If you're Miami would you....

[Americafkya]

Play a traditional lineup against the Lakers in an NBA finals series?

Miami realized a huge advantage that it had on other teams this season when it had a healthy Bosh at C and Lebron at PF. Lebron at PF was able to go down in the post, play from outside, etc etc. He has a unique ability to create an offensive mismatch against any Pf as well as hold his own defensively against most of them.

A healthy Lakers team:

Nash
kobe
Peace
Gasol
Dwight

Pretty diesel. Miami's best bets would be A) transition: i don't see the lakers being able to stop them on the break B) exploit the PG mismatch and hope the Lebron/Wade perimeter combo wears down the Lakers.

Do you think Miami is better off switching back to the traditional Chalmers/wade/bron/bosh/ center lineup and hoping whatever bargain bin center they put up there holds his own? or should they stick to their guns and let Bosh try to D up Dwight, and use their small ball lineup to play to their advantage?

[28reloaded]

i'd probably play the same lineup they did last year, seeing as they'll be playing OKC

[durden_tyler]

If you're Miami would you.... Play a traditional lineup against the Lakers in an NBA finals series?

Definitely no because you don't have the tools to beat them with a traditional line-up. Force the other team to adjust or to your non-traditional approach-- you live and die with it because as much as you have a big hole in your front court you can reverse it and abuse them with your speed too.

[Aki]

how haslem holds up trying to defend pau would be vitally important in playing a traditional lineup against the lakers.

[Lakerfan17]

Well there's no way I'm putting Bosh on Dwight. That's just asking for foul trouble. I'd put Bosh on Gasol, then LeBron on Kobe so I can put Wade on Nash. I think putting Wade on Nash would be their best best at slowing him down.

[Buckeyevstworld]

Well there's no way I'm putting Bosh on Dwight. That's just asking for foul trouble. I'd put Bosh on Gasol, then LeBron on Kobe so I can put Wade on Nash. I think putting Wade on Nash would be their best best at slowing him down.

But he added 6lbs of muscle. Clearly that means he can shut down Dwight.

[Chosen01]

Traditional center, the Heat have that? The Heat have a 6'9 PF in Joel and 6'8-6'9 PF in Haslem.

So there would be nothing traditional about the lineup. Spoesltra has already come out to say Heat will be running even faster which is of course a big advantage to the Heat. So it comes down to if the Heat's offense and defense can mitigate the rebounding advantage the Lakers would have.

There's no doubt on paper Lakers have a pretty big rebounding advantage.

[Felixano]

Why is everyone so certain the Lakers will even get to the finals?

Last I checked Durant (in '12) and Westbrook (in '10) have dismantled the Lakers the last two times they played them in the playoffs. The Lakers still have NO answer defensively for either of these two players. Nash and Artest can only dream of containing them.

For OKC, they basically have a way of stopping or slowing down every key player on the Lakers' roster. Westbrook will make Nash's life a living hell on offense, even with all those screen plays, he had no problem really getting over them against Parker (who is much quicker than Nash) and the Spurs last year once he made some adjustments. Thabo Sefolosha has basically become the unofficial Kobe-stopper, I haven't seen any other active player guard Kobe better than he does. Durant gets to rest of defense against Artest/Jamison, and depending on how well/poorly they're shooting he can venture into the paint to help double bigmen. Ibaka can handle Pau defensively, while frustrating him with block after block. Kendrick Perkins is one of the few players that doesn't need a double to guard Dwight in the post.

It seems like half this board is Lakers fans all of a sudden (or maybe you guys were just quiet because you got rofl-stomped by OKC this year and Dallas the previous one), but a good majority just love acting like a finals trip is a foregone conclusion. It's going to be very funny watching you guys complain about the refs, while OKC is knocking your team out of the playoffs in the conference finals.

And anyway... if Miami does play LA they'll use the same lineup as last year, except maybe with Ray Allen/Rashard instead of Chalmers/Battier, but LeBron will be at 4 and Bosh at 5. I don't think many of you understand the concept of zone defense, help defense, or just generally rotating on D. Guarding Dwight will be a team effort, but the Heat can actually sag into the paint more because Nash (and Jodie Meeks I suppose) is the only consistent three point shooter on the Lakers roster.

