For All The Negative Nancies

[sam_I_am]

1. Lakers have had the easiest schedule in the league this year. Their win differential is 8.5 second best in the league and is the most reliable stat to predict champions at end of season. Celtics are #1 at 9.8 despite only now starting to round into form and one of the most difficult schedules to date. In one month expect the Celtics winning margin to be 11 and the Lakers to be 7.

2. Pao Gasol is not the best PF in the game period. He is still soft puss defensively.

3. The Lakers are younger and have a bigger window to win. Great. We can worry about that next year. This year it just isn't an issue.

4. Kobe may be the best player in the league but he doesn't play the best. He still forces shots and takes nearly 25 shots a game despite playing with the "second best center", the "best PF", the "best free agent pickup of all time" and Lamar Odom. The best Lakers of all time - like Magic - could dominate a game without taking a shot. As long as his ego trumps team, the Lakers will never reach their full potential which they will need to to beat this Celtics, Magic or Cavs this year. Kobe gets all the credit when Lakers win - but in the last loss when he was supposedly ill and needing IV fluids, he still took 3 more shots than Pao and Artest combined and scored half the amount of points - and therefore should take blame for loss. Even when "not at full strength" he cannot defer to his teammates when they are hotter.

[FadeAway]

2. Pau - best PF in the game right now

Chris Bosh says hello. And I think you guys will have a tougher time against the West than you think. It's a long time until spring.

[KB54]

LOL @ Pau over KG.

Pau = 17.6ppg, 11.5rpg, and 1.3 bpg
KG = 15.3ppg, 7.4 rpg, and 0.7 bpg

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/p ... ayerId=261

You were saying? And KG is 33 years old. Over 40,000 minutes played, and he coming off knee surgery. Actually you are right, he shouldn't be #2 - I would rate him #3 behind Bosh - but that's just me.

[Banks2Pierce]

At this point in time, KG is better than Pau Gasol and stats don't tell the story there. About 3 weeks ago, I would've given you Gasol because KG looked like the injury might've slowed down his career, but now KG is BACK and would eat Gasol for lunch.

Don't act like you just owned me putting up ppg and rpg. Kevin Durant has a higher ppg and rpb than Kobe so he is better......RIGHT.

Gasol is probably the 5th pf in the game right now. Ahead of him, I got KG, Duncan, Dirk, Bosh. I think Dirk may be the best right now. Dude is straight killing it down in Dallas right now. KG and Timmy bring it defensively, though, so they are higher. I like Gasol and actually think you can't knock his "softness" because he has such a nice touch around the basket and is a great Robin to Kobe's Batman.

[Banks2Pierce]

And if you want to go further, per 40 minutes Pau Gasol edges KG in points by .3. Wow that's a ton.

And in terms of rebounds, you have to consider pace:

Lakers are 8th in the NBA in Pace.
Celtics are 25th.

[Andrew McCeltic]

We haven't peaked. We're underachieving so far (KG not fully healthy, BBD out, Sheed not in great shape) and we're 19-4.

[KB54]

At this point in time, KG is better than Pau Gasol and stats don't tell the story there. About 3 weeks ago, I would've given you Gasol because KG looked like the injury might've slowed down his career, but now KG is BACK and would eat Gasol for lunch.

Don't act like you just owned me putting up ppg and rpg. Kevin Durant has a higher ppg and rpb than Kobe so he is better......RIGHT.

Gasol is probably the 5th pf in the game right now. Ahead of him, I got KG, Duncan, Dirk, Bosh. I think Dirk may be the best right now. Dude is straight killing it down in Dallas right now. KG and Timmy bring it defensively, though, so they are higher. I like Gasol and actually think you can't knock his "softness" because he has such a nice touch around the basket and is a great Robin to Kobe's Batman.

KG is a jump shooter that shuns playing in the post. Gasol plays center and PF every game. He mixes it up down low as well as the high post. Of course you are a Celtic fan so I wouldn't expect you to think Pau is better but he is. He's owning KG across the board and he doesn't have to yell and scream and beat his chest when he hits a shot he should make.

