Nothing has convinced me it wont be a repeat NBA final of last year

[kobefanatic]

I have to disagree about Kobe, he's a far better pure shooter. But I will say that Kobe on the whole is a different player this year. He looks worn down and if not for all the incredible game winners, I think a lot of people would be asking what's wrong with Kobe.

kobe is injured this year i think he has a broken finger on his shooting hand which affects his shooting, he also had sprained ankle

[lakerboy]

I guess we'll have to see, but 2010 LeBron is far more dangerous than 2009 LeBron. Same with his team. The reverse is true for Orlando. But it's all conjecture, so let's let the games tell the story!

Let me ask you a question? Are the cavs gonna win more reg season games than last year? Since we both know the answer what gives with you saying the magic arent as good as last year cause i could say the same about the cavs on record wise.

[KiDBaZkiT]

It is gonna be LA/Orlando again. Mo Williams and Delonte will do the same shit in the conference finals this year as last years, shit the bed and shoot less than 40%. The NBA will never let the Mavs win anything as a result of Cubans antics with Stern Dwayne Wade got more calls than 1-800-BLOW-JOB in the 06 finals. Alonzo Mourning got credited for 5 blocks in game 6 which all but one were blatant fouls. I think Denver will give LA problems but we all know the NBA is rigged and they aint letting anyone beat LA, go back to game 2 of western conference finals last year, Ariza blatant foul on the steal of that inbounds pass that sealed that game for LA, granted it was a bad inbounds pass still a foul, I actually think Trevor did it twice in that series both were fouls.

[tealish]

Let me ask you a question? Are the cavs gonna win more reg season games than last year? Since we both know the answer what gives with you saying the magic arent as good as last year cause i could say the same about the cavs on record wise.

Regular season record doesn't really mean anything. Neither do any stats, really. I'm speaking strictly based on watching the games to see which team looks formidable to win a title. Lakers are the favourites, Cleveland's the runnerup, with everybody else below. I like Cleveland this year better than last because they go as far as their star goes. And LeBron last year was extremely drive-dependent and that may work in the regular season, but not in the playoffs when defenses clamp down and the whistles get swallowed. His jumper just didn't look right even when they were going down. In crunch time, he had no confidence in his shot and it showed. He'd just end up forcing it to the hoop each time.

This year, he looks comfortable with relying on his J, no matter the time of the game. His offense is now better suited for tough, grind out games. And when his offense flows, his team flows.

Orlando has no playmaker. You can't win a title on three pointers. No one is capable of making the big play on that team. Dwight will look as lost on the offensive end as he's ever looked.

That's just my opinion. We'll see

[lakerboy]

Regular season record doesn't really mean anything. Neither do any stats, really. I'm speaking strictly based on watching the games to see which team looks formidable to win a title. Lakers are the favourites, Cleveland's the runnerup, with everybody else below. I like Cleveland this year better than last because they go as far as their star goes. And LeBron last year was extremely drive-dependent and that may work in the regular season, but not in the playoffs when defenses clamp down and the whistles get swallowed. His jumper just didn't look right even when they were going down. In crunch time, he had no confidence in his shot and it showed. He'd just end up forcing it to the hoop each time.

This year, he looks comfortable with relying on his J, no matter the time of the game. His offense is now better suited for tough, grind out games. And when his offense flows, his team flows.

Orlando has no playmaker. You can't win a title on three pointers. No one is capable of making the big play on that team. Dwight will look as lost on the offensive end as he's ever looked.

That's just my opinion. We'll see

Sounds good but Orlando has better players than Cleveland and they are the deepest team in the NBA. As a LAker fan i fear none of those 2 teams cause we are better then them but you make some good points but Orlando had the taste now they want more. Cleveland is a nothing NBA franchise and it will show regardless of LEbron. Its still a one man show- and we all know that.

[tealish]

Sounds good but Orlando has better players than Cleveland and they are the deepest team in the NBA. As a LAker fan i fear none of those 2 teams cause we are better then them but you make some good points but Orlando had the taste now they want more. Cleveland is a nothing NBA franchise and it will show regardless of LEbron. Its still a one man show- and we all know that.

Yeah, you're right, neither will contend with LA. No arguments there. As for Orlando, we'll have to wait and see.

[Dexter]

Can you make that argument with a book?

Whatever no biggie for me - 500 point is peanuts for me

i'm up to 900 now....

[obamaismyuncle]

Sounds good but Orlando has better players than Cleveland and they are the deepest team in the NBA. As a LAker fan i fear none of those 2 teams cause we are better then them but you make some good points but Orlando had the taste now they want more. Cleveland is a nothing NBA franchise and it will show regardless of LEbron. Its still a one man show- and we all know that.

[Dexter]

the cavs did finally did add a legit all star in jamison to compliment lebron.

i will admit though - earlier in the year i felt the cavs would win it, but the lakers are just so freakin big its unfair. bynum is a beast, odom, and gasol. call me crazy, but they could possibly win the championship even without kobe.

