Source: Howard to Lakers

[Dogdeacon]

Um, I'm not crowning the Lakers. I was responding to your post that implied winning a championship wasn't worth starting from scratch in three years.

My apologies if that wasn't what you were implying.

By adding Nash & much more importantly Howard, Lakers went from at best 12-1 (would have been a stupid bet with roster as it was but probably reflected odds of getting Howard at some point I'd say with no roster moves 20-1 or higher) to win the championship to 3-1. They addressed their biggest need in that they stunk last year outside of Kobe.

Pre Nash 12-1, post Nash 8-1, post Howard 3-1
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/05/sports/la-sp-ln-lakers-odds20120705

 

[UConn990411]

By adding Nash & much more importantly Howard, Lakers went from at best 12-1 (would have been a stupid bet with roster as it was but probably reflected odds of getting Howard at some point I'd say with no roster moves 20-1 or higher) to win the championship to 3-1. They addressed their biggest need in that they stunk last year outside of Kobe.

Pre Nash 12-1, post Nash 8-1, post Howard 3-1
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/05/sports/la-sp-ln-lakers-odds20120705

The Lakers are, without a doubt, top 4 preseason. But I hate the way people like to crown teams before they've played a single game together.

Remember when the Clippers were supposed to contend after acquiring Chris Paul? Or when the Heat were gonna win 70 games after getting Wade and LeBron (but didn't even win the Eastern Conference regular season)? Basketball, more than any other sport, is a game that isn't won on paper.

Not only will the Thunder's young stars be even better, but they also match up extremely well with the Lakers. Perkins defends Howard better than anyone in the NBA, Durant/Ibaka can do a respectable job on Kobe/Gasol, and it's going to be laughable watching Nash try to defend Westbrook.

The Lakers' biggest problem last year was their lack of athleticism on the defensive end. And while Howard is a HUGE remedy for that problem, Nash and Jamison will - and Kobe/Artest being older - will only exacerbate it. I still think LA is right there with OKC (and now ahead of the Spurs), but let's wait and see how things play out before anointing them the WC champions.​

 

[aceboon]

So Gasol and Bynum were trash? The Lakers biggest weaknesses were lack of athleticism and youth on the perimeter, one of the worst benches in the league, and mediocre PG play. They addressed only one of these areas in getting Nash, while at the same further weakening their perimeter defense. They still don't have the horses to defend Durant, Westbrook, and Harden on the perimeter, and while I bag on Perkins on the regular, he showed throughout his career the ability to defend Howard straight up, and now we're talking about Howard coming off of a back injury.

By adding Nash & much more importantly Howard, Lakers went from at best 12-1 (would have been a stupid bet with roster as it was but probably reflected odds of getting Howard at some point I'd say with no roster moves 20-1 or higher) to win the championship to 3-1. They addressed their biggest need in that they stunk last year outside of Kobe.

Pre Nash 12-1, post Nash 8-1, post Howard 3-1
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/05/sports/la-sp-ln-lakers-odds20120705

 

[aceboon]

Lol @ Antwan Jamison, the reason everyone keeps ignoring him is because no one gives a about him. Who cares about what numbers he's been putting up on garbage teams, when is the last time he's contributed anything to a winning team? Those 1st round and out Wizards? Or when he was nowhere to be found after being picked up to be a sidekick for Lebron? He's not making a difference for the Lakers. Howard is a better pick and roll defender and better at defending the rim than Bynum but Nash is still going to cause all of kinds of breakdowns on team D with letting PGs get by him, which Westbrook(or Harden) will do at will. The Lakers are a better team than they were last year but my point is that I still don't think they're better than OKC, if you think they are that's fine, we'll agree to disagree, I'm not going any further beyond this.

 

[JaYnYcE]

Heat are still the favorites, with OKC being 2a and Lakers 2b. Lakers also added Antwan Jamison front court they will dominate, how will they defend the speed of OKC and Miami is the question.

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[JaYnYcE]

I actually hate the current NFL model. Yes, if you purchase season tickets, you want your team to be competitive, but taking a step back from an individual franchise perspective, I like watching greatness. The 1980s 49ers and 1990s Cowboys were great. The 9-7 Giants were not.

The 1980s were generally considered a golden era in the NBA, but realistically, only five teams made the NBA finals: Lakers, Rockets, Celtics, Sixers, and Pistons. In the 2000s, meanwhile, 11 teams made the NBA finals: Lakers, Pacers, Sixers, Nets, Spurs, Pistons, Heat, Mavericks, Cavs, Celtics, and Magic. In the 2010s, five teams have already made the finals: Lakers, Celtics, Heat, Mavs, and Thunder. I'd argue there's actually more parity than there used to be.

