Lakers Just Became the Best Team in the League

[wetsthebed]

And of course the two games against the Celtics where it wasn't close either time. Every team beats good teams, the Hawks have beaten the Suns, Mavs, Jazz, Magic. I've seen the Lakers play a lot this season, they were never contenders.

[TonyMontana]

And of course the two games against the Celtics where it wasn't close either time. Every team beats good teams, the Hawks have beaten the Suns, Mavs, Jazz, Magic. I've seen the Lakers play a lot this season, they were never contenders.

Okay Your right .

I give up .
The Lakers were never contenders nor will they ever make it to the playoffs.

Im sorry .

I dont know what I was thinking .

[humblebum]

I don't know why Lakers fans are getting so testy about it. The Lakers just took a step up to the top tier of NBA teams. There are about 8-9 teams with realistic to semi realistic chances of winning it all at this point. I personally think that the Spurs are the best team out west and the Celtics are the best team in the East. But I don't give the Celtics anything better than a 50% chance of getting to the finals... at this point the Lakers would get a cool 25% chance from me... but their is still quite a bit to be determined. I like the Lakers team a lot.

[EvadedHavoc]

[quote="TonyMontana"][/quote]

[The Rondo Show]

-= original quote snipped =-




Okay Your right .

I give up .
The Lakers were never contenders nor will they ever make it to the playoffs.

Im sorry .

I dont know what I was thinking .

No one said they weren't playoff contenders, but they definitely weren't title contenders. Now they are.

[SeizeCoup]

-= original quote snipped =-



he is on a bad team and still isn't getting 20 and 10! step below - how about like 5 steps.

great passer? don't make me cry. his teammates which he was a great passer. i've literally seen some of his teammates look disgusted after he didn't give up the ball this year. if he gets 5 assists one game, it was by accident.

he can score.

Pau has 4 games this season of 5 or more assists. On the whole, he averages 3 a game (btw, that's three times as many as Big Al).

He's not a black hole as people are making him out to be. I think he's a very good fit for the triangle offense.

The only thing I'd worry about (if I was a lakers fan) is his long-term health. He loves playing for the national team in the off-season. And he's shown consistent injuries throughout his career. He IS young, but I doubt he has a lot of longevity.

If he's healthy though, the lakers got a guy who should be able to abuse single coverage. Easily he'll fit into the role of 2nd highest scorer on the team. He's no star on defense, but he and Bynum have length and above-average quickness for their size.

19 points
9 rebounds
3 assists
1.5 blocks
80% ft
50% fg

He put up those stats with Mighty Mouse as his primary pg...

We'll see what happens, but from first glance, my guess is that the Lakers are now contenders, if not this season, at least by next. They got a tough road ahead of them though. Even if they get out of the West, the finals aint no cakewalk any more. The top 3-4 in the east can run with the best of the West. But the rest of the east is crap, so the finals, imo, will more often than not have home-court going to the team that comes out of the east...

[ShowtimeFan]

I hope the Lakers and Celts meet in the Finals, that will be a great match-up and huge ratings. As far as home court advantage, I would love for the Celts to have it, as it is a 2-3-2 set-up.

If the home Team loses one of the first two games, they might not play another home game as it is 3 straight on the road...

[Sedition]

Looks like we'll be having some interesting matchups for the new few years. I still think the Celts have a slight advantage in terms of overall, raw talent, but the Lakers are deeper.

I hope we see each other in the finals.

[stretch]

-= original quote snipped =-



Doc Rivers will get out coached by a 5th grader in a 7 game series.

right

because you could do a much better job

you could manage a roster like the Celtics' for the past few years. Like coaching is so easy. It's just about X's and O's and substitutions. The rest of it - relationships, respect, personalities, other stuff... none of that is relevant. It's just like a video game.. you just need to allocate the minutes. Because.. this team wouldn't even have 5 losses if you were the coach.




It's time for some straight talk. Beyond the Spurs coach and one or two others, Doc Rivers is as good as any head coach in the league. But R2G... he could do a much better job.

[JHTruth]

I think the Lakers have to make one more move with Odom. He just doesn't fit at all anymore. He's only good if he handles the ball and initiates the offense. He can't shoot very well, and the offense will now run through Pau and Kobe. I just think jis habit of disappearing will only get worse now..