[williams22]

The Lakers are big but SOFT. They Cavs made them look like a bunch of girls.

LB, if you really don't think the Cavs are greatly improved you are out of your mind. They became the deepest team in the league over the summer then added more to that by getting Jamison. Orlando won't last more than 6 games against the Cavs.

I'm not convinced the Lakers make the finals anymore. Utah, Denver, and Dallas all stand a very good chance of knocking them off.

[big0mar]

Jamison is the key for the Cavs in my opinion. Cavs struggled against ORL because they didn't have the length to defend the perimeter.

[lakerboy]

The Lakers are big but SOFT. They Cavs made them look like a bunch of girls.

LB, if you really don't think the Cavs are greatly improved you are out of your mind. They became the deepest team in the league over the summer then added more to that by getting Jamison. Orlando won't last more than 6 games against the Cavs.

I'm not convinced the Lakers make the finals anymore. Utah, Denver, and Dallas all stand a very good chance of knocking them off.

You mean you hope the lakers wont make the finals. LOL Jazz LOL Mavs LOL Nuggets- the playoffs are a different game and those teams dont have the weapons LA has. NO team has a Odom coming off the bench- and im sorry that is the biggest factor of the whole thing. Williams you can live off the regular season wins. If you want to use that then remember how the lakers went into utah and smashed the jazz without kobe. Anyways i have made my points and we all gonna see what happens.

[williams22]

You mean you hope the lakers wont make the finals. LOL Jazz LOL Mavs LOL Nuggets- the playoffs are a different game and those teams dont have the weapons LA has. NO team has a Odom coming off the bench- and im sorry that is the biggest factor of the whole thing. Williams you can live off the regular season wins. If you want to use that then remember how the lakers went into utah and smashed the jazz without kobe. Anyways i have made my points and we all gonna see what happens.

The Lakers don't scare me, mainly because I know Kobe will play classic Kobe-ball and will hurt their chances against the Cavs. The Nuggets and Jazz scare me more because of their strong PG play which the Cavs struggle to guard. Guarding big men is no problem though, and they showed the Lakers twice this year.

Also, the Lakers depth is pitiful. I laugh hysterically anytime I watch a Lakers game and hear their announcers talking about their depth. They have Odom, who is a legitimate starter, and that's it. Farmar is a below average backup and Shannon Brown's game isn't conducive to playoff basketball. After that it's laughable.

More importantly, I'm not sure what makes you convinced that Orlando will beat Cleveland. Cleveland's only loss to Orlando this year came when the Magic caught them in a bad spot. Once Z and Shaq are back, the Cavs have a ton of depth and will be able to take Howard out of the game without an issue. The Magic might get hot from 3 for a game or two, but they won't win a series doing that. Last year their bread and butter was a 3/4 screen and roll, but they aren't nearly as dangerous with that this year.

I will say one thing, when people talk about the Magic they rarely mention one of their most important pieces, Gortat. He's the best backup center in the league.

[lakerboy]

Williams you take into account what happens in the regular season too seriously. The playoffs are a different ballgame. The Lakers havent done anything much differently than last year as far i see. They fukked around with teams all year last year ( i know this as a bettor not a fan)and have done the same this time. Good points you make and i do think the cavs are very strong but i still think Orlando matches up very wellwith them. Dont forget last year the magic didnt have Nelson in that series.

[quick$]

I have a feeling the Lakers are kind of on cruise control play. They'll have spurts showing how dominant they are then tone it down enough to win not always cover. I do think they'll get better
competition this year with some long series but in the end it'll be Lakers in the final.

As for Orl vs. Cav this year I would tip the edge to Cavs. The Cavs def improve and are deep like W22 says. Jamison is a leader too and his years with Wiz didn't make him more apt to give in rather I think
being on this Cavs team with LBJ he more enthuse to win a championship before he's done...Years back Cavs try this with Larry Hughe but Hughe is not Jamison caliber.

[williams22]

Williams you take into account what happens in the regular season too seriously. The playoffs are a different ballgame. The Lakers havent done anything much differently than last year as far i see. They fukked around with teams all year last year ( i know this as a bettor not a fan)and have done the same this time. Good points you make and i do think the cavs are very strong but i still think Orlando matches up very wellwith them. Dont forget last year the magic didnt have Nelson in that series.

Of course I recognize the difference between regular season and playoffs. See, I wasn't scared of the Lakers in the playoffs last year either. I think we both know that Cleveland would have given them more trouble than Orlando did. I'm not convinced Cleveland would have won though because they didn't have near the depth they have now and Varejao was still in his flopping phase. The additions of Shaq and Jamison plus a much improved bench that is legitimately 12 guys deep will cause fits for LA this year.

Also, as good as Lebron was last year, he's improved in every aspect this year and his basketball IQ is now off the charts. I think it would be very hard to frustrate him like San Antonio was able to do a few years back.

