Lakers Still Hold Edge Over Fortified Spurs

[will_spurs]

So... Kobe is the best player in the NBA... the Spurs will never win w/o a healthy Manu (I guess Holt better sell the franchise when Manu retires)... and losing Ariza and maybe Odom isn't an issue.

Looks like a die-hard Lakers fan trying to keep his hopes up.

[poeticism707]

So... Kobe is the best player in the NBA... the Spurs will never win w/o a healthy Manu (I guess Holt better sell the franchise when Manu retires)... and losing Ariza and maybe Odom isn't an issue.

Looks like a die-hard Lakers fan trying to keep his hopes up.

[DrHouse]

The Lakers are the best team in the NBA until proven otherwise.

Assuming they resign Odom they will be an even better team next season than they were this season.

[Cry Havoc]

The Lakers are the best team in the NBA until proven otherwise.

Assuming they resign Odom they will be an even better team next season than they were this season.

http://www.nba.com/games/20090504/HOULAL/boxscore.html

Playing time:
S. Brown - 12:30
J. Farmar - 02:53

DrHouse, care to respond?

[SpurOutofTownFan]

4 things:

- This guy smells like a Laker's kool aid drinker
- This was done before the adquisition of Dice
- Clear desire for Manu not to be healthy
- Premature ejaculation

[iggypop123]

i hate this board. its either - anybody on the lakers is overrated and the spurs will win cause they got better or the lakers are the best we will win. im more on the middle. anybody that says artest to the lakers is bad is stupid. jefferson is a good player but to say they will overtake the lakers outright is dumb. manu isnt even the 2nd best player on his team. he is that bad now i dont see these arguments about him being the second coming of jordan

[spurspf]

No that's not an accurate statement at all.

Shannon Brown rarely, if ever, was guarding Aaron Brooks. He played the backup PG role in that series. 99% of the time he was guarding the Rocket's backup PG Lowry. The only player who got straight lit up by Brooks was Derek Fisher.

Don't take my word for it though. Go back and watch the playoff game tape of Brown against Deron Williams, Chauncey Billups, etc. He did a fine job, certainly more than adequate for what the Lakers are looking for. As long as he keeps working on his jumpshot Phil Jackson will find minutes for him next season. Remember it's Farmar the Lakers want to trade right now, they just signed Brown to a new contract.

I would like to conclude this post with a statement you all should reflect on. NBA championships are not won on the perimeter. They are won in the paint. The Lakers have never had any one player who could put the clamps on Tony Parker or even Ginobili for that matter and yet they still hold a decisive 4-1 advantage over the Spurs in this decade. Until you can truly compete in the paint, you aren't beating the Lakers.

The Lakeshow is the team to beat. They are the goal the Spurs need to reach for. Not the other way around.

Tony Parker, top of the key, dribbling the ball. Right in front of him, Shannon Brown. If you don't foresee a layup, you sir are a dumbass.

[The_Game]

Rj is better than Artest.........hes a better shooter, finisher, FT shooter and at least as good a defender. I give Artest the edge in passing.

Everything you say from now on should be ignored because that is a load of crap...Jefferson has never been close to the defender Artest is. Even though Artest isn't what he was he is still ahead of Jefferson defensively..stupid to suggest otherwise.

As far as LAs bench- one would be foolish to believe that SA is not at least as good so long as Blair who many believe could avg 12ppg and 12rpg now- and Ian can give us good mins. Sasha is a bum, Walton is avg at best.

Blair 12 and 12 guy? on what planet? there is a reason why he was drafted so low in one of the weakness drafts EVER and it wasn't all due to injury..stop overrating him it makes you look foolish.

Last year a healthy Spurs team would have given LA all they could handle, this year we add major upgrades while at best LA stayed stable and yet they are heavy favs???

Who said anything about being heavy favourites? Lakers are favourites and should be..why is that some kind of stupid statement? lakers are the champs and have a super talented team...doesn't mean they can't be beat.

[Spursmania]

Tony Parker, top of the key, dribbling the ball. Right in front of him, Shannon Brown. If you don't foresee a layup, you sir are a dumbass.

Thanks for the imagery. Looking forward to seeing this.

[antimvp]

Duncan > GASOL, BYNUM, ODOM combined

you lose.

[Spurs_210]

The last couple of post is saddening to be a Spurs fan. Blair a 12/12 guy? RJ as good as a defender as Artest? Yes offensively no doubt RJ is better but hands down Artest is the better defender. Blair was a beast in college but this is the NBA. He is a 0/0 guy until proven otherwise.

[Spurs9]

I'm not scared one bit of the Lakers. There championship was one of the weakest I can remember. Gasol and Bynum are both pussies, and the talent level after Kobe drops off pretty good. Farmar is garbage, they lost ariza who bailed them out a few critical games, and Artest is a nutjob.

[CaptainLate]

Blair is a rebounding machine, and Ian is a 6'11 280 lb athletic freak. I actually think Ian will be our starting center next year next to Tim.

You mean to say that Ian has gained about 60 lbs since he was drafted?

