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Considering Spur fan spewed for years that Kobe could never win without Shaq I'm not sure i give two s if they actually believe that the Lakers will be a worse team next season
I don't think they are better. There may be some chemistry problems and Artest wont know the system.
Considering Spur fan spewed for years that Kobe could never win without Shaq I'm not sure i give two s if they actually believe that the Lakers will be a worse team next season
Kobe needed Pau to get back into le contention. And you are right you shouldn't give a what we Spurs fans say, we're Spurs fans..why should you care? Why would you expect anything else here at ST? We feel the same, trust me.
Might wanna extend that beyond spur fans Doc'.
phil jackson handled kobe, shaq and rodman
artest will be a cake walk
I don't think Lakers will be worse. Just that their opponents are way better now and healthy finally.
we also went 0-2 with a non-contender but still we're the champions and we're better this year
His SN is Mavdynasty need I say more?
Then why bother posting here? Obviously you do....
Oh yea, whatever happened to Shaq?! With Artest, even if he "complies" the Lakers haven't really improved since last year, which is something you can't say about a lot of other teams. Sometimes standing pat doesn't work out. You can say all you want about the Spurs, the fact is they got some better players this year and the core player and coaching staff know how to put it all together and win. You don't think Duncan wants at least 1 more ring before he retires?
Wont argue that teams got better. I still think the Lakers are a vut above the West and I favor them slightly over the C's and Cavs. Orlando ed up by losing two starters.
Orlando did well. 2 starters? Rafer was only because of injury. And Lee is OK but nothing special, imo. Carter is a better fit with Nelson. And there bench is strong now with Gortat, Bass, and Barnes.
LA will be better mentally from winning a ring. That aspect is huge - is for any team thats been a champion before. All question marks and self doubt are removed. There is also room for growth with 2 of their top 8 (Bynum/Brown).
I'd agree w/that. Better hope Bynum and others hold the ship steady.. or comments could be made by Kobe or Phil and there goes some chemistry, or out a player or two go then the pressure is getting the FNGs to learn the system before playoffs.
I liked Lee, he showed some good game and toughness for a young guy. They may miss him more than they will Hedo.
Kobe couldnt do it without Gasol!
If handled means... got your asses handed to you by Detroit when you were heavily favored, write a tell-all book complaining about your superstar SG, retire, come back, lead your team to a defeat by the defenseless Suns after leading 3-1, have a Spanish gift fall into your lap provided by a Laker Legend, then get your asses handed to you by Boston when you were heavily favored, and then withstand all the teams that lost major pieces of their teams during the playoffs to win last season's NBA le, then... I agree with you.
Last year showed two things.
Cleveland, who wasn't mired with injuries and had the best record in the NBA east, were shown for their true colors and their lack of depth and skill outside of Lebron. They cruised all the way, and looked unstoppable before facing the Magic, who had an injured jameer to boot.
Lakers, who wasn't mired with injuries either (bynum didn't play bad cuz he was injured, it's cuz he really does lack the proper mentality to win) also had the best record of the west at the time. But they had trouble with an undermanned rocket team and initially had trouble with denver.
TBH of the two, I think cleveland did more to plug up their deficiencies than the Lakers did. In the end it's a game of mismatches, and with the other teams fully reloaded, we have no idea, whether last years lakers or this years lakers will be do better or worse.
Well then we agree.
Situation Handled.
How do you blame that on Bynum's mentality when A - it was his first real playoff experience and B - he had the mentality of dominating (including giving it to Duncan) before he got hurt.
The trouble with Houston was overstated. Hollinger had a rare good article where he showed that the last 7 NBA champs (including the Lakers last year) struggled in Round 2.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playof...PERDiem-090511That may well prove to be true, but before we get too far along in writing them off, perhaps we should consult some history books. The NBA landscape is littered with champions who looked nothing like the part midway through the second round.
Let me remind you of the history of our past six champions:
• A year ago, Boston reached this point in the playoffs with a sterling 6-5 mark against two teams that had allowed more points than they'd scored in the regular season. Following a second straight double-digit loss to Cleveland, commentators openly questioned the ability of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to deliver in the clutch.
• A year earlier, the Spurs lost Game 4 at home to Phoenix to even the series 2-2, and didn't have home-court advantage. It took the controversial suspensions of Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw a day later to propel them toward the le.
• In 2006, Miami had lost twice to Chicago in the opening round and dropped the opener of Round 2 to New Jersey before rallying toward the le. Like this season's Lakers squad, the Heat were seen as horrific underachievers at the time.