[Kefa461]

The Lakers have got to do what the C's have done .....prove it.....nobody is gonna lay done for them in the West as nobody has laid done for us. They are not the best in the league cause they have not proven it....not played one game. We haven't proven it yet either. Moot point.

[JHTruth]

I think people overrate Bynum personally. He does most of his damage rolling to the basket. When Perk puts a body on him he can't do anything. Perk has dominated him in both matchups this year. Bynum is still very raw and will not be a major factor in the playoffs..

[TonyMontana]

The Lakers have got to do what the C's have done .....prove it.....nobody is gonna lay done for them in the West as nobody has laid done for us. They are not the best in the league cause they have not proven it....not played one game. We haven't proven it yet either. Moot point.

You know since this your board , your rules and since I respect other boards as I want peps to respect ours .

I wont reply to a few of these posts , since I dont want to troll or disrespect anyone ...LOLLL

But I will promise you guys one thing , everybody will stand up for their team .......... Thats just part of the game , you root for your team ..

Yet I can man up and say that when the Cs got K.G , I wished the Lakers gotten him instead .
I gave you guys props on here , and I wished you guys luck .
Season started and you guys have been impressive .
But one thing that I can honestly say is that your schedule hasnt even been close to what the Lakers schedule has been .

Then we can also see that when one of your big three goes down you guys have lost a few games in your own home court .

Now the Lakers have signed Pau , and deep inside you guys know that the Lakers have been pretty impressive until Bynum went down with Ariza .

And now we have Pau added to our lineup which today I am a lot happier that we didnt get the K.G ticket since I think Pau is a better fit in the Tri Offense of the Lakers than K.G would have been .

There is thousands of threads and posts about this trade , how it has bumped the Lakers in contenders for the Title , but still some of you guys are on here bashing the Lakers and posting Lakers havent even been playoff contenders when we have made it to the playoffs every year since the departure of Shaq .

We have had our back to backs our three peats almost 5 years ago .

Today is a different day , signing Pau doesnt mean that we have the title in the bag , just like you guys by getting K.G .

You can post everything you want on your board , just like everyone else , but all I can say is you have to admit that it has place a bit of concern about the direction the Lakers are headed .

If not then I really dont know why a Cs vet poster would start a thread about the Lakers just became the best team in the League with over 131 replies and 7500 views in just 2 days ?

I dont see it that way , I see it that the Cs are a strong team in the east and the Lakers just became a team that has stepped up and made themselves a lot stronger for contending for the title .

I see it as if the Lakers do end up in the finals with the Cs , its a history in the making . AGAIN
The rivarly has returned between two of the best teams that have built history in competing and tearing each others heart out for the one thing that everyother team is trying to get and thats the chapionship .

We have our 14 rings , as do the Cs .
We have tasted our championship just a few years back .
We have KOBE , you guys have K.G we have the youth while you guys have experienced vets like Ray A.

All I know is we can sit here and go back and forth by whos better , who has an easier schedule , who has a better coach , but all its going to do is piss people off and cause issues between good posters and trolls .

Im not a troll , but all I know is I hope the Lakers make it to the finals and so will the Cs , cause when that happens it will bring back something that only a few lucky peps like we were blessed to watch as a young man .

Watching the chief rebound over K.A.J
Or K.M knocking down K.Rambis on a hard foul .
Or Majics last second sky hook on Larry Bird to win the title in Boston .
Think about it , both Mitch and Danny A. were players in all those freat games , and now the are G.Ms assembling one of the best teams for the beloved franchise to win for a team that they have given their hearts and souls to .

All I can say I do hope the Lakers to be in the finals with the Cs .

Only time can tell .

Also forgive me for the spelling error since Im posting this on my Iphone while Im waiting for my table for dinner with my girl .

