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Since there are too many threads about the Lakers, this is the place we are going to have posts regarding LAL.
The Lakers are once again the biggest story in basketball again with their acquisition of Dwight Howard. It is going to be fascinating to see how that team plays together and it's going to be quite the watch whether they succeed or fail in their quest for the title the next few years.
1) The dwight trade was good. Very well done by the Lakers....but it's risky.
2) I think the management is taking a high-risk move at a championship THIS YEAR. I agree with this approach. If it fails, they rebuild.
3) The Lakers have 4 starters over the age of 33. While they are better than last year they have to worry about injuries as well as the fact that they may not have improved enough to get past OKC. This is of course open to debate. The Lakers problem last year was that they played outside-in and were old and slow on defense. Will this change?
4) I doubt they are now better than Miami. Again, open to debate.
5) The Lakers like any highly successful team have an overabundance of less-informed fans. Fortunately we have some serious NBA/Laker fans here to have reasonable discussions with.
6) Some people seemed to think the problem with the Lakers last year was Bynum and Gasol....Gasol just showed otherwise in the olympics. I think some people haven't been watching the Lakers closely.
7) I think the Lakers success this year hinges utterly on Kobe's leadership and willingness to step back from 25 shots a game. He is taking 5 more shots than ANYBODY else in the NBA and it showed with his age in the 4th quarter of the playoffs. I have no doubt he is capable of making these changes, he is an all-time top 20 or better player IMO...but he is hugely competitive, like Jordan....and Jordan got fleeced by this competitiveness while playing golf, gambling etc etc etc.
No matter what happens with the Lakers, they have been one of the top franchises of the last 20 years or so. They are currently sitting on the edge of a razor, anything could happen after this year......I'm fascinated by what may unfold. Wow.
As a Laker fan I'm cautiously optimistic ... I don't think the Dwight deal is a huge leap forward but it certainly nabbed them someone who's marketable with talent they can build around and attract other star players(if they can re-sign him) after Kobe and Gasol are gone. I don't see Bynum having that same mega-star power.
Now that they've shored up interior defense, what are they going to do about defending the perimeter with the three guys who are getting up there in age-- Nash, Kobe, Metta?
I am obvious no fan of the lakers, while accused of sour grapes or what have you, this is not the case. I see things a bit different then a lot of people on the subject is all.
Nash has I very high bbiq, but his age, bad back, and complete lack of any form of defense what do ever IMO will hinder the lakers success. He has never been able to stay with ANY pg and at his age he isn't getting better. The real question is if his style and Kobe's style can mesh. Kobe has always needed the ball in his hand, but what's the point in bringing in Nash if your not going to let him run the offense with the ball in his hands.
While Howard has been the obvious best center of the last 5+ yrs but he was not leaps and bounds better then Bynum. After back surgery, will he be able to maintain that lead? The lakers and Howard himself can't even give an accurate return date. They have been saying anywhere from opening day all the way to potentially February.
The addition of Jamison, meeks and Duhan are obvious upgrades but not huge upgrades. I would be surprised if Duhan even gets off the bench more then 8 mpg. Jamison IMO could take artests starting spot as those to are interchangable really. Both are aging ungracefully and losing steps fast. Artest is one blowup from being gone for good.
As math said, I don't think they got good enough to get by the thunder, or the heat, and I really don't think the spurs are scared either.
The real question is can 4 full fledged stars coexist under a guy like brown. They are changing the offense again, that's 3 seasons with 3 different styles of play, all the while trying to mesh 5-7 new faces into the fold. It's not like say the spurs who integrated new faces consistently over the last 15yrs because the system, staff, and team leaders all remained constant. It's also not like the heat where 3 superior talents meshed, Kobe isn't as good as lebron or wade, pau isn't as good as bosh, and while Howard is better then any big the heat have, Nash isn't as good as wade. It's almost 3 on 2 in that case.
Math and Rigas, would suggest you stay away from this thread. A few knowledgeable Laker fans on the board have determined that anything less than outright worship of the Laker organization is 'hate'.
Jaypee, pretty objective post being a Laker fan. Be careful you aren't accused of treason.
As a Laker fan I'm cautiously optimistic ... I don't think the Dwight deal is a huge leap forward but it certainly nabbed them someone who's marketable with talent they can build around and attract other star players(if they can re-sign him) after Kobe and Gasol are gone. I don't see Bynum having that same mega-star power.
