Nuggets are in the WCF

Kirk Moon · Post #1 » by **Kirk Moon** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:26 am

if the Lakers beat the Rox, Denver are going to be one hell of a challenge.

our team lacks the killer instinct that all great team possessed, and to be honest, Im not so sure we can beat this Nugs team in a series.

TruSkool · Post #2 » by **TruSkool** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:43 am

neither team matches well with the other...
i say its a toss-up...the better coach will win the series.

KObe Bryant · Post #3 » by **KObe Bryant** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:51 am

4 Laker home games. Yes it will be a tough matchup but I'd say we're still the better team.

DEEP3CL · Post #4 » by **DEEP3CL** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:55 am

Kirk Moon wrote:if the Lakers beat the Rox, Denver are going to be one hell of a challenge.

our team lacks the killer instinct that all great team possessed, and to be honest, Im not so sure we can beat this Nugs team in a series.

You sure lack confidence man. You're getting too sucked into what the media is preaching about the Lakers. If we was so bad as they claim then tell me this, why doesn't anybody flat out say they'll lose ?

Denver is tough and not taking anything away from them, but we can cause them serious match up problems. They lack the front line depth to stop up. I don't wanna hear about K-Mart or Bird Man or Nene........these guys are too small. Nene is 6'10' so they say but he looks closer to 6'9". Yeah he strong but Bynum had his way with him when he was healthy. Martin is too small for Pau.

They have no answer for Kobe..........don't even mention Dontay Jones please. Our only major problem will be containing Billups.

Seriously though is this the only way you can come to the board ? Posting doom and gloom, nobody want's to see that. I'm a realist so I have no problem pointing out when I think we can't get it done. Don't beleive me check out the GT from Sunday's game.........I called it in the first that we was done. But on the other hand I don't count my team out even before they start........that's weak.

That Nicka · Post #5 » by **That Nicka** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:57 am

Billups will kill us... pretty much nothing we can do about that

Walton was surprisingly effective last year against Melo but I doubt he will be as effective this time around... Hopefully Ariza will make him work

Kobe will be dominant. Neither Jones nor Smith can guard him... Maybe Karl will put KMart on him again but it didnt work last year, wont work this year...

Gasol will be dominant as well.. Bynum could be (if Phil plays him) he can shoot over Nene easily, but Nene has the strength to push him away from the hoop so it may be another bad series for Bynum...

I hope Phil pulls his head out of his ass and plays Bynum/Brown

LAKESHOW · Post #6 » by **LAKESHOW** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:29 am

i think we are a good matchup against denver. but we have homecourt advantage, which is huge. i still think the only team out there to seriously threaten us is lebron james and the cavs. the nuggets will battle us, but we'll take them down.

the nuggets are good, but i think we have an interior advantage. the key as i mentioned against houston was yao. and he proved it. right until he got injured. without him in the middle, we will take down houston.

denver however, has a size disadvantage and we have plenty of bigs to throw out there. the key? carmelo anthony. he is a big time play maker for them. billups is very good, but he isnt that small darting kind of point guard, but a larger individual in whom i believe we can stay in front of and contain. carmelo however is their star that we are going to have to get wraps on if we are going to take them down in the least amount of games.

AceFresh · Post #7 » by **AceFresh** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:49 am

If Bynum shows up, we take the advantage..
but it's a toss up ATM since we're playing inconsistently, Bynum is still on Milk-Carton status, and Denver is playing at a high level on a consistent basis

Post #8 » by **infinite11285** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:54 am

AceFresh wrote: If Bynum shows up, we take the advantage..
but it's a toss up ATM since we're playing inconsistently, Bynum is still on Milk-Carton status, and Denver is playing at a high level on a consistent basis

GOAT sig

Post #9 » by **dockingsched** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:59 am

i honestly always though that the jazz and rockets/blazers would be a tougher matchup than anyone in the nuggets/mavs/hornets/spurs bracket. i still feel that way. bynum finally matching up with a true center that isn't yao ming is going to bring back old drew. lakers huge achilles heel that is a super fast penetrating pg won't be a concern. i think the only worry i have is jr smith.

tayzer · Post #10 » by **tayzer** » Thu May 14, 2009 7:15 am

Denver is a tough team, they are not the same team we played before. Lets just hope Bynum finds himself before this series because we will need him at his best.

realfung · Post #11 » by **realfung** » Thu May 14, 2009 7:48 am

It may take 7 games to determine. But I think Melo - Kobe matchup is cool to watch.
Bynum is going to be the edge of the Lakers or the weakness of the Lakers. Denver bench is way better than the Lakers'. But the coaching staff is Lakers, and Lakers got home court. So I say Lakers win in 6.

Dr Aki · Post #12 » by **Dr Aki** » Thu May 14, 2009 11:38 am

i doubt it

it every game the lakers and nuggets played, the lakers have outrebounded the nuggets

not to say denver will be a pushover, but there arent many teams the lakers seemingly have a rebounding advantage over despite our height

not only does kobe avg 31ppg against the nuggets, but it seems our big men always seem to garner great stats both in points and rebound numbers against these guys

i have a hard time thinking nene, birdsex and kmart will be a match for gasol/odom/bynum, im sure johan petro or renaldo balkman won't be much relief while nene/birdman are on the bench

it also seems half the time that kmart is guarding kobe because kobe is in the post so much against denver and neither dahntay jones or jr smith can stop kobe scoring down low.

it doesnt help denver that carmelo is avg'ing 14.5ppg against us this season.

the biggest problems will always be billups. especially seeing if billups continues to shoot smoking hot from downtown

Post #13 » by **Kilroy** » Thu May 14, 2009 1:36 pm

Our biggest problem against the Nuggets will be maintaining our leads...

