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Its an interesting idea to see what you can do to exploit the holes in our team and if so how would you plan your team's game if you were playing against the Lakers in a playoff series?

Do you push the tempo to tire the older guys or play physical in the paint to out muscle Pau & LO? Would you have your speedy PGs run circles around Fish? In short post your game plan and what kind of plays you'd run.

and no I'm not Doc Rivers, Mike Brown or some other incompetent coach before someone asks me so.

Aaron Brooks
Kevin Martin/Jason Terry
Shane Battier
Luis Scola/Anderson Varejao
Brendan Haywood

This team would give the Lakers a run for their money, with no All-Stars.... the scary thing is half these guys play for the Rockets... they'll be scary next year if Yao is healthy

Get in transition as much as possible. It goes both ways though, if you turn the ball over, Lakers are athletic enough to get points in transition.
Biggest point would to get Bynum in foul trouble, and make sure he doesn't establish a rhythm. He's young, and sometimes still gets called for (ticky tack) fouls in bunches.

Hope Kobe doesn't get hot and score. At this point, let Artest shoot 3s, but you still gotta try and close out. Run Fisher through pick and rolls, especially with Bynum in it too.

Whoever Kobe is guarding, establish him on the offensive end as well, hopefully you can get Kobe to work hard on the defensive end and not save it for offense.

With the second unit, close up the middle, and rebound. Don't let the team get into transition, so get back on transition D. On offense, don't rush shots and turn it over. Grind it out, and let the youngsters play some serious defense.

Crash the boards hard, and don't let Lamar get into a groove. When he plays well, it becomes harder to win. So box him out, frustrate him, and maybe even let him shoot jumpers.

Frustrate Pau, and don't let him get into his offensive game. That means push him around a bit, and hopefully he doesn't respond.

Great idea, j-far !

Definitely you got to have a Aaron Brooks type PG to exploit at maximum Fisher's weaknesses on offense. It seems that teams which use a lot the pick'n roll for their PGs give us troubles because either that PG gets an open look, gives a pass to a big left open around the basket by our bigs or throws the ball to an outside shooter on the weakside where our defense still seems to have problems, be it a SG or SF with a decent 3 pt. shot.

Teams with dominant Centers that are good FT shooters are dangerous for us too because Bynum can get in foul trouble and Pau can't match their toughness and so they can score a lot of points from the foul line too by getting fouled. Thank God Dwight Howard can't shoot well FTs, otherwise we'd have a much more difficult final series.

My team to beat LA !! would be :

Aaron Brooks
Dwayne Wade
Shane Battier
Joakim Noah
a healthy Yao or Howard

Seeing how poorly our bigs played against Shaq and how Aaron Brooks kills the Lakers those two would have to there for my team at PG and C.

It starts on the inside..
To beat us you need 2 big, physical, active guys down low.
Then you need a quick combo gaurd that shoots lights out.
A physical SF that can shoot and drive, although with Artest here, those guys are sort of neutralized so if you had a long, quick SF that can move without the ball and drain midrange jumpers you might match up well.
And a quick and smart PG who can dish and hit jumpers.

Billups/Brooks/CP3
Wade/Rose/RAllen
Deng/JSmith/Durant/Lewis -- LeBron (On paper not the best matchup with Artest, but nobody can gaurd him 1:1 at this point)
Perkins/Noah/Birdman/Scola/Varajao
Shaq/Howard

To me the only real critical player is Shaq... If you get a healthy Shaq, you can go a little more athletic and find a better shooter/rebounder at PF to compliment him and spread the floor. If you don't have him, you need 2 physical big men down low. No, I don't think Howard can beat us by himself in the paint yet.

Shaq/Noah, Scola or Varajao
or
Howard/Perkins or Birdman

Once you have the center nailed, the rest of the team can kind of be assemble from the best of what's out there. Of course it'll look like an all-start team, but so does ours and Boston. And that's pretty much what it takes to beat both of us regularly.

