If you don't think the Lakers Win the West, You are Delusional

[InTheDrink]

2004 shaq >>>>> 2013 d howard
2004 Kobe >>>>> 2013 Kobe
2004 Payton < 2013 nash
2004 k Malone = 2013 Gasol
2004 devean george < 2013 world peace
2004 bench > 2013 bench

Edge 2004 lakers

Howd that work out?

[younghandicapper]

Uh, just an opinion. I'm a Laker fan and I'm really excited for this season with this new lineup. I'm optimistic that Lakers will be at the top again, "the team to beat" this season. But let them play first. We haven't seen them play with each other. But basing on Howard-Kobe in Olympics last time, they have a good chemistry and with Steve the orchestrator in this team, it's easy to score buckets. Double d on Howard being unstoppable at the rim makes shooters like Metta, Nash and Kobe outside. But I think Lakers don't have a backup PG that's reliable at some point. These are just my opinions though.

[pepero428]

lakers also hope to sign barbosa, meeks, or delfino

looks like they got meeks today

so whats their bench looking like so far


jamison
hill
meeks
blake?


starting...
gasol
howard
kobe
nash
mwp

[The Giant]

2004 shaq >>>>> 2013 d howard
2004 Kobe >>>>> 2013 Kobe
2004 Payton < 2013 nash
2004 k Malone = 2013 Gasol
2004 devean george < 2013 world peace
2004 bench > 2013 bench

Edge 2004 lakers

Howd that work out?

Karl Malone was practically a gimp in the playoffs. I would take a 32-year-old Pau Gasol over a 40-year-old Karl Malone.

Steve Nash obliterates Gary Payton. Payton was pretty much done that year.

The 2004 team had a lot of internal problems, too. Shaq and Kobe absolutely hated each other, and Kobe was flying back and forth to Colorado all season.

I would take the current team.

[paranoyd androyd]

looks like they got meeks today

so whats their bench looking like so far


jamison
hill
meeks
blake?


starting...
gasol
howard
kobe
nash
mwp

thx for the update hadn't heard yet, personally wanted delfino.
now they should cut blake or duhon (or both).
hearing kenyon martin is being pursued too, not sure where he'd fit though.

firing brown and bringing phil back gathering some steam too.

[Cuse0323]

No arguments here, they have one team to beat and they're still too young and not enough pieces.

[Speedy88]

dwight howard too injury prone at this point to put any great confidence in

okc still awfully good

cleveland was probably the best team for a few straight years and didn't win, miami was the best team and didn't win in 2011, etc etc

having the most talent and/or best team is just a starting point

packers went 15-1 last year, would've beaten the giants 9 times out of 10 but they don't play the game 10 times

Can we please stop the myths about Dwight being injury prone.

04-05: 82 games
05-06: 82 games
06-07: 82 games
07-08: 82 games
08-09: 79 games
09-10: 82 games
10-11: 78 games
11-12: 54 games (only 66 games due to the lock out, so he missed 12 games)

Go find me a big man who has only missed 19 games the last 8 seasons.

[milwaukee mike]

Can we please stop the myths about Dwight being injury prone.

04-05: 82 games
05-06: 82 games
06-07: 82 games
07-08: 82 games
08-09: 79 games
09-10: 82 games
10-11: 78 games
11-12: 54 games (only 66 games due to the lock out, so he missed 12 games)

Go find me a big man who has only missed 19 games the last 8 seasons.

i agree "somewhat" but what in the world does the 2004 dwight howard have to do with the 2012 dwight howard?

i didn't have back problems 5 years ago either, but now that i have them i don't think they're going away. having surgery on a herniated disk doesn't mean it won't happen again

he's still really young at 26

[wantitall4moi]

i agree "somewhat" but what in the world does the 2004 dwight howard have to do with the 2012 dwight howard?

i didn't have back problems 5 years ago either, but now that i have them i don't think they're going away. having surgery on a herniated disk doesn't mean it won't happen again

he's still really young at 26

Once you get your back cut on youre done, ask ANYONE who has had back surgery. This guy is a professional athlete who is expected to run up and down the court and jump and twist and get pounded on a nightly basis. Yeah good luck with that.