The better question is. How the hell are the Lakers going to defend a potential Wade-Allen-Battier-LeBron-Bosh lineup? Last I checked, neither Pau nor Dwight have any concept of how to guard a perimeter shooter (nor do they have the foot-speed). That lineup would crucify the Lakers offensively.

[Buckeyevstworld]

Why is everyone so certain the Lakers will even get to the finals?

Last I checked Durant (in '12) and Westbrook (in '10) have dismantled the Lakers the last two times they played them in the playoffs. The Lakers still have NO answer defensively for either of these two players. Nash and Artest can only dream of containing them.

For OKC, they basically have a way of stopping or slowing down every key player on the Lakers' roster. Westbrook will make Nash's life a living hell on offense, even with all those screen plays, he had no problem really getting over them against Parker (who is much quicker than Nash) and the Spurs last year once he made some adjustments. Thabo Sefolosha has basically become the unofficial Kobe-stopper, I haven't seen any other active player guard Kobe better than he does. Durant gets to rest of defense against Artest/Jamison, and depending on how well/poorly they're shooting he can venture into the paint to help double bigmen. Ibaka can handle Pau defensively, while frustrating him with block after block. Kendrick Perkins is one of the few players that doesn't need a double to guard Dwight in the post.

It seems like half this board is Lakers fans all of a sudden (or maybe you guys were just quiet because you got rofl-stomped by OKC this year and Dallas the previous one), but a good majority just love acting like a finals trip is a foregone conclusion. It's going to be very funny watching you guys complain about the refs, while OKC is knocking your team out of the playoffs in the conference finals.

And anyway... if Miami does play LA they'll use the same lineup as last year, except maybe with Ray Allen/Rashard instead of Chalmers/Battier, but LeBron will be at 4 and Bosh at 5. I don't think many of you understand the concept of zone defense, help defense, or just generally rotating on D. Guarding Dwight will be a team effort, but the Heat can actually sag into the paint more because Nash (and Jodie Meeks I suppose) is the only consistent three point shooter on the Lakers roster.

The better question is. How the hell are the Lakers going to defend a potential Wade-Allen-Battier-LeBron-Bosh lineup? Last I checked, neither Pau nor Dwight have any concept of how to guard a perimeter shooter (nor do they have the foot-speed). That lineup would crucify the Lakers offensively.

Except that didn't happen.

[triple_threat]

Why is everyone so certain the Lakers will even get to the finals?

Last I checked Durant (in '12) and Westbrook (in '10) have dismantled the Lakers the last two times they played them in the playoffs. The Lakers still have NO answer defensively for either of these two players. Nash and Artest can only dream of containing them.

For OKC, they basically have a way of stopping or slowing down every key player on the Lakers' roster. Westbrook will make Nash's life a living hell on offense, even with all those screen plays, he had no problem really getting over them against Parker (who is much quicker than Nash) and the Spurs last year once he made some adjustments. Thabo Sefolosha has basically become the unofficial Kobe-stopper, I haven't seen any other active player guard Kobe better than he does. Durant gets to rest of defense against Artest/Jamison, and depending on how well/poorly they're shooting he can venture into the paint to help double bigmen. Ibaka can handle Pau defensively, while frustrating him with block after block. Kendrick Perkins is one of the few players that doesn't need a double to guard Dwight in the post.

It seems like half this board is Lakers fans all of a sudden (or maybe you guys were just quiet because you got rofl-stomped by OKC this year and Dallas the previous one), but a good majority just love acting like a finals trip is a foregone conclusion. It's going to be very funny watching you guys complain about the refs, while OKC is knocking your team out of the playoffs in the conference finals.