I think we'll jump all over Denver in the 1st and 3rd, but they'll fight back... Hopefully we learned something in Houston and maintain our intinsity for all 4...

Denver has played a Hornets team that's a shell of it's former self, and a Mavericks team that was pretty much the whipping boy of the west all season... I'm not impressed.

Not taking anything away from them (that they've earned) but call me after the first game we play and I'll let you know if we need to be concerned.

hermes · Post #14 » by **hermes** » Thu May 14, 2009 2:14 pm

infinite11285 wrote:
AceFresh wrote: If Bynum shows up, we take the advantage..
but it's a toss up ATM since we're playing inconsistently, Bynum is still on Milk-Carton status, and Denver is playing at a high level on a consistent basis

GOAT sig

what does it say

hermes · Post #15 » by **hermes** » Thu May 14, 2009 2:18 pm

billups will be a concern, but not as much as one would think, he isn't overly speedy like brooks

fareweatherfan · Post #16 » by **fareweatherfan** » Thu May 14, 2009 2:52 pm

I'm sick and tired of hearing about the Nuggets! They are the same team they were in the second half of the season. They were beating good teams by a lot, which is the same thing they did to NO and Dallas. No biggie.

When we play hard, we CRUSH them. Since we are playing inconsistent, we may give them a few games. But stop believing the hype, these are the same Nuggets we owned in the regular season.

Unlike Houston, they don't create any real match up problem for us. Chauncey's good, but speedy guards cause us more problems b/c of pick and roll.

lakersfanatic · Post #17 » by **lakersfanatic** » Thu May 14, 2009 3:50 pm

I truly think we match up better against the Nuggets then the Rockets and Trail Blazers. Stopping billups can be a challenge but only if Phil gets it thru his thick skull that if fish can't defend him then let farmar or shannon give it a try... If bynum gets his mojo back we can be tough as well.

i think if an opponent plays with a higher intensity then the lakers would commit to the same... Look at our past games against cavs, boston... knowing that it was an intense game.. we stuck it thru and won. It doesn't mean that we'll run over the nuggets easily.. but I think we can match their intensity just the same. Game 1 will be crucial.. But first, let's get pass the Rockets tonight hehe

Sedale Threatt · Post #18 » by **Sedale Threatt** » Thu May 14, 2009 3:53 pm

Looks to me like the Nuggets are peaking at the right time. Especially Melo -- not sure if I've ever seen him play better basketball. I know Howard has been less than 100%, but he had no hope against Anthony and he's a fairly solid defender.

I also know Melo has struggled against us in the past, but I wouldn't count on that in this series. We're going to have problems with both him and Billups, and probably Smith too unless Kobe abandons his free-safety role and locks in (which he's entirely capable of).

That said, as has been already pointed out this is a series where we have to milk the advantage of having two seven footers. Martin is a great defender, but 6-8 is 6-8; we need to pound the ball in to Gasol and go right at him. Provided Drew steps up and plays consistently so we can create that matchup, of course.

That, Kobe and home court should be enough to carry us through. Oh, and George Karl, too. As well as he's got his team playing at the moment, I still can't believe he's going to be able to hold it down for an entire series against Phil.

Throwback24 · Post #19 » by **Throwback24** » Thu May 14, 2009 4:20 pm

AceFresh wrote: If Bynum shows up, we take the advantage..
but it's a toss up ATM since we're playing inconsistently, Bynum is still on Milk-Carton status, and Denver is playing at a high level on a consistent basis

Why does she love you?

daddyfivestar · Post #20 » by **daddyfivestar** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:57 pm

1st getting by Houston tonight will be key - don't let Denver get too much rest. If the Rox spurt out to quick lead of 10 or so Kobe better not wait for Phil.... he needs to call that 20 right away and jump all over the Lakers like Magic used to do. That's leadership Kobe needs to exhibit.

2nd the Denver matchup is good for LA in addition to the home court advantage. This supposed revamped defense gave up an average of 107 to Dallas. The Lakers will take that all day. Nene/Birdman/Cuban's Thug cannot handle the bigs. Go inside early and get a few fouls on them and their lack of depth will be exposed. LA was 2-1 since they acquired Billups and the loss was with no Bynum (and no Brown in rotation). Billups owns Fisher but Brown has Billups size to support. Melo is playing great but the Ariza/Odom/Luke combo has frustrated him for a while now. Kobe laughs when they throw Jones & Smith at him. Their bench is decent with Kleiza, Smith, Birdman, Carter but not super as some (Barkley, Dave Smith) seem to make it out to be.

Final factor - two words.... Eagle Colorado. Kobe has been fired up to play in Denver for many years now and those fans often rudely let him have it. Big mistake. He'll never let the Lakers lose this series.
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