Now that they've shored up interior defense, what are they going to do about defending the perimeter with the three guys who are getting up there in age-- Nash, Kobe, Metta?
Yep, the Lakers had and still have the best 4-5 combo in the league.
I'm very curious to see if Bynum has the kind of break-out monster season that everyone has been suggesting he is capable of.
We will also get to see him FREQUENTLY square off against the 2nd and 3rd best defensive centers in the league since he will play the Knicks and Bulls a lot more now. I think the east is going to be a little tougher for him in terms of the centers he faces off against.
Lakers and OKC had 5 starters on the Olympic team. I wonder if that is going to cause them some rest related issues.
Yep, the Lakers had and still have the best 4-5 combo in the league.
I'm very curious to see if Bynum has the kind of break-out monster season that everyone has been suggesting he is capable of.
We will also get to see him FREQUENTLY square off against the 2nd and 3rd best defensive centers in the league since he will play the Knicks and Bulls a lot more now. I think the east is going to be a little tougher for him in terms of the centers he faces off against.
Lakers and OKC had 5 starters on the Olympic team. I wonder if that is going to cause them some rest related issues.
I see Bynum continuing to be a 19-10 guy and that's a very good player, All-Star numbers probably. I don't see him being a 24-12 guy which I consider break-out monster numbers. He'll face alot of double teams in Philly w/o alot of scoring help so that'll be the toughest adjustment for him.
One more note on the Lakers ... rigas mentioned Mike Brown, and I',m not convinced Mike Brown will be able to utilize these new guys appropriately. Heck, I'm not sure what the Mike Brown "system" is.
I do think it'll be Lakers-OKC again in the WCF, however.
I've been a Laker fan since '79 when I really got into playing the sport in middle school. Couldn't afford the tickets but a friend had season tickets and he hated the Spurs so I got to watch alot of Lakers-Spurs games -- Artis Gilmore, Iceman, Mike Mitchell against Magic, Kareem, Norm Nixon, Silk, etc.
I am obvious no fan of the lakers, while accused of sour grapes or what have you, this is not the case. I see things a bit different then a lot of people on the subject is all.
Nash has I very high bbiq, but his age, bad back, and complete lack of any form of defense what do ever IMO will hinder the lakers success. He has never been able to stay with ANY pg and at his age he isn't getting better. The real question is if his style and Kobe's style can mesh. Kobe has always needed the ball in his hand, but what's the point in bringing in Nash if your not going to let him run the offense with the ball in his hands.
While Howard has been the obvious best center of the last 5+ yrs but he was not leaps and bounds better then Bynum. After back surgery, will he be able to maintain that lead? The lakers and Howard himself can't even give an accurate return date. They have been saying anywhere from opening day all the way to potentially February.
The addition of Jamison, meeks and Duhan are obvious upgrades but not huge upgrades. I would be surprised if Duhan even gets off the bench more then 8 mpg. Jamison IMO could take artests starting spot as those to are interchangable really. Both are aging ungracefully and losing steps fast. Artest is one blowup from being gone for good.
As math said, I don't think they got good enough to get by the thunder, or the heat, and I really don't think the spurs are scared either.
The real question is can 4 full fledged stars coexist under a guy like brown. They are changing the offense again, that's 3 seasons with 3 different styles of play, all the while trying to mesh 5-7 new faces into the fold. It's not like say the spurs who integrated new faces consistently over the last 15yrs because the system, staff, and team leaders all remained constant. It's also not like the heat where 3 superior talents meshed, Kobe isn't as good as lebron or wade, pau isn't as good as bosh, and while Howard is better then any big the heat have, Nash isn't as good as wade. It's almost 3 on 2 in that case.
Ok I'm done for now, flame away lakers fan!
I agree with most of what you say but the Spurs ain't getting any younger neither.
Last season, Tim Duncan has reached career lows in almost all relevant categories and, though, Tiago Splitter is competent, he's no threat like Duncan (who's 36 yo now)
35-yo Manu's numbers are starting to slide but he's still pretty effective as long as his injuries doesn't catch up to him.
Luckily, Parker's still playing well and they have a nice piece in Leonard, but I don't think SA will challenge this coming season. I still wouldn't want to face them in the first-round, however.
I think with Dwight, the Lakers got more then a little better at the center position, in Nash the Lakers got a little better at the PG position, with the additon of some of the bench players, they got a little better bench now. With all those "little betters" adding up, it just might be enough to overtake OKC and maybe Miami Heat too!! We'll have to wait and see.
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