The Western Conference is a ridiculous race at the moment, but the bottom three teams are currently Phoenix, Utah and Dallas. Who do you want to face in Round 1? Suns? Jazz? Mavs?
Mavs would be the easiest because they don't matchup with our roster, but I'd love bouncing Phoenix and fatass in round 1.
I don't really care enough about Phoenix to want to bounce them out. I'd like for us to take as many plays off as possible in the early rounds, that means I want the Mavs first. Well either way we're good at least.
That "fat ass" is playing some damn good ball this year and would be extra motivated to face us in the 1st round. I want the easiest road possible, therefore, give me the Mavericks.
You guys will kill them all. I doubt anyone in the West can stop the Lakers. Maybe the Spurs, but no one else.
Gimme the Mavs please, no hesitation asked. That team has nothing on us, we own them every season. They are Kobe's bitch. I would love to eliminate Mark Cuban and his "team." Plus, they have absolutely no post presence. It'll be a great way to play Bynum and have him knock off the rust. Jazz shouldn't be a problem either, they haven't gotten into rhythm at all this season with all the injuries, and I don't expect they will. Suns are probably the toughest opponent, paper wise, but if you actually watch the games, you know that team has no direction or flow at all. Any of the three should be easy, but give me the Mavs as the #1 choice. If not, then I don't really care between the Jazz or the Suns.
Honestly, it doesn't even matter. I doubt Lakers are thinking of another opponent in the playoffs other than Boston or Cleveland. Just hope that the teams faced during the rounds leading up the Finals aren't too physical.
Kobe won't let the team think that way. If we do think that way, we can easily be upset. We can't look past an opponent, especially in a 7 game series.
Does it matter? No team, except the Spurs, have a chance against us in a 7 game series, especially if Bynum is healthy. Personally, I'd love to bounce fats and his Suns out of the 1st round. However, I'd prefer to face the Mavs. They have no one who can really stop us in the post.
Yes it does matter. Saying no team but the Spurs have a chance is stupid. I feel pretty damn confident in our team this year, a lot more than last year's team, but asking does it matter isn't smart. The Suns, if they don't make any trades, could be a handful for us to handle. A motivated Shaq in a playoff scenario? We've seen it before. It got us 3 rings, it got Miami 1. When Shaq wants to dominate, he can. When Shaq wants to play, he can. A chance to bounce out the Lakers' would complete Shaq's career. I don't want any part of that. Give me the Mavericks. Some Lakers' fans are a little too confident around here. We've seen the terrible stretches of basketball this team can give you. Losses to Charlotte, Indiana, Sacramento? This team isn't invincible.
Just to put this out there, but Shaq didn't get Miami a ring. That was all Dwayne Wade in the Finals. In fact, Shaq was pretty nonexistent, averaging only 13/10 (something in that range). And really, I just can't find it in me to fear the Suns. Sure, Shaq is motivated. Big whoop. He's also 36 years old and will be awfully tired by the time the playoffs roll around. It doesn't matter how motivated he is when his fat self can't get back on defense, giving us some easy layups. Also, who stops Kobe? They don't have Bell there to get in his face anymore...they now have JRich or Grant Hill...neither of which will be able to stay in front of Kobe and hold him down. Kobe will absolutely torch the Suns because of that. Beyond that, Stoudemire is an absolute black hole on defense. I don't think he can defend Gasol in the post. Gasol has a plethora of post moves that he can use to exploit Stoudemire's lack of defense. Plus, if we have Bynum, that makes us even more dangerous, because he gives us a phenomenal defensive presence in the post and also a great low post presence on the offense. Regardless of how motivated the Shaq may be...I just can't imagine the Suns being able to take the Lakers past a 6th game. They have no one to guard Kobe...Gasol will have a field day against Stoudemire (assuming Bynum is healthy), our bench is better, and by the time the playoffs roll around, the Suns will likely be a very tired team because there's no way they're going to get much of a chance to rest their starters since they're going to be jockeying for one of the final playoff spots for the rest of the season....well, that and they don't have a great bench, which doesn't help.
When Bynum comes back, you can't expect him to be how he was before he got hurt. Using him as the key piece to our dominance isn't realistic. He is going to be set back by this injury. And giving all the credit to Wade for that title is a joke. Why do you think it was so easy for Wade to be so damn productive?
