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Can the Lakers go to the finals in the west or is their somebody on their heels?

yes they can. spurs r goin down. houston will be tough, but the health of yao ming, and the attitude of artest will be there downfall. new orleans is the only threat on that list. another yr older CP3, and now with some international experience under his belt. phoenix....well lets leave the bashing till we beat them....utah hasnt made any significant changes to their roster. they'll be in the hunt, but wont make it. portland..lots of talent, trouble with matchups as well. however, ultimately, they r too young and an inexperienced of a team. they will get there eventually however.

if lakers can stay healthy (if bynum doesnt break a nail) they're set in the west

don't forget the clippers

Scandalouzzzz wrote:yes they can. spurs r goin down. houston will be tough, but the health of yao ming, and the attitude of artest will be there downfall. new orleans is the only threat on that list. another yr older CP3, and now with some international experience under his belt. phoenix....well lets leave the bashing till we beat them....utah hasnt made any significant changes to their roster. they'll be in the hunt, but wont make it. portland..lots of talent, trouble with matchups as well. however, ultimately, they r too young and an inexperienced of a team. they will get there eventually however.

if lakers can stay healthy (if bynum doesnt break a nail) they're set in the west

I am going with the Lakers. If Philly has to be play Boston and Detroit that might be too much. However if Philly only plays one of them, they could get to the finals. Boston has to be the favorite.

deathbringer6 wrote:don't forget the clippers

If they're still in our conference, then don't rule out Oklahoma City either.

Call me a Homer if u want 2 but until someone dethrones us, WE ARE THE TEAM TO BEAT IN THE WEST

Call me a Homer if u want 2 but until someone dethrones us, WE ARE THE TEAM TO BEAT IN THE WEST

deathbringer6 wrote:don't forget the clippers

Do the Clipps even make the playoffs next year?

Barring a horrible string of injuries: the Lakers, Rockets, Jazz, Hornets, Spurs, and the Suns definitely make it.

I'm assuming Dallas gets the 7th seed.

Now we have the Blazers, the Nuggets , the Warriors, and the Clippers fighting for one spot...IMO the Blazers are the toughest/most solid of those teams. They lack experience, but I think Roy can get them there.

Scandalouzzzz wrote:
if lakers can stay healthy (if bynum doesnt break a nail) they're set in the west

The kid dislocated his knee and the Lakers' training staff botched his recovery. It's sort of sad when you're calling our second most physical player a pussy.

Can I go with the Grizzlies ?!

Phoenix Suns

crazyeights wrote:

Scandalouzzzz wrote:
if lakers can stay healthy (if bynum doesnt break a nail) they're set in the west

The kid dislocated his knee and the Lakers' training staff botched his recovery. It's sort of sad when you're calling our second most physical player a pussy.

Did they? Really?

The Lakers' medical staff finished their analysis and then suggested Bynum the best medical procedure (what they said exactly is slipping my mind right now).

Thing is, Jim Fkkn Buss told Bynum to seek his own people. Bynum then went to his doctors in ATL, which were the ones who told him what to do.

That obviously didnt work out too good.

Houston Rockets without a question!

Wow, seems to early to start to think of this. I think who would fill out the training camp roster would be more interesting. Not who will be in the playoffs in 10 months form now.

Houston Rockets are coming out the west this year.

crazyeights wrote:

Scandalouzzzz wrote:
if lakers can stay healthy (if bynum doesnt break a nail) they're set in the west

The kid dislocated his knee and the Lakers' training staff botched his recovery. It's sort of sad when you're calling our second most physical player a pussy.

not calling the kid a pussy. just that he went out for an injury that was originally supposed to be 8 weeks, and remained sitting out the entire yr...why? cuz his doctors told him too. anything can happen with this guy. he can break a nail and the doctors would say, "careful, sit ur butt down cuz its a sign ur gonna break ur hand"

If that's the case, then we have no shot at the 'ship next year.

Kno wrote:

crazyeights wrote:

Scandalouzzzz wrote:
if lakers can stay healthy (if bynum doesnt break a nail) they're set in the west

The kid dislocated his knee and the Lakers' training staff botched his recovery. It's sort of sad when you're calling our second most physical player a pussy.

Did they? Really?

The Lakers' medical staff finished their analysis and then suggested Bynum the best medical procedure (what they said exactly is slipping my mind right now).

Thing is, Jim Fkkn Buss told Bynum to seek his own people. Bynum then went to his doctors in ATL, which were the ones who told him what to do.

That obviously didnt work out too good.

IIRC, Bynum's recovery was way beyond the 8 week recovery time that was originally proposed. Jimmy Buss told Bynum to get a second opinion after his recovery didn't go as planned...i/e botched.

And he didn't go to ATL for that second opinion, he went to NJ according to ESPN:

The Los Angeles Lakers didn't expect Andrew Bynum back for the playoffs. Now, they just want him to be healthy for next season.

The young center will seek a second opinion on the knee injury that has been slow to heal, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. Bynum will see Dr. Steven Gecha on Wednesday in Princeton, N.J.

He was injured January 13th. That article is from May 5th. Eighteen weeks after the injury. It shouldn't have taken that long. And it was the Lakers' staff, not Bynum or Jimmy Buss' second opinion that screwed anything up.

Yeah it may have caused tension in the FO, but to me a second opinion is what anyone would have done.

Botched?

First off, it was a minimim of 8 weeks recovery. There was no surgery, just rehab. You either respond to rehab ar you do not. There was swelling that happened.

Secondly, by all accounts he was cleared by the Lakers enough to play- he just choose to get a second opinon from due to his family and agent thinking about long term. ( he has the right)

Had he wanted to come back , he probably could have. He choose to be safe, got a second opinion by a non-nba doctor and then after it was all said and done he had a minor surgery to clean up his knee cap.

Alot of players in this league and the history of the NBA have played with more pain and worse injuries than Bynum had. He just choose to make sure his future is secure.

1. Lakers (62-20)
2. Hornets (59-23)
3. Rockets (57-25)
4. Jazz (54-28)
5. Spurs (51-31)
6. Suns (49-33)
7. Blazers (48-34)
8. Mavs (47-35)

Lakers def Mavs
Hornets def Blazers
Rockets def Suns
Spurs def Jizz

Lakers def Spurs
Hornets def Rockets

Lakers def Hornets

Lakers def Cavs

Yes, Lakers win the Title
Yes, Lakers win the West
Yes, Lakers win the home court by 3 gms
Yes, Lakers win the pacific by 13 gms
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, No Doubt