And anyway... if Miami does play LA they'll use the same lineup as last year, except maybe with Ray Allen/Rashard instead of Chalmers/Battier, but LeBron will be at 4 and Bosh at 5. I don't think many of you understand the concept of zone defense, help defense, or just generally rotating on D. Guarding Dwight will be a team effort, but the Heat can actually sag into the paint more because Nash (and Jodie Meeks I suppose) is the only consistent three point shooter on the Lakers roster.

The better question is. How the hell are the Lakers going to defend a potential Wade-Allen-Battier-LeBron-Bosh lineup? Last I checked, neither Pau nor Dwight have any concept of how to guard a perimeter shooter (nor do they have the foot-speed). That lineup would crucify the Lakers offensively.

You talk about team defense when it comes to Miami guarding Dwight yet team defense doesnt apply when it comes to the lakers guarding durant and westbrook? Even though they added the best help defender in the nba? Clearly you have an agenda or are just not very bright.

[Felixano]

Why is everyone so certain the Lakers will even get to the finals?

Last I checked Durant (in '12) and Westbrook (in '10) have dismantled the Lakers the last two times they played them in the playoffs. The Lakers still have NO answer defensively for either of these two players. Nash and Artest can only dream of containing them.

For OKC, they basically have a way of stopping or slowing down every key player on the Lakers' roster. Westbrook will make Nash's life a living hell on offense, even with all those screen plays, he had no problem really getting over them against Parker (who is much quicker than Nash) and the Spurs last year once he made some adjustments. Thabo Sefolosha has basically become the unofficial Kobe-stopper, I haven't seen any other active player guard Kobe better than he does. Durant gets to rest of defense against Artest/Jamison, and depending on how well/poorly they're shooting he can venture into the paint to help double bigmen. Ibaka can handle Pau defensively, while frustrating him with block after block. Kendrick Perkins is one of the few players that doesn't need a double to guard Dwight in the post.

It seems like half this board is Lakers fans all of a sudden (or maybe you guys were just quiet because you got rofl-stomped by OKC this year and Dallas the previous one), but a good majority just love acting like a finals trip is a foregone conclusion. It's going to be very funny watching you guys complain about the refs, while OKC is knocking your team out of the playoffs in the conference finals.

And anyway... if Miami does play LA they'll use the same lineup as last year, except maybe with Ray Allen/Rashard instead of Chalmers/Battier, but LeBron will be at 4 and Bosh at 5. I don't think many of you understand the concept of zone defense, help defense, or just generally rotating on D. Guarding Dwight will be a team effort, but the Heat can actually sag into the paint more because Nash (and Jodie Meeks I suppose) is the only consistent three point shooter on the Lakers roster.

The better question is. How the hell are the Lakers going to defend a potential Wade-Allen-Battier-LeBron-Bosh lineup? Last I checked, neither Pau nor Dwight have any concept of how to guard a perimeter shooter (nor do they have the foot-speed). That lineup would crucify the Lakers offensively.

Except that didn't happen.

That is EXACTLY what happened. The Lakers lost in 5 games to OKC. Yes there were 2 close losses, but the Lakers' only win was also in a VERY close game, and the Thunder still blew them out in 2 of the 4 wins. That is called getting stomped... very similar to what Miami did to OKC in the finals.

And if you think the Lakers didn't get stomped by Dallas, you are living in a dream world. Game 1 was the only game that was really close. They got blown out at HOME in game 2, and in game 4 gave up 75 points and 16 threes to 3 bench players in a 36 point loss.

[Felixano]

Why is everyone so certain the Lakers will even get to the finals?

Last I checked Durant (in '12) and Westbrook (in '10) have dismantled the Lakers the last two times they played them in the playoffs. The Lakers still have NO answer defensively for either of these two players. Nash and Artest can only dream of containing them.

For OKC, they basically have a way of stopping or slowing down every key player on the Lakers' roster. Westbrook will make Nash's life a living hell on offense, even with all those screen plays, he had no problem really getting over them against Parker (who is much quicker than Nash) and the Spurs last year once he made some adjustments. Thabo Sefolosha has basically become the unofficial Kobe-stopper, I haven't seen any other active player guard Kobe better than he does. Durant gets to rest of defense against Artest/Jamison, and depending on how well/poorly they're shooting he can venture into the paint to help double bigmen. Ibaka can handle Pau defensively, while frustrating him with block after block. Kendrick Perkins is one of the few players that doesn't need a double to guard Dwight in the post.