He is already going to miss the start of the season, so how many games? 5, 7, 20, out til Christmas?

Like I said if this guy cant play close to what he is expected to this so called brilliant move will go down as the worst decision in Laker history.

You guys forget who is running this team now, it isnt Jerry west and Jerry Buss and that brain trust. Its Jim Buss, his bar fly buddies and mitch Cupcake. This team looks like some fantasy geek put it together.

Also in terms f long term viability, umm start doing some math and see how much it will cost to keep this team (which isnt that good) together going forward. Guy did it on local radio yesterday it was over 150 million if I remember correctly the way the new CBA taxes work.

This is already looking bad. Howard ultimately has to pass a physical, you TRUE laker fans better hope he doesnt pass it and this deal gets axed. Because if this deal goes through it is going to start the spiral of the Lakers thats for sure.

[raydog]

your obnoxious hatred is hilarious...im beginning to think that you have been fukking with us this whole time with these incredibly clueless posts... i get it now and will just laugh along and assume you are acting an asshat on purpose... good one!

[wantitall4moi]

your obnoxious hatred is hilarious...im beginning to think that you have been fukking with us this whole time with these incredibly clueless posts... i get it now and will just laugh along and assume you are acting an asshat on purpose... good one!

hatred? where and how? I tell it like it is. I told people lakers would stink last year and they did. They had an inflated win record because they stayed healthy and played alot of teams that had injured players. once they made the playoffs (the REAL season) they got their asses smoked. Barely made it out of the first round and for all intents and purposes got swept in the second.

Guys on that team also played over their heads most of the season, despite what people want to try and remember. Gasol played well until the play offs, Bynum was pretty dominant when they used him correctly, and ron artest actually played well which was a mjor shock. Lakers played a near perfect game last year and still werent close to good enough.

Now they add a 40 year old guy, who is still good sure, and a damaged goods guy who might be a step backwards in some respects to the guy they essentially traded for him and people think theyre light years better? THOSE people are the clueless ones.

Bynum was 26 years old and showed he could dominate a game if used properly. Howard is a misfit crybaby who stood around in the paint and grabbed misses and if he got a chance might dunk the ball his offensive skill set is almost zero. That is something Lakers will have to address unless they are happy with him standing around and getting rebounds and an occasional dunk.

Howard might be one of the most overated guys in the NBA, and that was when he was healthy. Guys like him who find excuses and whine and piss and moan about everything arent the type of guys who should be coveted. If he was really al that why didnt he get moved earlier? Because of some make believe 'he wont play for anyone long term' bullshit? Well Orlando basically gave the guy away. Which I suppose is what they were going to see happen anyway. But lakers were the only team DUMB enough to take him and HOPE to hell he signs a deal with them. Hubris is a terrible thing.

There are simply way too many negatives in this deal, and really only one or maybe 2 possible positives.

I love it because in the end the odds of something bad happening are much more likely than something good.

The perfect storm would be the Clippers winning the Pacific, Lakers being a 5 or 6 seed and then being eliminated by the Clippers in the play offs. But that probably wont happen. I figure if Howard is healthy OKC will be the team to eliminate them, although Clippers and Denver will have some major talent and depth not sure their coaching is good enough to do it.

But Mike brown isnt that good and he has already shown he cant handle guys with big egos and we have also seen what happened in Orlando to a coach that couldnt handle dwight howard. Exactly like the lebron james situations, they axed the coach hoping the star player would stay, but that wasnt good enough. so orlando learned a lesson, rather than watching another press conference by a self absorbed asshole they just traded him to anyone that would take him.

Like i said there are a lot of ways this could end badly, I am sure we will see them play out as the year goes on.

first one has already started, howard is going to miss the start of the season due to his back. So how many games is that? If he sits stil Christams and misses 12-15 games then what? It will take him another 10-20 to get into shape so theres half the season gone on a guy you dont have a contract with, and what if he decides to take it easy so not to hurt himself before he can sign with a team he really wanted to play for? That is just one possible scenario that stems from an already known aspect of this move. Lakers only had 4 games without bynum last year so transpose that to this year and howard how many games without him to start? How good are they without him (or bynum)? If he misses 20 games and they start 10-10 or worse then what?