[wookieehumper]

Vince Carter is a guarantee to choke in the playoffs... Cavs will be in the finals

[obamaismyuncle]

The Lakers are big but SOFT. They Cavs made them look like a bunch of girls.

LB, if you really don't think the Cavs are greatly improved you are out of your mind. They became the deepest team in the league over the summer then added more to that by getting Jamison. Orlando won't last more than 6 games against the Cavs.

I'm not convinced the Lakers make the finals anymore. Utah, Denver, and Dallas all stand a very good chance of knocking them off.

Until the Cavs can win when it matters, they will always be that little cute team who never made it.

[shoebox]

if the cavs dont make the finals, lebron is gone

[reppin_the_847]

I'd be absolutely shocked if the Lakers got outted in the first round (which you said was a possibility). That would involve some random 8th seed taking them out. Not gonna happen. Even a team like Dallas or Denver isn't gonna win an entire series on them. Denver's Kenyon Martin is out, and may not even be back during the playoffs, so you can scratch them off the list. Maybe Dallas or Denver will take a home game or two, but they ain't winning the series. The Lakers will march to the Finals (assuming no major injuries of course), but the question is, who is going to step up in the East? The Cavs want it this year more than ever, and the Magic are a bit weaker without Turkoglu, so I'm not sure. I do want to say the Cavs & Magic face off again in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Magic are much worse this year and the Cav's are much better. The Cav's can even win games without Lebron. That hadn't happen in the last few years. The Magic made a huge mistake losing Turkoglu. He was the X factor against Cleveland. That guy always had good games against Cleveland where they had no answer. Vince Carter has always struggled against Cleveland dating back to his days in Toronto. The Magic won't beat Cleveland in a series, you can be sure of that.

There is only one team in the East that can beat Cleveland IMO and your going to think I'm crazy but that's the Bobcat's. They match up very well with the Cav's for some weird reason and seem to play possessed when they play them. Boston and Atlanta can't beat Cleveland either. It's only the Bobcat's and I hope the Cav's don't meet those guys. I really hope they don't make the playoffs.

I do think the Laker's will win the West again. It won't be easy. The Laker's, Nugget's, Mav's, Dallas and Houston all could beat Cleveland in a series. yes Houston, if they get in. Cleveland should win the East but will most likely fall in the finals. Laker's have lot's of problems, mainly with their bench. They could get outted in the first round but if they make it to the finals they will most likely win it all because they can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[BettingWizard]

Lakerboy I will risk 500 sbr pts on cavs winning east

[Mac4Lyfe]

I'd be absolutely shocked if the Lakers got outted in the first round (which you said was a possibility). That would involve some random 8th seed taking them out. Not gonna happen. Even a team like Dallas or Denver isn't gonna win an entire series on them. Denver's Kenyon Martin is out, and may not even be back during the playoffs, so you can scratch them off the list. Maybe Dallas or Denver will take a home game or two, but they ain't winning the series. The Lakers will march to the Finals (assuming no major injuries of course), but the question is, who is going to step up in the East? The Cavs want it this year more than ever, and the Magic are a bit weaker without Turkoglu, so I'm not sure. I do want to say the Cavs & Magic face off again in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Portland, San Antonio, Phoenix and Houston could all beat the Laker's in a series. All 4 are very likely opponents for the Lakers in the first round.

The Laker's have one of the worst benches of the top tiered teams. The team is probably more dependent on Kobe than the Cav's are with Lebron. The Laker's are not going to get to the finals easily. Each series is going to be a battle for them.

[lakerboy]

Nothing has happened this season to make me believe that the Lakers wont play the Magic in the finals again.

Nobody in the west is beating LA unless they get a key injury.Lets stop that debate now.

The only team that can beat the magic is the cavs in the east and i know turk gave the cavs problems but realistically i think Orlando has adjusted to his absence and Carter has come around. The only concern is Lewis( no more roids).

The cavs are better than last year and getting big z back will help but Shaq is iffy and might be just back in shape for round 3. Jamison is a factor but he is used to losing all the time and he doesnt have the desire. I know many will disagree with me but im telling you as of now at this moment there is no reason to believe it wont be a repeat final.

Only a cavs fan can convince themselves.

So what you guys think?

Magic- Lakers again or Cavs-Lakers.

Suns arent gonna beat la.

[lakerboy]

You mean you hope the lakers wont make the finals. LOL Jazz LOL Mavs LOL Nuggets- the playoffs are a different game and those teams dont have the weapons LA has. NO team has a Odom coming off the bench- and im sorry that is the biggest factor of the whole thing. Williams you can live off the regular season wins. If you want to use that then remember how the lakers went into utah and smashed the jazz without kobe. Anyways i have made my points and we all gonna see what happens.

The pretenders are slowly fading away.

[kobefanatic]

[/b]



The pretenders are slowly fading away.

i'm really happy seeing kobe a few wins away from the NBA finals