It seems like half this board is Lakers fans all of a sudden (or maybe you guys were just quiet because you got rofl-stomped by OKC this year and Dallas the previous one), but a good majority just love acting like a finals trip is a foregone conclusion. It's going to be very funny watching you guys complain about the refs, while OKC is knocking your team out of the playoffs in the conference finals.

And anyway... if Miami does play LA they'll use the same lineup as last year, except maybe with Ray Allen/Rashard instead of Chalmers/Battier, but LeBron will be at 4 and Bosh at 5. I don't think many of you understand the concept of zone defense, help defense, or just generally rotating on D. Guarding Dwight will be a team effort, but the Heat can actually sag into the paint more because Nash (and Jodie Meeks I suppose) is the only consistent three point shooter on the Lakers roster.

The better question is. How the hell are the Lakers going to defend a potential Wade-Allen-Battier-LeBron-Bosh lineup? Last I checked, neither Pau nor Dwight have any concept of how to guard a perimeter shooter (nor do they have the foot-speed). That lineup would crucify the Lakers offensively.

You talk about team defense when it comes to Miami guarding Dwight yet team defense doesnt apply when it comes to the lakers guarding durant and westbrook? Even though they added the best help defender in the nba? Clearly you have an agenda or are just not very bright.

Lol I have no agenda so I guess I'm an idiot then , I don't like the Thunder or the Lakers to be quite honest. Although I will agree with you that Dwight's rim protection will help the Lakers contain Westbrook and Durant on drives to the basket.... both players are deadly from mid-range (Durant from 3 as well) though so we'll see how that goes. I just think it's funny that Lakers fans think it's a shoe-in that they'll beat OKC after the ass-whooping that they took last year.

[Buckeyevstworld]

Why is everyone so certain the Lakers will even get to the finals?

Last I checked Durant (in '12) and Westbrook (in '10) have dismantled the Lakers the last two times they played them in the playoffs. The Lakers still have NO answer defensively for either of these two players. Nash and Artest can only dream of containing them.

For OKC, they basically have a way of stopping or slowing down every key player on the Lakers' roster. Westbrook will make Nash's life a living hell on offense, even with all those screen plays, he had no problem really getting over them against Parker (who is much quicker than Nash) and the Spurs last year once he made some adjustments. Thabo Sefolosha has basically become the unofficial Kobe-stopper, I haven't seen any other active player guard Kobe better than he does. Durant gets to rest of defense against Artest/Jamison, and depending on how well/poorly they're shooting he can venture into the paint to help double bigmen. Ibaka can handle Pau defensively, while frustrating him with block after block. Kendrick Perkins is one of the few players that doesn't need a double to guard Dwight in the post.

It seems like half this board is Lakers fans all of a sudden (or maybe you guys were just quiet because you got rofl-stomped by OKC this year and Dallas the previous one), but a good majority just love acting like a finals trip is a foregone conclusion. It's going to be very funny watching you guys complain about the refs, while OKC is knocking your team out of the playoffs in the conference finals.

And anyway... if Miami does play LA they'll use the same lineup as last year, except maybe with Ray Allen/Rashard instead of Chalmers/Battier, but LeBron will be at 4 and Bosh at 5. I don't think many of you understand the concept of zone defense, help defense, or just generally rotating on D. Guarding Dwight will be a team effort, but the Heat can actually sag into the paint more because Nash (and Jodie Meeks I suppose) is the only consistent three point shooter on the Lakers roster.

The better question is. How the hell are the Lakers going to defend a potential Wade-Allen-Battier-LeBron-Bosh lineup? Last I checked, neither Pau nor Dwight have any concept of how to guard a perimeter shooter (nor do they have the foot-speed). That lineup would crucify the Lakers offensively.