And no matter who you get, the whole team needs to be committed to playing mean the whole night, every night. They have to lay it all on the line and play cocky to beat us.

pg: Ron Harper
sg: Michael Jordan
sf: Scottie Pippen
pf: Dennis Rodman
c: Luc Longley

No other roster in the world can beat the current lakers roster.

PG - I go with Andre Iguodala.. a SG. Sounds crazy but he's only here for his defense on Kobe.
SG - Dwyane Wade for offense as well as guarding kobe. Gotta put pressure on Kobe on the other and who better than the other best SG in the league?

That backcourt right there would be very fast and create lots of turnovers especially in the triangle

SF - well, obvious choices like Lebron, durant, Melo aside, you need someone who's not going to be affected by Ron Artest's greatness. I want a tough player. I'd definitely consider Paul Pierce or Manu Ginobili but they're fairly injured and aging. Not really a fan of Danny Granger. I think i'd go small and put another SG here, especially since Iguodala isn't a true point. So I'll go with Joe Johnson

PF - You need to match Gasol's talent and skill while still being able to guard Pau Gasol. Ideally you want a healthy Kevin Garnett but right now that's not an option. So instead of going the superstar direction, i'll go the explosive athlete direction and choose Josh Smith.. he also matches up with Odom well.

C - With Smith's shotblocking, i'm gunna go all-offense here and throw in Chris Bosh or Dirk Nowitzki - pure scoring star PF. You need someone who can definitely spread the floor for wade and still create on his own.

The team above is very small however and there's situations where that exact lineup would be exposed, so I want at least one very effective big off the bench - one who can shoot, defend, and rebound. There's no Robert Parish in today's NBA, so I'd probably forego shooting for the other two - Brendan haywood or Tyson chandler maybe. Another option might be Andrea Bargnani... not much rebounding there but lots of skill.

Throw in Kevin Love at backup PF and Louis Williams at backup PG and you're probably set.

lol at the 90s bulls... 2000 laker squad??

Without making a ridiculous team of allstars with a realistic salary level... And I'm going to leave LeBron out of the picture for a challenge. I'd go something like the following..

PG quick PnR master
SG defensive specialist that can knock down 3s
SF similar to SG
PF strong active offensive boarding, physical, stretch game
C 7ft, active defender/rebounder, physical
either PF or C woudl need to be good at Pick and Roll

PG Deron Williams\Lawson 15\2
SG Aaron Afflalo\Rush 3\2
SF Battier\Outlaw 8\5
PF Dirk\Randolf 16\10
C Brendan Haywood\M. Gasol 8\2


Close to a 70 mill payroll

Perfect 1/2 punch in DWill/Dirk with borderline 3rd allstar Randolph playing the 6th man matchup with Lamar role. Big Physical frontline that handles ours well. Good combo of smart, steady defenders that space the floor, knock down 3s, and don't need the ball much.

The main part of the offense comes from PG adn stretch 4 exploiting our two biggest weaknesses without being forced to try and attack Artest or the paint right away. Bench comes in with Speedy lawson who manhandles Farmar and the bruising Griz frontline that kills us.

You coulld balloon the payroll and sub in Shaq for Haywood and really cause some trouble.

1. Start with a quick PG who can penetrate and either finish at the rim or find an open shooter.
2. Tough, physical defensive-minded C/PF types (at least two).
3. Couple of solid 3 point shooters who could capitalize on all the open looks created by dribble penetration.
4. A couple of solid perimeter defenders to hound Kobe.

8-man rotation:
pg: Tony Parker
sg: Richard Hamilton
sf: Shane Battier
pf: Luis Scola
c: Kendrick Perkins

Bench: Nate Robinson, Anderson Varejao and Danilo Gallinari

How about merging the clippers and Lakers and making a even better team.

supaflash wrote:lol at the 90s bulls... 2000 laker squad??

