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Lakers fan here....

For those of you who are behind your team and think you can win....GOOD FOR YOU. The West is too close this year and anything can happen. For those who are down already keep in mind that we havent exactly been a great defensive team this year and the nuggets are going to score points.

We were hoping to get Bynam and Ariza back for this series to fix all that but it did not happen.

I think this series is going to be closer then anyone thinks.

hope you're right. goodluck

I'm a little down, but I know we can score on the Lakers. Big defenders is our biggest weakness, and Lakers don't really have any.

coaching is my biggest concern... and we clearly have the advantage there...

I like the matchups....I'd like our chances a lot with a different coach....but with that being said....I think we've got a great chance...anytime you have as much if not more talent then another team in the NBA, you've got a decent chance.

Kenyon vs Odom is going to determine who wins this series IMO.

JRmakes_it_rain wrote:I like the matchups....I'd like our chances a lot with a different coach....but with that being said....I think we've got a great chance...anytime you have as much if not more talent then another team in the NBA, you've got a decent chance.

To me it isn't about who has more talent but who can be the most consistant.

That is how you put teams away in the final game because teams do not want to go home and will fight to the death....you have be consistant on both sides of the ball and wear a team down.

John from Hemet wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



To me it isn't about who has more talent but who can be the most consistant.

That is how you put teams away in the final game because teams do not want to go home and will fight to the death....you have be consistant on both sides of the ball and wear a team down.

Exactly. Who can utilize the most of their talent....not who has more talent on the floor. 5 guys with less talent that utilize all of it will beat 5 guys with all the talent in the world that take possessions off.

I feel we must contain JR and Kleiza,suppressing the Nuggets role players is the key.

Melo and AI will get theirs no question about that. Bench scoring will be key also. The Lakers have one of the better benches in the league, capable of chipping in 30 plus point if needed and that takes the load off our starters.

I'm curious to see what Denver has game planned for.

expect big scoring nights from Sasha, Walton, Fisher and Radmanovic at any night.


I mean, I really like Denver's chances. Camby is good match up to Gasol. He is soft, sure. But so is Gasol. Also when Pau will know there is Kenyon waiting to smack him pretty hard.
I don't care about Odom. He could average triple doubles on Denver and I wouldn't be scared. It is true, he is Mr. Unclutch. Melo can't guard him. He couldn't guard me, think. But as I said, I don't care.
Fisher vs. AI scares me... Derek is too strong for AI and can kill Nuggets when AI falls asleep on defense.
Kobe vs. Atkins... Let's rather not think about it

Maf wrote:expect big scoring nights from Sasha, Walton, Fisher and Radmanovic at any night.


I mean, I really like Denver's chances. Camby is good match up to Gasol. He is soft, sure. But so is Gasol. Also when Pau will know there is Kenyon waiting to smack him pretty hard.
I don't care about Odom. He could average triple doubles on Denver and I wouldn't be scared. It is true, he is Mr. Unclutch. Melo can't guard him. He couldn't guard me, think. But as I said, I don't care.
Fisher vs. AI scares me... Derek is too strong for AI and can kill Nuggets when AI falls asleep on defense.
Kobe vs. Atkins... Let's rather not think about it

Actually from the lakers side my views are very different:

- Yes and n Camby is a good match on Gasol.....yes because Gasol is soft defensively (although his blocks and position defenseare improving as his ankle gets closer to 100 percent) but Offensively man on man Camby isnt going to be able to guard Pau because Pau will pull him away from the basket....his mid range shot is money and he really is a PF not a C. He has a pretty good offensive set. We only stop other teams players right now with TEAM defense.

- Odom is the X factor of the whole thing and he def should be worried about....his game has changed so much this year esp with Pau.....everything is a dunk or hard to the hoop....he has turned into a rebounding machine (5th in the NBA I could be wrong) Pau spreads the floor and Odom is really playing his best Basketball right now. Just dont tell him he is the number 2 guy and he i ok.

- I worry about the AI vs Fisher matchup...DF is hurt and could not guard quick guards when he was healthy. Our best defending guard may be Sasha.

- Somewhere in this series I think Ira Newble and DJ Mbenga are going to make contributions with their defense

If the Nuggets have Nene for 20+ minutes a night, they have a chnace against the Lakers, without him I think Gasol, Bynum, and even Turiaf have a field day against us.

Also I think we need to start JR and let him guard Kobe, in limited minutes he has guarded him as well as anybody on the team.

We also need AI and Melo to shoot better then their 39% career averages, and play defense.

I actually like the matchup with the Lakers much more then I do against the Spurs or even the Hornets.

The Rebel wrote:If the Nuggets have Nene for 20+ minutes a night, they have a chnace against the Lakers, without him I think Gasol, Bynum, and even Turiaf have a field day against us.

Also I think we need to start JR and let him guard Kobe, in limited minutes he has guarded him as well as anybody on the team.

We also need AI and Melo to shoot better then their 39% career averages, and play defense.

I actually like the matchup with the Lakers much more then I do against the Spurs or even the Hornets.

Agreed. Camby has had success against Gasol in the past, but these are entirely different circumstances. Offensively Gasol can have his way against Camby, but on the other end, there is nothing Camby can do offensively that you can even discuss the possibility of Camby having his way against Gasol.

For that reason, Nene will be very important. Nene can D up Gasol as well as anyone, and on the other side he can definitely take advantage of Gasol's softness. Two things need to happen though, 1) Karl needs to play Nene and have faith in him, which he's shown a reluctance to do since Nene came back, and 2) Melo and especially Iverson need to look for him whether it's an isolation post-up or on the pick and roll. I think the first thing is the most important though because his presence on the court alone will do a lot defensively.

JR starting doesn't concern me as much as long as it's Kleiza starting and not Carter. Not that I think Kleiza has a chance, but I'm holding out hopes that Melo takes up the challenge to start the game going up against Kobe. Kleiza can't handle Odom, but he'll be sufficient. Or you can switch Kleiza to Radmanovich and Martin to Odom. That said, JR starting is the best option, but for now I wouldn't blame Karl for wanting him as that spark off the bench. Kleiza is at least an upgrade on Carter. And the only minutes Carter should see are the ones when Iverson is on the bench, solely for ballhandling purposes.

Did Karl say if Anthony Carter was starting?