There is nobody else in the WC that is going to give us any bit of a problem this year if we're healthy. Honestly, we'll find out Sunday night if you guys can... And <3 Blake <3
You're overlooking the Spurs and Mavs. They'll end up being the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the west. Tim Duncan and Dirk are both guys that can play with your big men, and the Mavs have a nice center rotation. Both teams are also stacked offensively as well with Parker and Ginobili and Terry/Butler with Jefferson and Kidd adding to the rest of that. Seems people are forgetting about both of them so far this year. Hell, Dallas was the 2nd seed last year.
Blake playing <20mpg is a decent player. When he plays 30+ (like he did in a lot of games for us) and your coach starts him over an established veteran with far more skills, he blows.
Who on New Orleans can guard Kobe? Gasol? Odom? Bynum (if healthy)? Artest? Hell, Blake has been getting wide open 3's to start the season...that should continue, unless teams are willing to sag off of Kobe to guard Blake...which won't happen.
At full strength, I don't ask who can match up with the Lakers, I ask who can match up with the Blazers. Really. We're just not there yet. But we will be. And we're fucking HUGE.
so you concede you have no one who can guard (even a little bit) one of the truly elite players in the league. Since he's the sort who can involve teammates as well and they've a bunch of knock down shooters, seems like they should be able to give you some sort of a problem. and just stop with the who can guard Artest? stuff. Dude had a 12.1 PER last year and is at 13.1 this... teams hope he shoots STOMP
We played OKC well for most of the game. If Roy hits the shot at the end of regulation, we'd be talking about how great Camby and Miller were and what a great win it was. We'll get another chance. And I'm with the OP. The Blazers are the only team in the league that can even hope to beat the Lakers in the playoffs this season. Sunday is pretty meaningless, win or lose, though. Wait till the end of the season when we have Joel and Greg. The Lakers will be overmatched.
He's still a threat to go off on any given night. Game 7. And let Chris Paul run wild..last year we were 2-1 against NO (yes Paul was injured in at least one of the games), 3-0 the year before, and 2-1 in 2007/2008. So in the last 3 Finals' years, we're 7-2 against New Orleans. Phil has let Chris Paul run up his numbers offensively, he focuses more on guarding the other guys around him, therefore making Paul more into a scorer than a creator.
Would be fun to roll both Joel and Oden out for the Laker game. Imagine that the blazers have been lying a little about the rehab schedule. So Laker game comes, Joel comes out for the opening tip. Maybe from the tunnel, so no one has seen him in uniform before. When Joel is ready to be subbed, Oden comes in, again from the tunnel. That would be good theater. barfo
Other that the shame of wearing the ugly piss and purple uniform, it's a great fit for Blakey. He can be Kobe's John Paxson/Steve Kerr. And once Shannon Brown remebers he's Shannon Brown 32% career 3-point shooter, I expect Blake will get more minutes and more wide open 3-pointers. Blake thrives when he's paired with a ball dominating 2-guard and play the catch-n-shoot role, and he should get even more opportunities playing that role in the triangle offesne than he did in Portland's Roy iso all the time offense. BNM
I'm not sure how much we'll find out Sunday. Neither team is full strength. Brandon Roy is a slow starter who doesn't usually start playing like an all-star until sometime in December. Andre Miller, who is usually a slow starter came into training camp in shape and is off to a great start. Still, with Bynum, Oden and Przybilla all out, we won't know how these teams will match-up until all their bigs are healthy. I think it would be a fantastic play-off series if both teams were 100% healthy. Portland, with Camby, Oden, Przybilla and Aldridge is probably the only team in the league that can match, or exceed, the Lakers front court size. What an epic battle it would be if both teams are at full strength. BNM
34% from the field thus far... given last year's flailings, teams will take their chances with that sort of threat LA guards aren't getting any younger/quicker and it's another long season... we'll see how they can move when it matters. the big Laker picture is more concerning then the immediate future. You allude to health factoring in the OP but age doesn't favor the oldest contender in the West and this is a rough game. The question isn't if a team will be banged up come playoff time but how badly, and this is only more-so for an especially experienced team. Whats going to be left in the tank to chase a Chris Paul all over the court? STOMP
What I want to know is, if the Lakers win another title, will they give the Finals MVP to the REAL Lakers MVP, or will they give it to Kobe as a "legacy" gift?
Yes, a Finals MVP trophy for Dick Bavetta would be a nice retirement gift. Over the course of his long NBA career he's responsible for more Laker championships than Kobe and Phil combined. BNM