Without making a ridiculous team of allstars with a realistic salary level... And I'm going to leave LeBron out of the picture for a challenge. I'd go something like the following..

Eh.. in a playoff series, to beat a team with 2 elite players, you need two of your own. Even the nuggets didn't beat the lakers with billups, Melo, and Nene last year.

SuigintouEV wrote:

supaflash wrote:lol at the 90s bulls... 2000 laker squad??

Without making a ridiculous team of allstars with a realistic salary level... And I'm going to leave LeBron out of the picture for a challenge. I'd go something like the following..

Eh.. in a playoff series, to beat a team with 2 elite players, you need two of your own. Even the nuggets didn't beat the lakers with billups, Melo, and Nene last year.

Exactly, which is what I did, 2 stars and a borderline 3rd star. I meant along the lines of just putting a top 10 guy at every position... PG cp3 SG Wade SF Bron PF Dirk C Howard... der... trying to keep it to a realistically constructed team. You could maybe do a 3 start team like the 08 Cs, but I don't think it would be fair to use 3 young prime guys like 3 guys from that 04 draft class. Maybe something like a Bron/Dirk/Iggy combo where the 3rd is borderline and at least 1 is on the upper end of the age spectrum...

laduane1 wrote:How about merging the clippers and Lakers and making a even better team.

Other than Baron Davis the rest of their starters would warm our bench.

I wouldn't go with what the Spurs have done. Epic fail there.

I'd build a team that works hard, every possession, every minute.

GUARDS:

At the guard spot, you would want someone small who could get to the basket. The main purpose of this? Abuse Derek Fisher. Fish hasn't been able to guard small guards for the longest time and this year it's just god awful. So I'd start with a player like Aaron Brooks. We saw what he did to Fisher in the playoffs last year, so I'd start with a player like him.

At the other guard position, I'd go with a player who can shoot from deep and make Kobe pay for playing his "free safety" type defense. He also needs to be good in the clutch and a good defender. Good size is necessary especially cause he'd have to guard Kobe a lot of the times. For this, I'd go with Chauncey Billups. Now, you're probably thinking this is a short back court. But when you look at it, it has all the intangibles to give the Lakers problems.

Off the bench, players with size like Aaron Afflalo and Trevor Ariza would be good to have. Ariza has been here obviously and he knows what hurts this Lakers team. Both can knock down the open jumper and burn Kobe when he's playing passing lanes instead of sticking to his man. Both can get length on him and bother his shot.

FORWARDS:

Now, I don't think Chauncey could guard for a full 35+ minutes a game on Kobe, so you need someone who is going to take most of the defensive duties against Kobe when it comes to the three position. Someone with length and even at this stage in his career, Tayshaun Prince is one of the best options in the NBA. Kobe has struggled mightily against Prince in his career and for 20-25 minutes a game, Prince could handle the assignment.

Now, the team doesn't really have a guy who can create his own shot and it doesn't really have a "star" player. This is where a player like Dirk Nowitzki comes in. He's the star of the team, and against Gasol and Odom, he dominates for the most part because he can also spot up and hit the long-range shot. The Lakers bigs (Gasol, Bynum) don't like to get out and contest the 3, and long range shooting from big guys absolutely murders the Lakers.

Off the bench, I'd go with Andre Bargnani. For a player like him, he's actually pretty good when it comes to playing man defense against big guys. Not to mention, if he's open and Gasol or Bynum is late to close, he's burning LA. He's also sneaky foot-speed wise, so if the Lakers bigs do try to get out and close half-ass, he's taking it to the basket and he can take either take it and finish or stop and pop.

POST:

You need effort and toughness on the front court against the Lakers. This is where I would start Al Horford, C, from the Atlanta Hawks. He's physical, his fundamentals are outstanding, and he's going to outwork Andrew Bynum or Gasol from the opening tip. He's also got a nice mid-range jumper, and underrated post game.