Like i said will be interesting.

Fans or deluded people only want to see the best of any situation,they are never willing to look at all the possibilities. I just know that eventually the lakers will be a great fade, not sure how not having him works but it will surely make for some interesting futures.

[BigDeem5]

Here are reasons why the Lakers won't win the west:

#1 - Mike Brown - average coach. Doesn't make adjustments. I don't care if Kobe basically runs the team, you need a good head coach, one that knows X's and O's

#2 - Thunder - Best team in the West. Ibaka and Perkins can utilize Gasol/Howard and we saw what Westbrook, Harden, and Durant will do to the Lakers back court. Also, the Lakers can't run with them.

#3 Howard - He is a stellar athlete and shot blocker. He isn't a guy that can you rely on to step up when you need it. Can't make free throws. He isn't going to be used that well with Nash because Nash is a pick n roll type player, is Howard gunna roll off a pick and hit a jumper? No. He can catch and dunk an alley-oop

#4 Nash - The guy can't guard me. He is too slow to play defense in the west on the likes of Mike Conley, Ty Lawson, Russell Westbrook, Cp3 etc.

#5 Kobe - As much as you guys love Kobe, he's lost a step. He's a jump shooter now, that's it. Doesn't get to line as much and doesn't have that quick first step. If he hits 75% of his contested jumpers, they got a shot to get to the WCF.


They will not win the West. They shouldn't even be favored. I'd put Thunder as the favorites easily. Also, look out for Memphis, Denver, and T'Wolves

[darkhat]

hatred? where and how? I tell it like it is. I told people lakers would stink last year and they did. They had an inflated win record because they stayed healthy and played alot of teams that had injured players. once they made the playoffs (the REAL season) they got their asses smoked. Barely made it out of the first round and for all intents and purposes got swept in the second.

Guys on that team also played over their heads most of the season, despite what people want to try and remember. Gasol played well until the play offs, Bynum was pretty dominant when they used him correctly, and ron artest actually played well which was a mjor shock. Lakers played a near perfect game last year and still werent close to good enough.

Now they add a 40 year old guy, who is still good sure, and a damaged goods guy who might be a step backwards in some respects to the guy they essentially traded for him and people think theyre light years better? THOSE people are the clueless ones.

Bynum was 26 years old and showed he could dominate a game if used properly. Howard is a misfit crybaby who stood around in the paint and grabbed misses and if he got a chance might dunk the ball his offensive skill set is almost zero. That is something Lakers will have to address unless they are happy with him standing around and getting rebounds and an occasional dunk.

Howard might be one of the most overated guys in the NBA, and that was when he was healthy. Guys like him who find excuses and whine and piss and moan about everything arent the type of guys who should be coveted. If he was really al that why didnt he get moved earlier? Because of some make believe 'he wont play for anyone long term' bullshit? Well Orlando basically gave the guy away. Which I suppose is what they were going to see happen anyway. But lakers were the only team DUMB enough to take him and HOPE to hell he signs a deal with them. Hubris is a terrible thing.

There are simply way too many negatives in this deal, and really only one or maybe 2 possible positives.

I love it because in the end the odds of something bad happening are much more likely than something good.

The perfect storm would be the Clippers winning the Pacific, Lakers being a 5 or 6 seed and then being eliminated by the Clippers in the play offs. But that probably wont happen. I figure if Howard is healthy OKC will be the team to eliminate them, although Clippers and Denver will have some major talent and depth not sure their coaching is good enough to do it.

But Mike brown isnt that good and he has already shown he cant handle guys with big egos and we have also seen what happened in Orlando to a coach that couldnt handle dwight howard. Exactly like the lebron james situations, they axed the coach hoping the star player would stay, but that wasnt good enough. so orlando learned a lesson, rather than watching another press conference by a self absorbed asshole they just traded him to anyone that would take him.