[ginobilized]

Hopefully this is all true. I like the Spurs as the underdog.
That's the best position to be in come playoff time.
See you next spring and good luck Lakers.

[SA210]

The Laker's don't have to worry about Bruce disrupting Kobe's game anymore, heck, maybe they even pick him up and shutdown Manu while they're at it.

[The_Game]

As far as thinking its a reason Blair drafted so low......Why was Tony drafted behind 6 other pgs? Wasnt Manu drafted second to last pick in the draft? Wasnt Scola drafted very low???? If I recall Candy man was drafted first overall, Sam Bowie drafted over MJ, Darko went over Melo and Wade and Bosh................Point being, Ill spell it out for you, its not where your drafted that effects the type of player you will be.

And lastly, I dont believe Blair will avg 12 and 12 for the spurs this year, I do think on many teams he could. Blair dominated the paint last year just as Larry Johnson did at UNLV. Blair destroyed the second overall pick twice last year. His rebounding rate translates to a guy averaging 18rpg in the pros. He is a beast that many teams wanted to take but have a policy against taking red med flagged players at any spot in the draft!!!

Make sure you sign on this year when he eats Gasols ass in the paint. Do your homework kid, go find video on Blair againt Thabeet and tell me this guy is gonna struggle in the NBA. He was an absolute steal in the second round. Spurs even tried to get into the lottery on draft night to take him. The guy dominated against several teams that over the next year will produce lottery Centers.....Florida St, Louv, GTown and Uconn as well as crushed several big east teams that are know for very good D in the Paint....Xavier, Syc, W Va..ect..

We got a big, who avg 15ppg and 12rpg 1.5steals while shooting 60% from the floor with the 37th pick in the draft

Thabeets numbers-13.6 and 11 while playing 5 more mpg!

Some of the comparisions you just mentioned are laughable....I played abit of college basketball and even played minutes in the NCAA tourney and full well know the difference between playing great in college compared to the highest level.

Adam Morrison was freaking college player of the year, was a high draft pick and we all know how good of an NBA player he is. wow he averaged 15 and 12..big deal there are plenty of players who averaged that in college that aren't going to do in the NBA...bringing up stats isn't going to make your point any stronger.

Blair COULD average 12 and 12? NO HE FREAKING COULDN'T....not even on the worse team in the league.

Blair is going to be soild...there is nothing in his game that suggests he will do anything in this league for at a few years.

[The_Game]

OK PEREZ HILTON!!! Have you ever watched basketball? Artest was a great defender 3 years and 25lbs ago. He is now to slow to keep pace with quicker 2s and 3s.

Says who? you? thats like saying Manu is DONE because he is injured and old...doesn't work that way son

Artest is still an ELITE defender...he gives plenty of guys problems on defense. He may not be as quick as he was but he still gives bigger guys nightmares. He is so strong in the post...guys like Lebron, Pierce, Melo are guys who he guards real well which will help L.A in the post season.

Jefferson came into the NBA as a defender and slasher.....the knock on him was he couldnt shoot, which he seems to have improved the last couple years. Jefferson is a guy who keeps to himself, does not beat his chest or anyone else, doesnt make ty rap albums that no-one buys, nor does he talk as if he is the best player in the NBA when its obvious hes a third wheel.

WTF? what the has him being a good guy got to do with how good a player he is? Jefferson is a good scorer who now plays below average defense...he was a good defender but hasn't done the last two years guarding anybody.

Artest is a slow witted, slow footed hot head who jacks up way too many shots, cant run the wing on the break, and will have a hard time defending Manu or RJ.

Yeah Artest is not as quick as he used to be but that somehow means he is suddenly not going to still be an elite defender? why will he have a hard time defending Manu or RJ? you act like those two are some kind of unstoppable forces...Artest will give RJ real problems with his length and strength...as for manu lets see how he quick he is anymore given his injury problems

Good luck to you clowns this year, your gonna need it. I do like Laker fans being on our board, but guys like you have less Basketball knowledge than one of my ball hairs, so please stop posting untill you get a clue.

Says the guy who think Blair can average 12 and 12 this year

FREAKING MORON

your whole post about Blair makes you unable to ever call somebody else out for lack of basketball knowledge. You are clearly some 15 year old kid who likely has never picked up a basketball in his life and just lives on his nice little stats.

[DrHouse]

You cannot say Blair is a better player than ANYONE in the NBA for the sole reason that he has not EVEN PLAYED ONE ING MINUTE OF NBA BASKETBALL.

If he was as good as you say he is, he would have been picked up WAY earlier in this incredibly weak draft.

[carrao45]

Duncan > GASOL, BYNUM, ODOM combined

you lose.

Haha how stupid could you be?
He's better than all of them, but not close to better than them combined

[carrao45]

So... Kobe is the best player in the NBA... the Spurs will never win w/o a healthy Manu (I guess Holt better sell the franchise when Manu retires)... and losing Ariza and maybe Odom isn't an issue.

Looks like a die-hard Lakers fan trying to keep his hopes up.

The Spurs cant win w/o a healthy Manu, that's not keeping hopes up. That's making a comment based on the last two years