Can't say that you guys scare me, not gonna lie. Especially considering by the playoffs, we'll have a healthy Andrew Bynum, and he'll make a world of difference for this team.
You are a fool...of all the mediocre teams POR would be the last team Id want to face in the first round. My rank of the the most worrisome to me if we get them in the first round: SA UTAH POR
Good thing we won't likely get any of them in the first round. Honestly, the only team that worries me is the Spurs, and that's only if they have Manu healthy.
Utah doesn't get the same calls (home treatment) against the Lakers. The Jazz flop to take out your offense in order to have a chance to win. They've mastered the flop, so they are a playoff team. Without flops, they would be 9th, behind Phoenix. In the playoffs, the Lakers (and the Spurs) don't have to worry about Utah. The Lakers do not want the Blazers, Utah, or Houston in the first round because they will wear the Lakers down in a 6 or 7 game series. The Lakers want Denver, Dallas, and Phoenix in the first round. The Lakers want Utah, Denver, Houston, Portland in the second round. They don't want the Spurs. The Lakers do not want Orlando in the finals. They do want the Cavs, Celtics, Hawks, and Pistons.
if i'm the lakers, i'd probably be more worried about a series against portland, houston, or utah than one against the spurs at this point. all 3 of those teams basically dominate their homecourts and it's going to be hard for anyone(the lakers included) to win a game there. all it takes is for them to steal one road win(which of course isn't that likely with the way the lakers play at home and those teams play on the road, but is still possible) and the lakers are in some trouble. i think the ideal playoffs for the lakers would be dallas in round one, denver or new orleans in round two, and then the spurs in the conference finals.
The Lakers can beat Houston at home easily. The Rockets home court is overrated, you saw game 2 taken away last season. The key against the Blazers is Kobe will have to bring out his "A" game and play defense against Roy. They are a bad match up for the Lakers in the first, but the Lakers will still beat them in 6. The officials stop falling for all of those flops in the second round (less games, better officials), so Utah will flop out in the second against the Lakers.
you can't really use the rockets of last season to judge the rockets of this season. it's a completely different team. the rockets lost twice at home in the playoffs last year without yao and without alston. the rockets are much better at home this year than they were last year. and the rockets have yao, artest, wafer, lowry, and barry instead of tmac, alston, and bobby jackson. the lakers haven't won in portland in years. kobe isn't capable of locking down roy. the lakers would have a very tough time beating the blazers in portland. the lakers barely beat the jazz in one home game in the playoffs last year. it was a game in which the lakers shot 50% from the floor, over 60% from 3, and took 13 more free throws, yet they only managed a 3 point win. that's not something you can exactly count on happening too often. but like i said, those are the 3 teams i think the lakers would be best served to avoid in the playoffs. i'd give those 3 the best chance of knocking off the lakers with the spurs in the picture as well if they can get reasonably healthy.
I hate the piss and Purple, but if Portland meets the L*kers in the playoffs I think Portland will get swept. The playoffs are a different animal, and despite the losing in the Rose Garden, I think the L*kers would win there in the playoffs.
I doubt anyone in the west will get swept this season. The only teams that can get swept by the Lakers and Spurs are Dallas, Denver, and maybe Phoenix. Roy does seem to play a lot better when defended traditionally, with no double team. A lot of basketball players do. NBA defenses have changed so much over the last 10 years. Utah will be a tough matchup for anybody, but the Lakers are too good. Brewer can't stop Kobe, and Odom/Gasol can play defense on the perimeter. It all comes down to who's the better player Deron Williams, or Kobe Bryant? Williams is a great player who should be an All-Star, but he can't match Kobe in the 4th.
Sadly I can't say the same for you and the L*kers. Your comments about the hard foul on Fernandez were disgusting.
If you knew anything about my posting you'd know it was a heat in the moment posting and that I post like that on purpose to cause debate and controversy.