Like i said there are a lot of ways this could end badly, I am sure we will see them play out as the year goes on.

first one has already started, howard is going to miss the start of the season due to his back. So how many games is that? If he sits stil Christams and misses 12-15 games then what? It will take him another 10-20 to get into shape so theres half the season gone on a guy you dont have a contract with, and what if he decides to take it easy so not to hurt himself before he can sign with a team he really wanted to play for? That is just one possible scenario that stems from an already known aspect of this move. Lakers only had 4 games without bynum last year so transpose that to this year and howard how many games without him to start? How good are they without him (or bynum)? If he misses 20 games and they start 10-10 or worse then what?

Like i said will be interesting.

Fans or deluded people only want to see the best of any situation,they are never willing to look at all the possibilities. I just know that eventually the lakers will be a great fade, not sure how not having him works but it will surely make for some interesting futures.

No you said they would be a lottery team and you proved to know jack shit about actual basketball. Then when you are called out you say your a billionaire gambler who uses the words like "moi"

http://forum.sbrforum.com/players-talk/1454076-lakers-will-lottery-team.html

[onlooker]

firing brown and bringing phil back gathering some steam too.

[zoo youk]

I don't get all the Mike Brown can't coach bullshit. he basically took the Cavaliers from 6 feet under ground and made them a Championship contender every year with Lebron James and a bunch of nobodies. and don't tell me it was just all Lebron James. cause as you saw, it took Lebron his 2nd year in Miami to get a ring WITH Bosh Dwade Battier Miller etc.

meanwhile Brown reached the finals and eastern conference finals few times with just LBJ and fkn Anderson Vareajo. come on now.

[jsmithj88]

I don't get all the Mike Brown can't coach bullshit. he basically took the Cavaliers from 6 feet under ground and made them a Championship contender every year with Lebron James and a bunch of nobodies. and don't tell me it was just all Lebron James. cause as you saw, it took Lebron his 2nd year in Miami to get a ring WITH Bosh Dwade Battier Miller etc.

meanwhile Brown reached the finals and eastern conference finals few times with just LBJ and fkn Anderson Vareajo. come on now.

lebron got to back to back finals with the heat, so obviously, lebron had more of an impact on a team than potato head

[KKoz9]

ZERO chance. (win it all)

They are clearly the most famous*starting 5 in the league. But not the BEST...Thunder and Miami are both better.
Lakers NO chance after 82 games.. huffin' and puffin'... k0Bie missing shot after shot...

this is going to be a disaster.. k0Bie likes to place blame on underlings around him, but now.....
he is the 3rd best player on that team... he can't pull that shee-aht with Nash.. he won't have it..
he can't pull that*shee-aht on Howard, coz he won't have it either... this is gonna be a lo-o-o-o-ng
2nd half... it may work before A-S break, but wheeels fall off as they tire..

NBA is for talented youngsters.. OR super-talented older guys that can still shoot.

k0Bie 1) can't shoot, 2) can't elevate, 3) can't drive.. BUT he is an All-Star 'blame-placer' and 'finger-pointer'...
definitely 1st Team All-NBA in those two categories.. so kudos for that.

Ha ha ha this truth has to hurt all the Laker ball lickers

[pepero428]

Here are reasons why the Lakers won't win the west:

#1 - Mike Brown - average coach. Doesn't make adjustments. I don't care if Kobe basically runs the team, you need a good head coach, one that knows X's and O's

#2 - Thunder - Best team in the West. Ibaka and Perkins can utilize Gasol/Howard and we saw what Westbrook, Harden, and Durant will do to the Lakers back court. Also, the Lakers can't run with them.

#3 Howard - He is a stellar athlete and shot blocker. He isn't a guy that can you rely on to step up when you need it. Can't make free throws. He isn't going to be used that well with Nash because Nash is a pick n roll type player, is Howard gunna roll off a pick and hit a jumper? No. He can catch and dunk an alley-oop

#4 Nash - The guy can't guard me. He is too slow to play defense in the west on the likes of Mike Conley, Ty Lawson, Russell Westbrook, Cp3 etc.

