic
The Lakers and their offseason moves will be the biggest threats. If they can keep Phil, resign fish and get a starting pg who can defend and hit the 3 plus add some depth and stay in good health, no one will prevent them from a 3 peat.
OKC needs to add an elite bigman. Boozer doesn't count. I've never been to OK city so I don't know if it is a city that could attract big names or not.
Cavs are salary cap strapped and have no tradeable assets to land them any bigtime players. Even with Bron back, they are ed for a couple of years.
Celts are done regardless of if they keep this team intact or not. The window was 2-3 years after the big 3 were together. It's been 3 years now.
Orlando isn't mentally tough enough and they rely too much on 3's. Howard needs to improve his touch and they need more slashers.
Nuggets? They lack a leader and other high iq players. Kmart is an expiring but they need a lot more than just frontcourt depth. George Karl's health is also a concern.
Spurs? Nah. Too many holes.
Mavs? Depends if they make some major moves. They can't land guys like Caron anymore. They need a Lebron type of player to sidekick with Dirk.
sadly, only the blazers have enough talent to match the lakers. lakers have been the most talented team in the league for the last three years and it's not even close. the blazers need to be healthy and have all cylinders firing to mount a successful challenge but they can do it.
on the eastern conference side, i'm sure wade/lebron/bosh are taking note of the lakers huge lead in talent and will act accordingly to ensure they form a team to match them. a combination of wade and bosh or lebron and bosh would need to unite in order to challenge the lakers.
portland, but they lack a legit pf. okc has no inside game. dallas is way too old. the spurs are screwed with jefferson. the suns are done without amare. realistically nothing can challenge the lakers but injuries. a midseason trade could presesnt a challenger if a west team goes for it
No one, which is impressive from a team with almost no bench.
We'll be rotating LaMarcus Aldridge and Marcus Camby at the PF position. Oden will be healthy and I expect Przybilla to be ready very early in the season. We have a freaking HUGE team. And we're not only big, but we're athletic as well. As long as we're healthy we'll be a nightmare for the Lakers to deal with.
Methinks that you almost have to do the opposite of what the Lakers are, and try and take advantage of their size instead of try and match it.
It takes more than just being 'big' to beat the Lakers. And I think their size is a little overrated anyway. They only have 3 legit big men, Bynum, Gasol, and Odom and they only start Gasol and Bynum. Its just that they fit in with the triangle offense perfectly.
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