Barkley: Jazz and Lakers are the best in the West

Post #61 » by **tkb** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:38 pm

I have the Jazz or Suns 3rd with the Lakers and Spurs 1 and 2.

If both teams advance, I think the Lakers will take the Jazz in 6 games.

Post #62 » by **tkb** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:42 pm

Ern III wrote:Although the latest reports suggest it's unlikely, as a Jazz fan, I say bring Bynum back in the conference semifinals.

I'd love to see him back as a Laker fan, but not as a starter right now.

If we bring him off the bench as Pau's backup, he's going to have a role he more likely than not should excel in.

TruSkool · Post #63 » by **TruSkool** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:44 pm

HarlemHeat37 wrote:I GUARANTEE that the winner of the Suns-Spurs series wins the West..GUARANTEE..if it doesn't happen, I'll never post on RealGM again..

i stronngglllyyy agree.
trust me, you'll post again cuz ur right....no team out west can match the suns or spurs...
like i said before, thats the real championship series going on...ironically its in the 1st round
so whoever wins that series, get ready for a parade cuz im pretty sure my beloved lakers will sadly not stand much of a chance...although i hope im wrong!

Post #64 » by **semi-sentient** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:45 pm

Yeah, Bynum will definitely come in behind Pau if he's able to make it back this season. That only makes us better because our bench now has a low post threat, which is somewhat missing since Turiaf is mostly a mid-range shooter (he sucks around the rim).

Post #65 » by **semi-sentient** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:46 pm

iki4life wrote:i stronngglllyyy agree.
trust me, you'll post again cuz ur right....no team out west can match the suns or spurs...
like i said before, thats the real championship series going on...ironically its in the 1st round
so whoever wins that series, get ready for a parade cuz im pretty sure my beloved lakers will sadly not stand much of a chance...although i hope im wrong!

I'm not sure why you don't think the Lakers have much of a chance against the Suns or Spurs, especially the Suns. The Lakers have played the Suns well all season, so I think it could go either way depending on who steps up. As for the Spurs, they would be the one team that I'd hate to play, as Lakers fan. They have the experience and are a well balanced team, particularly if they get both Barry and Horry back and clicking.

hermes · Post #66 » by **hermes** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:47 pm

i don't know if the jazz are in the top2 in the west, i think the suns and spurs are better than them, not by much though

HarlemHeat37 · Post #67 » by **HarlemHeat37** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:11 pm

I'm guaranteeing it, but I'm not hating on the Lakers..they are definitely playing some elite basketball right now, and I obviously wouldn't be surprised to see them in the finals..

I'm just gonna pick the winner of the Suns-Spurs though..if the Suns win, that's a huge confidence boost..beating their daddy would be big..as for my team, I believe if we beat Phoenix, then we're clicking..and no matter how old we are, this team is VERY HARD to beat when Duncan is playing playoff basketball and the rest of the team is clicking..another important factor is that I don't believe Bynum will be back this season(nor should he come back IMO, too risky)..Bynum would easily be the best defender vs. Duncan, because Timmy always has trouble with other players that have Bynum's size and athleticism..

schneiderjazz · Post #68 » by **schneiderjazz** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:11 pm

I still think the Spurs are the best in the West, but Phoenix seems to play them really well, so they might not even get past the first round. The Lakers, IMO, are a close 2nd and with HC advantage all the way to the WCF, they might come out of the west. They're that good even without Bynum.
I don't think that if the Lakers face the Jazz, it will be a walk in the park, as some people are saying though. Jazz had a bad game last time against the Lakers and all the other games were played before the Korver and even the Gasol trade. I'm not saying Korver is as good as Gasol but both teams have changed a lot since then. I don't think 1 game is a sample big enough of what's to come.
Kobe doesn't worry me much when he's facing the Jazz. I know the Jazz will focus on him and he will still get his. Odom and Gasol worry me a lot more. Odom usually plays great against us and Gasol flat out owns the Jazz.

TAI8 · Post #69 » by **TAI8** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:21 pm

Leave it to Chuck to underrate the Spurs. We're still the top dog and the defending champions. I think the Lakers would handle the Jazz easily in 5. Kobe would absolutely kill that team. The Jazz have no one who could stop him. I think this is the year that my team returns to the Finals in two consecutive years. We lose to teams that are great defensively as well as offensively such as the Lakers and the '06 Mavericks. This is the same reason we always take down the Suns. They can't play D and we can keep up with their pace.

cjs55 · Post #70 » by **cjs55** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:23 pm

I see this series going down to the wire. We'll see if the Jazz are clutch enough to pull it out ala game 7 in Houston last year, because I'm seeing 7 games in this series.

edfmx86 · Post #71 » by **edfmx86** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:26 pm

Jazz and Lakers are best teams in the west...after the spurs

Spurs

Lakers
Jazz
Suns

in that order

tracey_nice · Post #72 » by **tracey_nice** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:28 pm

Do people believe the Jazz could actually beat the Suns?

cjs55 · Post #73 » by **cjs55** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:31 pm

After going 2-1 against them and winning on their court this season, why not?

tracey_nice · Post #74 » by **tracey_nice** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:33 pm

cjs55 wrote:After going 2-1 against them and winning on their court this season, why not?

I don't feel like looking it up; when where theses games relative to the Shaq trade?

cjs55 · Post #75 » by **cjs55** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:36 pm

We went 1-1, one win on our floor, one loss on theirs pre-trade, then we beat them on their floor with shaq I believe.

tracey_nice · Post #76 » by **tracey_nice** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:42 pm

Well, that was still before the Suns started to gel and get use to playing with Shaq. I really can't see the Jazz beating the Suns in a 7 game series.

cjs55 · Post #77 » by **cjs55** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:45 pm

Meh, I'm much less scared of the Suns than Spurs or Lakers. I'd bet on the Jazz beating the Suns. Having Shaq doesn't really help them against us, especially with Okur running around the perimeter.

Typhoon20 · Post #78 » by **Typhoon20** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:51 pm

tracey_nice wrote:Do people believe the Jazz could actually beat the Suns?

Suns are overrated and will exit in the 1st round to a poor poor Spurs.

The winner of the Lakers Jazz series will win the West, and my money is on the Lakers. They almost beat the Suns without Gasol or a mature Bynum. This time they'll finish them off.

NBA finals Celtics vs Lakers, book it.

tracey_nice · Post #79 » by **tracey_nice** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:52 pm

poor poor Spurs?

erudite23 · Post #80 » by **erudite23** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:26 pm

I just have to lol @ some of the stupidity being spouted in this thread. As much as I like the Lakers, they are not a better team right now than the Jazz are, they just aren't. A series between the two would, literally, be a toss up, and I would only expect the Lakers to win due to home court advantage.

I like what the Suns are doing, and the Spurs are the champs and deserve the deference due to a team that has accomplished what they have. Hell, even the Hornets are an excellent team with a solid shot to win it all.....but people have a big wake up call coming from this Jazz team. Not only are they incredibly diverse and talented on offense, but they have an amazing collective will to win that has impressed me more than any other thing. We saw it last year in the playoffs, and then especially the last two games vs. the Rockets.

I would expect the Lakers to win in 7, but it wouldn't shock me at all to see the Jazz win in 6. I can't wait for all the bitching from the Lakers fans when it isn't the walk in the park that some/most expect, and they try to blame it on outside factors. Its going to be FAAANNNNNTASTIC!