Pau owned him head up last year when the Lakers SWEPT Boston. I guess that was an aberration?

More things for Celtics to worry about:

Face it, PP ain't winning Finals MVP against Luke Walton or Vlad Rad. Artest is shutting fools down this year and he will make PP play post defense - something he is not that good at. When (not if) Kobe starts torching Ray Allen and y'all put PP (please do that Doc) on him - Artest will take Ray Allen or Rondo in the post.

[Banks2Pierce]

I don't get your point because Paul did win Finals MVP...? Not to mention, Pierce has historically played well against Artest.

2008 NBA Finals (you know...the games that MATTER)

KG 18 and 13 and 1 blk.
Pau 15 and 10 and .5 blks.
To be held 4 under your season average on the biggest stage in the world is straight ownage.

And that's playing the same pace and on the same court. KG literally devoured Gasol. He left pieces of his beard on center court of the TD Garden.

[Cyclical]

Pau owned him head up last year when the Lakers SWEPT Boston. I guess that was an aberration?

You know, I try to avoid joining in on a silly back-and-forth like this but can we once and for all lay to rest the "Pau owned KG" BS that some Lakers posters puke every time they come here? For the record, here are their stats from both games last year, where the Lakers clearly outplayed the Celts in the first game, and barely won in OT, by 1 point in game 2, where the C's actually played better and choked in the end. days before KG exposed his knee issues. But forget the team matchups for a second. Here are the stats:

Game 1:
Garnett: 11-14 shooting, 9 Reb, 22 points
Gasol: 7-14 shooting, 3 Reb, 20 points

Game 2:
Garnett: 7-12 shooting, 6 Reb, 16 points
Gasol: 10-14 shooting, 14 Reb, 24 points

Pau has one strong game and fan-boys now decide he owns KG? Give me a break. When your boy is able to stop anyone and show that he's more than a very nifty post scorer I'll crown him "best" PF, until then, please...

[Banks2Pierce]

Props Cyclical. Don't even know why I engaged him. Not 1 gm in the NBA would take Gasol over KG for this season.

[KB54]

Banks2Pierce and Cyclical - it's all in good fun - I hate the Celtics and you guys hate the Lakers. No biggie. I just get tired of people saying that if KG played, the Lakers would not have won the rings last year. When in fact, both times the Lakers met with Boston, the Lakers won. Once with Bynum in LA, and the one that you guys said Boston choked was in Boston without Bynum - which I thought was more impressive than winning in LA. The common denominator? Boston's Big 3 played both games and were healthy.

Fast forward to this year. We're stronger. The only games we lost: 2 were on the tail end of a back to back (against teams that are playoff bound this year), and the other two were without, you guessed it: Pau Gasol.

Even Celtic fans must admit that the soft Gasol you guys beat up in the Finals rarely exists any more. Is he the Mailman, no, but he is very effective in what he does. Just like as a Laker fan, I'll readily admit that Celtics are still the class of the EC and will most certainly meet us in the Finals. I just don't see you guys winning being a primarily perimeter team. Contrast that with LA who can throw 5 quality players on the block (Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, Artest, and Lamar) and I see a repeat for the Lakers.

Artest hasn't owned PP historically, but Artest never had a teammate helping him defend on the perimeter the caliber of Kobe either. In other words he is not by himself and is light years better than what we used to throw at him.

Both teams improved. Being a biased Laker fan, I think we've improved more. And in lieu of the 2008 Finals debacle, expect nothing less than our A game every time we see Celtic green.

[KB54]

Props Cyclical. Don't even know why I engaged him. Not 1 gm in the NBA would take Gasol over KG for this season.

Pre-knee injury? Even a Laker fan would. After said knee injury and the fact that he is 33 with 40,000+ minutes on him? I doubt it.

[FadeAway]

Haha I like the part about Artest supposedly stopping Pierce though, all I can think about is the Indiana series a number of years back. Artest is a prima donna who only gets publicity because he is clinically insane, he's not the defender he once was and even backthen he wasn't a lockdow defender like everyone made him up to be. No match for a guy like Pierce.