• The 2005 Spurs reached this point tied 2-2 with the Sonics in a rough, physical series in which the Sonics got under the Spurs' skin. It's easy to forget now, but a sizable contingent of media already had their golf clubs and Coppertone packed for a Phoenix-Miami Finals.
• In 2004, the Pistons were in even worse shape. Not only were they tied 2-2 with the Nets after a second straight one-sided loss in the Swamp, they went on to lose Game 5 at home because they couldn't contain Brian freaking Scalabrine. Still, they went on to win it.
• In 2003, San Antonio also found itself knotted at 2-2 against three-time defending champion L.A. -- in fact at this point in the postseason the Spurs' record was just 6-4, and lot of critics were pointing to their alleged softness as a reason they wouldn't prevail.
Six straight champions had adversity staring them in the face at this point in the playoffs; not since the Lakers' three-peat have we seen a champion get through a second-round series without having to answer a lot of questions along the way.
Pointing to a sub-par 2nd round is a stone a Spurs fan should dare not touch, let alone throw.
Last edited by 2Cleva; 08-05-2009 at 01:34 PM.
The game is about mismatches and exposing them. That's pretty much how a lower seeded team can beat a higher one. Mismatches... Lakers have a solid team and regardless of Artest being crazy he is only need to handle the job of being a defensive stopper. Lakers have 7fter with a solid post game in Gasol, a mobile big in Odom, and a solid defensive big in Bynum. Then there's Kobe. Nothing to say about the point cause Brown is not the answer regardless of the little spots here and there that he showed to be nice. Either way a solid team with a ship now under its belt. Are they unstoppable? No. Can the Spurs beat them? Sure given health is not a issue I like this match up.
Shannon Brown's strengths are his D, athleticism, his 3 pt shooting, and knowing his role. Doing that alone and he's perfect for the team. With Kobe, LO, Walton, and Artest (not to mention the tri and the passing 7 footers they have) - LA doesn't need him to be a creator with the ball.
Derek Fisher/Steve Kerr but with defensive ability and athleticism is what LA is hoping for.
Walton?! Don't go there!
Face it, the Lakers don't have much of a bench, if you consider the fact that the Spurs (and other teams) made improvements this off-season, the Lakers will need a better bench to make it back to the finals.. It's a loooong season and your starters can only take you so far.
LOL Walton
Best thing I've read all week.The game is about mismatches and exposing them. That's pretty much how a lower seeded team can beat a higher one. Mismatches... Lakers have a solid team and regardless of Artest being crazy he is only need to handle the job of being a defensive stopper. Lakers have 7fter with a solid post game in Gasol, a mobile big in Odom, and a solid defensive big in Bynum. Then there's Kobe. Nothing to say about the point cause Brown is not the answer regardless of the little spots here and there that he showed to be nice. Either way a solid team with a ship now under its belt. Are they unstoppable? No. Can the Spurs beat them? Sure given health is not a issue I like this match up.
The one and only thing Walton can do well is pass.Walton?! Don't go there!
Face it, the Lakers don't have much of a bench, if you consider the fact that the Spurs (and other teams) made improvements this off-season, the Lakers will need a better bench to make it back to the finals.. It's a loooong season and your starters can only take you so far.
LA doesn't have much of a bench? Considering Artest replaces Ariza in the starting lineup they have the same bench they had last season and that was plenty good enough.
How does it stack up?
- Farmar/Brown is at least on the level of backup PGs of any other contender.
- No team has a player as good as Odom coming off bench - including SA considering Ginobili's health in recent years.
- A couple of nice big men for depth in Powell/Mbenga.
- Walton is a nice glue guy off the bench. When needed on for heavy minutes is when he sucks.
- Only question mark is with Sasha - will he suck next season like last season or will he find his mojo like he did in 07-08.
What's more - all have championship experience. I'd take that bench over a team like SA with Ginobili a health question mark, and a bunch of guys who never have been there before or are near the end of the road (Ratliff). SA's biggest hope is Blair and only the games will prove if he's a steal or earned that red flag for a reason.
Im trying to figure out how the Cavs stand a great chance at beating LA 4 times in a 7 game series. You have to be versatile on both ends and you have to be able to limit the Lakers O. Cavs aren't versatile enough and they sure as cant limit the Lakers O. It wont matter how successful the Cavs are on O. You arent going to beat the best offensive team in that type of game.
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