Are we really the third best team?

[magic1fan]

Whoever says we don't need to worry about the Cavs is wrong. IIRC, we have a losing record to them since they drafted Lebron...and that was before they were legit.

How many of those games did Gasol play in?

exactly. plus i think our bench is better than their's. on top of that when the cavs play good teams they have lost. we might have had a recent slippage,but some people are overreacting. no one knows how a series would play out right now.

[Luxury]

Ask this question again during the All-Star break.

[Harison]

LA can we seen as 3rd best atm, but its just the beginning of the season and LA win ratio is just fine. I'm sure Phil knows current weaknesses better than any of us and working on it, only playoffs will show who is 1st As long as LA are injury free and focused, they have a good shot for the title.

I don't even buy the "Lakers have more talent" argument, either. What, does Pierce-Garnett-Allen suck or something? And isn't it clear that Cleveland has finally surrounded LBJ, who will win the first of many MVPs this season, with a respectable supporting cast?

Celtics are packed with ultra talanted players (the most in NBA IMO), but after Big 4 there is sharp decline in the roster, unlike LA, who have more than decent bench.

[semi-sentient]

^^^ Agreed.

I don't see how anyone can possibly rank the Lakers higher than either the Cavs or Celtics at this point. Screw potential, talent, and schedule (as if ours hasn't been soft recently). Both of those teams are playing some great basketball, and more importantly, they play consistently sound defense.

Huh? Its all based on who you play, therefore schedule does matter. If we played the clippers everyday we would have the best defense in the league. Spurs were a better defensive team than us last year and we came back from a 20 point and 17 point deficit in the series last year...some defense.

Schedule matters to a certain degree, but in this case I don't think it applies. The Lakers schedule has not been any more difficult than either the Cavs or Celtics these past 10 games or so. They've played mostly scrub teams, and so have we. Yes, we were the #1 team for the first half of this young season, but much has changed since then.

[CHIMOCHI]

lakers .493 SOS
Cavs .490 SOS

wow the lakers have had such a tougher schedule

lol wut

[Dr Aki]

can anyone imagine the havoc ziggy would create on the screen and pop??

take bynum away from the paint and hes a lame duck on defense and rebounding...

lets hope that kobe's right when he said in a recent interview, that laker teams he's been on in the past have been lacksadaisical on defense during the regular season but all of a sudden get hot in time for the playoffs and annihilate everyone...

if there was a 7 game series between us and either the cavs or boston today, we'd lose in 5, maybe 6 games...

[DubaLakers]

The Cavs are playing D? The world must be ending. I have yet to see them play. Who plays D on that team? I just double checked there roster to see if they traded for Artest or Camby, really they play D? Hard to believe I'll have to watch them next time I get a chance.

[CHIMOCHI]

updated
Cavs .484 SOS
Lakers .483 SOS

[DowJones]

Mike Brown is a great defensive coach. He has always been that. That is how Cleveland got to the Finals a few years ago and that is why they were dead even with the Celtics through 6.8 games of the 7 game series. Ben Wallace is also looking like the Ben Wallace of old when he plays. His stats may not show it because Cleveland really limits his minutes.

[dockingsched]

The Cavs are playing D? The world must be ending. I have yet to see them play. Who plays D on that team? I just double checked there roster to see if they traded for Artest or Camby, really they play D? Hard to believe I'll have to watch them next time I get a chance.

green font duba?

cavs have been an elite defensive team since mike brown got there.

[snaquille oatmeal]

Ask this question again during the All-Star break.

yes, because right now I feel like the Lakers are the butterface team of the league. we look great from a far with a 17-3 record, but up close....

[TonyMontana]

I seriously think that Sasha is making us look bad with who he is and his actions on the court.
He has become our spokes model in how feminant this team has become.
With his whining and crying, he's freaking hair and his eyebrows, and his headband has really brought this teams image down to us becoming models for a Liz Clayborn fashion show, not a team that is suppose to be contending. I mean lets be real.
We do look and play soft.

[snaquille oatmeal]

I heard an interview with Farmar yesterday on the radio and was asked about the defensive wows of the team and his and he kept saying that in the NBA any any opposing player can make a difference in any given game that is why they play in the NBA. every time there was a question about defense he kept repeating the same thing. I was getting angry because he didn't seem to understand that just because a player plays in the NBA that you have to accept that he will beat your defense every time. it just seemed like he was mentally soft when it came to playing defense.

[mr-EEE]

I seriously think that Sasha is making us look bad with who he is and his actions on the court.
He has become our spokes model in how feminant this team has become.
With his whining and crying, he's freaking hair and his eyebrows, and his headband has really brought this teams image down to us becoming models for a Liz Clayborn fashion show, not a team that is suppose to be contending. I mean lets be real.
We do look and play soft.

first off its HIS not HE'S ok borat. In my book, his hair and eyebrows is what makes a man.look at rick fox. slasha is consistent and he's not afraid to do what it takes to win a game. EVEN the bulls won with dennis rodman. its not about how you look its what you put on the floor.

[Verbal]

I heard an interview with Farmar yesterday on the radio and was asked about the defensive wows of the team and his and he kept saying that in the NBA any any opposing player can make a difference in any given game that is why they play in the NBA. every time there was a question about defense he kept repeating the same thing. I was getting angry because he didn't seem to understand that just because a player plays in the NBA that you have to accept that he will beat your defense every time. it just seemed like he was mentally soft when it came to playing defense.

I'll look to DL it if you can give me an address.

[snaquille oatmeal]

I heard an interview with Farmar yesterday on the radio and was asked about the defensive wows of the team and his and he kept saying that in the NBA any any opposing player can make a difference in any given game that is why they play in the NBA. every time there was a question about defense he kept repeating the same thing. I was getting angry because he didn't seem to understand that just because a player plays in the NBA that you have to accept that he will beat your defense every time. it just seemed like he was mentally soft when it came to playing defense.

I'll look to DL it if you can give me an address.

it was on AM 570 saturday. it was an interview that took place at Universal Studios. same show that interviewed James Worthy ripping the Lakers defense.

[Erik Eleven]

http://www.xtrasportsradio.com/main.html