Off the bench, once again, you need effort and this is where I would go with Joakim Noah. He knows how to scrap and outwork people (how many rebounds did he have against us?) and he's going to clean up all the garbage and softness around the hoop. He's also quick enough to get out and guard Lamar Odom off the bench.

Rounding out the roster, I'd go with Chuck Hayes. His short, stubby frame gives Andrew and Gasol fits and he's got another 6 fouls to use on the front line.


The Roster:

*From the best player to the worst.

1- Dirk Nowitzki
2- Chauncey Billups
3- Aaron Brooks
4- Al Horford
5- Tayshaun Prince
6- Andrea Bargnani
7- Trevor Ariza
8- Joakim Noah
9- Chuck Hayes
10- Aaron Afflalo

Payroll: 65 million.

In my view the Lakers have two big weaknesses.

1. Responding to an out of control offense.
2. Running your offense when a team gets into your skin.

Both these are not exclusive and very often one leads to the other.

PG: I'd want my PG to be extremely quick and an expert at running the pick n roll with my center. Why do I do this? Neither Derek Fisher nor Andrew Bynum are good at defending the pick n roll and when executed well this throws the Lakers' defense rotations completely out of sync. Also my PG should be able to generate very quick offense and often pull up for shots in transition.

The player I pick: "Russell Westbrook"

SG: This guy has the toughest and least appreciated role on my team since he needs to defend Kobe and go against him on the other end. This player needs to have a thick skin, be disciplined even when Kobe goes off an a hot streak and should be able to make Kobe pay if he plays a care free style on defense.

The player I pick: Thabo Sefolosha

SF: This guy is not going to get anything easy. Artest is going to be his secondary skin for most of the game and some more. He should handle the physicality on the other end and be able to contribute in defending Kobe from time to time. I need a good ball handler here to take some pressure off my PG from since my SG is not a great handler either.

The player I pick: Joe Johnson.

PF: Typical stretch the defense kind of guy who can bring Gasol and Odom onto the perimeter and also score with contact and bruising. I need a high % shooter that can rebound and put a body on the Lakers' length.

The player I pick: Dirk Nowitzki

C: Big dude that can physically hold his own against Bynum and push him out of his comfort zone. Thus guy needs to be a bruiser and when he defends Gasol he should take the skinny spaniard completely out of his game.

The player I pick: Joel Przybilla

Bench: I need some good defenders and shooters off my bench to exploit the turnovers I can force from Shannon and Farmar handling the ball. The faster they can heap up the points in this unit the better.

My backcourt: Jason Terry and Ty Lawson.

The frontcourt should have good finishers, big shot blockers that can intimidate the Lakers frontcourt since more than likey I'll see a starter with LO involved. The back up SF position is also important since he would be defending Kobe.

My frontcourt: Trevor Ariza, Chuck Hayes, Craig Smith

To round out my roster I'd pick players that can provide leadership and can contribute in limited minutes.

I pick: Rasual Butler, Rafer Alston, Chris Humphries, Joey Graham

Line Up:

Russell Westbrook/Ty Lawson/Rafer Alston
Thabo Sefolosha/Jason Terry/Rasual Butler
Joe Johnson/Trevor Ariza/Joey Graham
Dirk Nowitzki/Craig Smith/Humphries
Joel Przybilla/Chuck Hayes

Total Salary: Close to $ 77.5 million

Damn jfar, you have too much time on your hands, nice job, lol.

Physicality & Defense is the formula and let your PG expoit his likely mismatch.

yeah but looking at it now I think I overdid the team there. Thats 3 bonafide all stars and then Jet Terry off the bench but its close to the salary the Mavs and Nuggets are paying for now.

*I'll probably replace Chauncey with Westbrook and may be that evens out. I could go with the Brooks pick but this year more so than last I don't think Phil would be caught with his defensive schemes that bad for an entire series.