[davidse]

I think people overrate Bynum personally. He does most of his damage rolling to the basket. When Perk puts a body on him he can't do anything. Perk has dominated him in both matchups this year. Bynum is still very raw and will not be a major factor in the playoffs..

you should watch more laker games then i guess...

bynum only does most of his damage rolling to the basket because that's how most laker playes are designed right now.

but there is no sweeter jump hook in the entire nba (yes, that's right) than bynum's. his percentage shooting it is absolutly amazing, and as time passes and phil jackson adjusts the system - you're gonna be seeing a whole lot more of that.
word is, the skyhook is just around the corner only he's still hesitant to try it in games.

judging from your post, you're in for a very rude awakening regarding bynum...
trust me - all those nba analysts are not going crazy about this kidd because he can catch lobs...
it's because he's probably the nba's only young true back to the basket center. a dying breed...

but no worries - i'm sure you'll come around at some point in the next 15 years of this 20 year old's career...

[billfromBoston]

[quote="davidse"][/quote]

Bynum is an elite-level prospect to be sure and should continue to improve as the years go on....but Perkins DID shut him down twice in two meetings this year and typically plays very tough defense on low-post opposition...

...Bynum is the better player, but Perkins can definitely hold his own and take the kid out of his game...

Personally I really like how these teams match up right now Perk/KG are a killer frontcourt defensive tandem and have the ability to play one-on-one against Bynum/Pau, which few teams can do...Pierce/RA on Odom/Kobe...you're going to get big moments from all four of those guys and all can dig in and play smart team defense when the time calls for it...

Right now I think LA's biggest advantage is with their depth and experience at PG...our bench is less proven than LA's but I do like our current frontcourt and wing bench depth with Powe/Davis/Posey/TA/House all contributing pretty big all year and getting stronger...

It's my dream to see these two teams in the finals and I think it'll be a 7 game series for sure...I think its WAAAYYY to soon to speculate as to whom has the upper hand...lots of regular season to go...

[Datruth345]

i;ll take Al Jefferson hook over Bynums for that matter too

[Rocky5000]

We mopped the floor with the Lakers both times we faced them this year. When we beat them in LA, we did so without Rondo, and it was at their season's peak.(Thus far.) People were discussing the Lakers possibly being the best team in the West/league. The Celtics totally shut them down and shut up the critics. Do I think that adding Pau Gasol is enough to make up the difference between the Cs and the Lakers that we saw in those 2 games? No way.
A video refresher
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q90DHtoNAvc

[ShowtimeFan]

no doubt about that Rocky, that Celts flat out kicked the Lakers-rears up and down the court, the Lakers even looked scared against them. Can one guy turn all that around? I would hope so, but the Lakers will have to get out of the west first..

[ShowtimeFan]

I think the Lakers have to make one more move with Odom. He just doesn't fit at all anymore. He's only good if he handles the ball and initiates the offense. He can't shoot very well, and the offense will now run through Pau and Kobe. I just think jis habit of disappearing will only get worse now..

Nope, Odom is a much better facillatator than Pau, and Pau will get Odom loads of assists.

[Al n' Perk No Layups!]

But one thing that I can honestly say is that your schedule hasnt even been close to what the Lakers schedule has been .

It's way too late for the schedule argument, we've played almost everyone.

Then we can also see that when one of your big three goes down you guys have lost a few games in your own home court .

Not really. Most of our loses are with the big three.

Now the Lakers have signed Pau , and deep inside you guys know that the Lakers have been pretty impressive until Bynum went down with Ariza .

Not more so than any of the other Western playoff teams.

There is thousands of threads and posts about this trade , how it has bumped the Lakers in contenders for the Title , but still some of you guys are on here bashing the Lakers and posting Lakers havent even been playoff contenders when we have made it to the playoffs every year since the departure of Shaq .

No one was saying you weren't playoff contenders. They were saying you previously weren't championship contenders and they were absolutely right.

And now we have Pau added to our lineup which today I am a lot happier that we didnt get the K.G ticket since I think Pau is a better fit in the Tri Offense of the Lakers than K.G would have been .

How?

You can post everything you want on your board , just like everyone else , but all I can say is you have to admit that it has place a bit of concern about the direction the Lakers are headed .

Why? I don't see why we should be concerned.

If not then I really dont know why a Cs vet poster would start a thread about the Lakers just became the best team in the League with over 131 replies and 7500 views in just 2 days ?

You clearly don't know r2g. In short; the most reactionary human being on the face of the planet.

We have our 14 rings , as do the Cs .

No, we have 16 rings.