#5 Kobe - As much as you guys love Kobe, he's lost a step. He's a jump shooter now, that's it. Doesn't get to line as much and doesn't have that quick first step. If he hits 75% of his contested jumpers, they got a shot to get to the WCF.


They will not win the West. They shouldn't even be favored. I'd put Thunder as the favorites easily. Also, look out for Memphis, Denver, and T'Wolves

Most recent season

VS.Miami Heat:
25 Points 24 Rebounds (12 or so dunks or alley oops i guess?)
12 Points 15 Rebounds
24 Points 25 Rebounds
18 Points 11 Rebounds

VS.LA Clippers:
33 Points 14 Rebounds

VS.OKC Thunder:
33 Points 9 Rebounds (16 or so dunks or alley oops?)

VS. SA Spurs
24 Points 25 Rebounds
22 Points 11 Rebounds


All of these dunks or alley oops he got is going to drop down to less than half or near zero? with Nash the primary faciliator? Even with Kobe primarily shooting let's say his usual

~23 fga
Each game the Lakers seem to get between 70-90 or so TOTAL FGA (field goal attempts)

so subtract Kobe's usual 23 touches

70-23= 47 shots left

Howard averaged 13 FGA on the Magic
47 shots-13 (Dwight's FGA avg for 2011-2012)= 34 shots left for rest of team

Pau averaged 14 FGA 2011-2012
34-14 = 20

Nash averaged 9 FGA on the Suns
20-9 = 11 shots for the remaining players roughly (+anywhere from 1-20 more shots if Lakers get in the higher 80s for total FGA)

[SBR_John]

They may win the West, the trade helps but it wasn't something for nothing. Andrew Bynum was/is a darn good player. At times he was all world. He had 31 rebounds at SA that led to a LA road win without Kobe who was injured. I think the west still goes through Oklahoma City and San Antonio.

[PS3]

Lmao. Hilarious.

[NYSportsGuy210]

2004 shaq >>>>> 2013 d howard
2004 Kobe >>>>> 2013 Kobe
2004 Payton < 2013 nash
2004 k Malone = 2013 Gasol
2004 devean george < 2013 world peace
2004 bench > 2013 bench

Edge 2004 lakers

Howd that work out?

2004 Karl Malone IS NOT BETTER THAN 2013 Pau Gasol. Guy only played in 42 games that year and averaged like 11 points and 8 rebounds a game. Gasol plays the whole season and averages 17 and 10.

[Pauulzcappin]

Heat are in trouble, Goat.

[PickWinnerAllDay]

I don't think anyone really said Miami would be bad.

That being said, they need 7 games and atrocious officiating in their favor to knock out a garbage Boston team and then the 2nd best team in the league behind them was out because of an acl injury with rose.

All titles count the same, but the heats title as about as unimpressive as one can be. In fact, considering it was a shortened season, it is safe to say that it is the least impressive and least meaningful Nba title ever won. Better than not winning... But still.

[NYSportsGuy210]

Here are reasons why the Lakers won't win the west:

#1 - Mike Brown - average coach. Doesn't make adjustments. I don't care if Kobe basically runs the team, you need a good head coach, one that knows X's and O's

#2 - Thunder - Best team in the West. Ibaka and Perkins can utilize Gasol/Howard and we saw what Westbrook, Harden, and Durant will do to the Lakers back court. Also, the Lakers can't run with them.

#3 Howard - He is a stellar athlete and shot blocker. He isn't a guy that can you rely on to step up when you need it. Can't make free throws. He isn't going to be used that well with Nash because Nash is a pick n roll type player, is Howard gunna roll off a pick and hit a jumper? No. He can catch and dunk an alley-oop

#4 Nash - The guy can't guard me. He is too slow to play defense in the west on the likes of Mike Conley, Ty Lawson, Russell Westbrook, Cp3 etc.