Except that didn't happen.

That is EXACTLY what happened. The Lakers lost in 5 games to OKC. Yes there were 2 close losses, but the Lakers' only win was also in a VERY close game, and the Thunder still blew them out in 2 of the 4 wins. That is called getting stomped... very similar to what Miami did to OKC in the finals.

And if you think the Lakers didn't get stomped by Dallas, you are living in a dream world. Game 1 was the only game that was really close. They got blown out at HOME in game 2, and in game 4 gave up 75 points and 16 threes to 3 bench players in a 36 point loss.

Except that it didn't. Yes, lets ignore that most of the series was close so that we can prove our point. If memory holds, game 5 didn't get out of hand until late 3rd.

Never said anything about Dallas. How do you mention 2 and 4 yet completely ignore Game 3. The Lakers had the lead late in the 4th quarter. And Game 2 was the game that they absolutely sucked behind the 3point line. Stop making it seem like every game was similar to Game 4.

[dirtymike]

Why is everyone so certain the Lakers will even get to the finals?

Last I checked Durant (in '12) and Westbrook (in '10) have dismantled the Lakers the last two times they played them in the playoffs. The Lakers still have NO answer defensively for either of these two players. Nash and Artest can only dream of containing them.

For OKC, they basically have a way of stopping or slowing down every key player on the Lakers' roster. Westbrook will make Nash's life a living hell on offense, even with all those screen plays, he had no problem really getting over them against Parker (who is much quicker than Nash) and the Spurs last year once he made some adjustments. Thabo Sefolosha has basically become the unofficial Kobe-stopper, I haven't seen any other active player guard Kobe better than he does. Durant gets to rest of defense against Artest/Jamison, and depending on how well/poorly they're shooting he can venture into the paint to help double bigmen. Ibaka can handle Pau defensively, while frustrating him with block after block. Kendrick Perkins is one of the few players that doesn't need a double to guard Dwight in the post.

It seems like half this board is Lakers fans all of a sudden (or maybe you guys were just quiet because you got rofl-stomped by OKC this year and Dallas the previous one), but a good majority just love acting like a finals trip is a foregone conclusion. It's going to be very funny watching you guys complain about the refs, while OKC is knocking your team out of the playoffs in the conference finals.

And anyway... if Miami does play LA they'll use the same lineup as last year, except maybe with Ray Allen/Rashard instead of Chalmers/Battier, but LeBron will be at 4 and Bosh at 5. I don't think many of you understand the concept of zone defense, help defense, or just generally rotating on D. Guarding Dwight will be a team effort, but the Heat can actually sag into the paint more because Nash (and Jodie Meeks I suppose) is the only consistent three point shooter on the Lakers roster.

The better question is. How the hell are the Lakers going to defend a potential Wade-Allen-Battier-LeBron-Bosh lineup? Last I checked, neither Pau nor Dwight have any concept of how to guard a perimeter shooter (nor do they have the foot-speed). That lineup would crucify the Lakers offensively.

Must be a Lakers fan...'cause you sure know alot of Laker loss stats.

[Americafkya]

Why is everyone on this forum so brain dead? You literally have to be the most immature idiot to not be able to respond with at least some intelligence to my question. I never said WHEN THE LAKERS MAKE THE FINALS or IM SURE MIAMI WILL BE PLAYING THE LAKERS IN THE FINALS THIS YEAR. by the first post in someone already is derailing the topic. WHAT MAKES YOU SO SURE THE LAKERS WILL EVEN BE MAKING THE FINALS?? shut up. People are ridiculous.

I SAID IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF YOU WERE MIAMI WOULD YOU PLAY A TRADITIONAL LINEUP AGAINST THE LAKERS IN AN NBA FINALS SERIES. I DID NOT SAY THIS YEARS FINALS, ID DID NOT SAY I WAS CERTAIN IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. I AM NOT A FAN OF EITHER TEAM. I WAS INTERESTED IN AN UNBIASED OPINION.

how do you people pass high school? How do you breathe?