Colbinii wrote:LightTheBeam wrote:Colbinii wrote:
Ran its course?
The Lakers were the 2nd best post-season team last year and are likely the 4th/5th best playoff team this season.
There is no reason to think they can't make some minor adjustments and be a title contender next year, just as they were this year and last year.
I disagree with this. Think they would have lost to any of the top 5 teams in the West this year pretty easily.
Easily? They barely lost to Denver and were fingertips away from being up 3-2 after 5 games, lol.
I can't see the Kawhi-less Clippers having any luck against this Lakers team nor do I think OKC or Dallas would be clear favorites over the Lakers.Denver seemed to take this as a pre-season series and won all 4 games playing half a quarter (while Lakers clearly had ref help at minimum 2 of the games). That's just my opinion of it.
That isn't true. Denver tried, Lakers defense was excellent and the Lakers played Denver to a stand-still in 4 of the games.Last year they had a very fortunate path with Memphis being hurt and JA crap + Kings losing game 7 to Warriors (Kings 7/8 against Lakers last 2 years). And by time they ran into a real team they got swept.
Okay, so who was the real team? Denver? Denver didn't play a single real team last post-season. They played Reid/McDaniels less Wolves with injured Towns/Gobert, they played an injured Suns team and then this Lakers team and Miami who wasn't hot from 3.
So Denver wasn't a real team either last year since they didn't play any "real teams", right? Or do you only use stipulations when you assess the Lakers?
Lol, it's okay for us to have differing opinions. What I saw was Denver playing some very unserious basketball, turning it on for 6 minutes and beating the Lakers. Seemed Twitter agreed with me as story through first 3 games was Mike trolling with some very weird game plans. And again I've said over and over, I don't see the Lakers health holding up the way it did this year.
Denver has now beat the Lakers 12 of the last 13 games they've played? To get through the west you have to go through Denver, and call it matchups or whatever, I don't have the current LAL team coming close to doing that.
And your opinion is that LAC/Dallas doesn't beat LAL, I disagree. I think that Dallas is much better than them post deadline, and that LAC even without Kawhi would favor LAC.
It's fine to think LAL can tinker a bit, hope they stay fully healthy again and maybe they figure Denvers recipe to beat them. But I think another year aged from LBJ/AD, less health, this was their best chance and they lost in 5 games.