#5 Kobe - As much as you guys love Kobe, he's lost a step. He's a jump shooter now, that's it. Doesn't get to line as much and doesn't have that quick first step. If he hits 75% of his contested jumpers, they got a shot to get to the WCF.


They will not win the West. They shouldn't even be favored. I'd put Thunder as the favorites easily. Also, look out for Memphis, Denver, and T'Wolves

If Lakers have Nash who says they can't run with OKC? Nash picks up the tempo wherever he plays....Kobe can still run end to end and so can Gasol. In fact Bynum was the slow one on that team the past few seasons and they got rid of him.

Also I think Mike Brown will start to make better adjustments this season because he heard the criticism from last year and his @ass will be gone (and he knows it) if the Lakers don't at least get to the NBA finals.

[Goat Milk]

Here are reasons why the Lakers won't win the west:

#1 - Mike Brown - average coach. Doesn't make adjustments. I don't care if Kobe basically runs the team, you need a good head coach, one that knows X's and O's

#2 - Thunder - Best team in the West. Ibaka and Perkins can utilize Gasol/Howard and we saw what Westbrook, Harden, and Durant will do to the Lakers back court. Also, the Lakers can't run with them.

#3 Howard - He is a stellar athlete and shot blocker. He isn't a guy that can you rely on to step up when you need it. Can't make free throws. He isn't going to be used that well with Nash because Nash is a pick n roll type player, is Howard gunna roll off a pick and hit a jumper? No. He can catch and dunk an alley-oop

#4 Nash - The guy can't guard me. He is too slow to play defense in the west on the likes of Mike Conley, Ty Lawson, Russell Westbrook, Cp3 etc.

#5 Kobe - As much as you guys love Kobe, he's lost a step. He's a jump shooter now, that's it. Doesn't get to line as much and doesn't have that quick first step. If he hits 75% of his contested jumpers, they got a shot to get to the WCF.


They will not win the West. They shouldn't even be favored. I'd put Thunder as the favorites easily. Also, look out for Memphis, Denver, and T'Wolves

Kedrick Perkins will get manhandled down low by Dwight Howard. We saw it for years in ORL when Boston decided they were gonna play 1 on 1 defense on Howard and stay home on shooters.

Ibaka is overrated. One pump fake and this guy goes flying in the air.

For jump shots Gasol will be used in pick and roles with Nash and Howard will roll to the basket. Understand the game bro.

Bryant will guard a lot of those guys for a lot of the game. Bryant would guard Westbrook and Guys like Lawson 60% of the time in a 7 game series.

[Speedy88]

Can we skip the regular season and just advance Miami and LAL to the finals?

[guitarjosh]

Most recent season

VS.Miami Heat:
25 Points 24 Rebounds (12 or so dunks or alley oops i guess?)
12 Points 15 Rebounds
24 Points 25 Rebounds
18 Points 11 Rebounds

VS.LA Clippers:
33 Points 14 Rebounds

VS.OKC Thunder:
33 Points 9 Rebounds (16 or so dunks or alley oops?)

VS. SA Spurs
24 Points 25 Rebounds
22 Points 11 Rebounds


All of these dunks or alley oops he got is going to drop down to less than half or near zero? with Nash the primary faciliator? Even with Kobe primarily shooting let's say his usual

~23 fga
Each game the Lakers seem to get between 70-90 or so TOTAL FGA (field goal attempts)

so subtract Kobe's usual 23 touches

70-23= 47 shots left

Howard averaged 13 FGA on the Magic
47 shots-13 (Dwight's FGA avg for 2011-2012)= 34 shots left for rest of team

Pau averaged 14 FGA 2011-2012
34-14 = 17

Nash averaged 9 FGA on the Suns
17-9 = 8 shots for the remaining players roughly (+anywhere from 1-20 more shots if Lakers get in the higher 80s for total FGA)

actually it would mean 20, which gives 11 shots for everyone else as a minimum. More likely it would be 20-30 for everyone else.

[Goat Milk]

I don't think anyone really said Miami would be bad.