Include 1999 when my Knicks made the Finals please!!!


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[upstater]

I don't understand the logic here.

I didn't say get rid of the Knicks and Dallas. Those are big markets that can compete and attract talent. Obviously. Some teams are poorly run. So what? My point is that half the league shouldn't even bother. A lot of the teams I mentioned made the NBA finals? Uh, no. In the last 10 years, only 1 did. And that was because they had Lebron James, who promplty left that team as soon as he could. Before LeBron, the Cavs were the laughingstock of the NBA. Basically, they got a once in a lifetime player, lost him, then returned to the cellar.

 

[NOTaDIME]

I notice that the Lakers haven't addressed their two biggest needs this offseason: perimeter defense and their godawful bench. I don't think these moves have done anything to help them beat the Thunder in the west. They still don't have anyone that can stop Westbrook or Durant.

With the age of their players and Howard's bad back, I hope they suck. It will be very enjoyable to see them fail.

I'm not sure if Howard had a bad back or a case of bitchitis. I tend to think the latter
, but that is my humble opinion.

 

[tzznandrew]

I really like Steve Nash. I always root for him, and wished he went to any other team where he could have won a title other than the Lakers. Now I have to root for him to lose in the first round every year. That upset me.

A saving grace: Kobe isn't great anymore. Maybe he still thinks he's the best player on that team--but he only is in an historic sense. He's a volume scorer who isn't very good on the defensive end any more. He and Nash will get killed on the perimeter.

This team has a lot of personalities. I'm really just hoping they don't meld well together, and that they get beat by the Thunder (or earlier), so that I don't have to root for the Heat to win the title.

 

[upstater]

Parity means any team can win it all.

The fact that out of the last 20 participants in the Finals, only 1 was of the small market teams I listed, tells me everything. The fact that a more diverse set of the big market teams make it to the final than ever before doesn't change that, especially since the 80s were a Lakers-Celtics affair, and the 90s were all Jordan's Bulls.

 

[aceboon]

So do you think the Lakers are now better than OKC or not?

 

[aceboon]

Yea, no, I'm not going to map out what Kupchack should've done or who he should've traded for to address the Laker's biggest weaknesses, which is lack of youth and athleticism and perimeter on the perimeter, I'm just going to tell you that they are still weaknesses that didn't get addressed. Let's recap how this thread has went so you can understand my posts.

Jaynyce: Lakers are the favorites to win the title
Me: I still go with the Thunder because the Lakers don't match up well on the perimeter with them, which is what killed them in their series.
Dogdeacon: Lakers addressed their biggest weakness, which is they had no one to help Kobe
Me: That wasn't their biggest weakness, it was lack of athleticism and youth on the perimeter, which stil hasn't been addressed
You: Hold on now, the Lakers have improved and addressed their weaknesses.

So basically, I say the Lakers still aren't better than the Thunder, you say the Lakers have improved but you still think the Lakers are better. WTF ARE YOU ARGUING ABOUT???

 

[Dogdeacon]

So Gasol and Bynum were trash? The Lakers biggest weaknesses were lack of athleticism and youth on the perimeter, one of the worst benches in the league, and mediocre PG play. They addressed only one of these areas in getting Nash, while at the same further weakening their perimeter defense. They still don't have the horses to defend Durant, Westbrook, and Harden on the perimeter, and while I bag on Perkins on the regular, he showed throughout his career the ability to defend Howard straight up, and now we're talking about Howard coming off of a back injury.

I didn't say they were trash, but I did say they stunk last year. Gasol did compared to his most recent Laker seasons (almost all of his regular season stats dropped and then he averaged 12.5 ppg in postseason), Bynum didn't really stink didn't until the playoffs and then I guess I would charitably say he was inconsistent. Less than the sum or their parts.

 

[aceboon]

I actually had a typo in my post, I meant to say "you think the Lakers have improved, but stil think the Thunder are better", which makes it even more baffling as to what in the hell you are even debating, SINCE THAT WAS MY POINT. I guess I will have to repeat myself again because you don't seem to quite understand, nobody is saying the Lakers haven't improved, I just don't think these moves have put them over the top. By me saying that, that doesn't mean I should then propose what they should've done to put them over the top. I guess to entertain your silly question, the Lakers should now also trade 2 future 2nd round picks to acquire Lebron and a healthy DWade, that should get them over the hump and undoubtedly make them better than the Thunder.