That being said, they need 7 games and atrocious officiating in their favor to knock out a garbage Boston team and then the 2nd best team in the league behind them was out because of an acl injury with rose.

All titles count the same, but the heats title as about as unimpressive as one can be. In fact, considering it was a shortened season, it is safe to say that it is the least impressive and least meaningful Nba title ever won. Better than not winning... But still.

When are you gonna realize the bulls will never win anything with that type of roster. You know how many guys on here were calling MIA the Miami Cavs and saying it would never work out (i.e. "I would take a more cohesive unit like the Bulls or Celtics). Most of those guys have taken a permanant leave of absence since they were exposed and probably only lurk here because they are too ashamed to post.

Pauul, yeah they might be man--not in the East though. Unless Wade goes down, MIA will win the east again.

[CanuckG]

[FindTheLock]

I hate the lakers and because I am a magic fan I also hate howard, but I can be realistic. If this laker team stays healthy in the playoffs the thunder will be +200 or more dogs against them. Howard will dominate the heat and the thunder on the inside, and with Bryant and nash facilitating plays and utilizing the pick and roll off of gasol this team will be a major problem for anyone to not only guard, but also score on. Westbrook will not be able to drive to the rim as often with howard in the post. Lebron and wade will still get to the rim, but they will be reluctant to go their as often as they do with Howard down in the paint. Having howard in the paint on defense makes his opponents shoot more jumpers, and if they miss Howard just adds more rebounds to his stat sheet. If howard or any of the other players get hurt, then the lakers are fuked.

[rm18]

5 guys past their prime and 2 with bad backs they could make it to the Finals but there is no way to know for sure why will be healthy and at what level the older guys will play at. Perkins did an ok job of guarding Howard thats why Boston won in 2010, plus they also have Cole Aldrich who although he has not played much he might be up to the challenge.

[upscope]

Some funny sh#t in this thread.

Who's the fool that said that '04 K. Malone = '13 P. Gasol?? I should have stop reading right then.
How bout wantitall saying this Laker team is a 4 seed......lololololololololol.....they don't come much more clueless than this guy.
The funniest part of this thread though has got to be the OP. Goat continues to prance around the forum thumping his chest about how he picked 2/3 of the past NBA winners <-----lol. Dude picks the heavy preseason chalk Lakers in '10, then the even heavier preseason chalk CHeat in '11, & the ridiculously heavy preseason chalk CHeat in '12 & now he's claiming he's a genius for picking the obvious best team in the West in '13?? Seriously dude, u are not a genius for continuly picking the chalk to win strait UP so please stop acting so.

[thechaoz]

Lakers are pretty freakin stacked now....

[upscope]

Wantitall is funny. Says he's not hating he's just calling it as he sees it. Every move the Lakers have made for the last 2 yrs he's hated on telling everybody how stupid it was. Doesn't matter what they do he hates on it yet he claims he's not hating?? Lakers could sign the Olympic team & he would tell us why they were stupid for doing so.

Now he's telling us how bad the Lakers were last yr?? He had them as a lottery team last preseason & ranked 11 western conference teams better than them & then mase every excuse under the sun why they "overacheieved" to a 3 seed....lol. then got beat by the obvious best team in the West eventhough they very easily could have had them in a 3-1 hole & tells us how he told us so.
How do you predict lottery for a team, watch them land an eventually 3 seed & then claim they were exposed as a sh#t team??

[wantitall4moi]

Wantitall is funny. Says he's not hating he's just calling it as he sees it. Every move the Lakers have made for the last 2 yrs he's hated on telling everybody how stupid it was. Doesn't matter what they do he hates on it yet he claims he's not hating?? Lakers could sign the Olympic team & he would tell us why they were stupid for doing so.

Now he's telling us how bad the Lakers were last yr?? He had them as a lottery team last preseason & ranked 11 western conference teams better than them & then mase every excuse under the sun why they "overacheieved" to a 3 seed....lol. then got beat by the obvious best team in the West eventhough they very easily could have had them in a 3-1 hole & tells us how he told us so.
How do you predict lottery for a team, watch them land an eventually 3 seed & then claim they were exposed as a sh#t team??

because they got ran out of the building by OKC. They almost lost in the first round, if not for some bad calls they probably dont get past that one.

People act like Lakers got Howard for absolutely nothing, they traded away a pretty good player (when he is healthy and his head is screwed on straight). Like I said getting Nash made them better than getting howard for Bynum. Ad in the fact Howard wont be starting and the lakers are already worse off, at least bynum would have been playing at the start of the season.

This season is basically their best shot with this line up. And it is already inhibited by howard not being there for the start of the season. Odds he stays past this year IMO are less than 30%, so therefore it is all or nothing this year. But even if he does stay then what? What do you do going forward? Howard is obviously going to be the center piece so what do you do with everyone else?

Will you be able to get people to come to LA to play with him? They got some talent in Orl but that still wasnt enough.

Lakers totally mortgaged their whole franchise on a guy who is coming off back surgery, wont be able to start the season, doesnt have a contract and has shown he is a coach killer and self absorbed crybaby. So he and Kobe have some things in common so he will probably fit right in.

You guys act like Howard is signed sealed and delivered for the next 5 or 6 years and is the same guy ESPN has over hyped for the past 5 years.

THAT is the truth and the unbiased view.

You all want to keep going back to what I said about last years team, that shit is over and done with get over it. They got blown out ATS all season so they definitely werent nearly as good as people thought they were because teams that are under rated dont go 30% ATS.

This team is the one that matters. Like Is aid this next year will probably be worse than last year because a lot of people didnt really expect much from that team and in some ways they did over achieve, but they also are the Lakers and some people expect them to win by just walking on the court.

What are you all going to be saying if Howard cant play Lakers get in as a 6 or 7 seed and then have reality set in?

Lakers have some big names sure, but they dont have anything worth trading away they actually still own. They dont have any draft picks and the younger talent they have arent anyone anyone else would want, and the guys they have gotten the past couple years are trash heap guys they probably couldnt give away.

Lakers roster for 2012/2013....

Kobe Bryant
Steve Nash
Pau Gasol
Dwight Howard
Ron Artest
Josh McRoberts (for now)
Steve Blake
Antawn Jamison
Chris Duhon
Devin Ebanks
Jordon Hill
Earl Clark
Darius Morris
Andrew Goudelock

their payroll is 98 million this season, 15 million more than the next team brooklyn who is spending 83 million. Do you think that team has that much value?

Then start looking at pieces they can move or people might want in case they do want to make a move mid season. Then look to after the season if or WHEN Howard leaves and take his name off the list what names on it are worth anything?

By Comparison the Clippers who are spending 61 million this year have ...

Chris Paul
DeAndre Jordon
Blake Griffen
Lamar Odem
CAron Butler
Grant Hill
Eric bledsoe
Ronnie Turiaf
Ryan Hollins
Chauncey Billups
Willie green
Jamal Crawford
Travis Leslie
Trey Thompkins

When you look at the two lists it ie easy to see what team has more possibilities in terms of moves they can make. Helll Clippers could actually sign Howard if they wanted to which might end up being the big story out here before all is said and done. Jordon is a decet center and he and Griffen are buddies but he isnt andrew bynum nor is he howard (assuming howard is healthy) and howard can play his game a lot better with the clippers than he can with the lakers. Clippers are on the hook for 21 mil next year if they give Chris paul a max out deal and around 18 mil that gets them to just under 40, howard at 19 or 20 gets them to 60 which is where they are this season. So they would then have Griffen, Howard, de andre jordon (who prob gets moved and makes 11 mil)Paul, caron butler, grant hill, eric bledsoe, travie leslie, and trey thompkins all signed and sitting at 60 million, (less than 50 if they lose jordons contract). Give lamar a mid level, keep some of the other pieces for near what they are making this year and you could have most of this team and howard for around 78 million.

But that is after this season, laker guys have to worry about this season which is literally an all in season for them, which is starting off already in a bad spot since it is no telling when howard plays.