I just got done watching PTI and they mention Oden's bday and the guy on the right said 'write it down, two years and the Blazers with Oden will be in the finals'.
The Lakers are still young and I see them being the team in the Finals for the West for the next few years.
kobe, gasol, odom and fisher are not "young." sure their window is open for a couple more years but the wear and tear is going to catch up to kobe, then it's downhill for them.
dude... says who? Let me re-phrase that... says who, with a functioniong brain? You spout your negativity likes it's fact. It isn't. You can't predict the future and you're simply not that smart. The toughest part of the Blazers' schedule is behind them, and if the season ended today, they'd be in the play-offs. Your doom and gloom schtick is beyond tired. BNM
Actually, that's not true. Kobe is 30 and Gasol is 28. Who cares about Odom and Fisher? They are interchangable parts. The Kobe/Gasol/Bynum nucleous is going to be a force to reckon with for at least 5 years. I know, I know . . . Kobe is an "old" 30 in that he has a lot of milleage - been playing 82 reg season for 13 years plus all of the playoff battles. Well, he doesn't look like he's lost anything to me. Wishful thinking. I'd love for that guys knees to explode
Preach it brother...The truth shall set you free ...if it is any consolation I will feel bad for about a nanosecond when the Lakers eliminate POR in the WCF in two years, and three years, and four years...
ok then, let's call a spade a spade and throw out bynum and gasol as well cause kobe is the one that makes that team go. i think it's safe to say without him that team is a shadow of itself. looking at kobe and his #'s, he's nearing that 1200 game plateu where many players start to see that downhill slide. will he be the same? i don't know but odds are he is at his peak now. sure he's got at least 2-3 years of decent play left in him but check back in 2011 and i think you'll be watching a different kobe.
Gasol has been the most consistent player on the Lakers this year, Bynum will have more years experience, Kobe already has cut down on slashing to the basket, he has a killer jumper, he will adapt
He may adapt, but he won't be the same player in three years as he is now, and his performance is already declining gradually. He's still one of the best players in the game, but his scoring is down for the third consecutive year and the lowest since 2003-04. He has a better supporting cast than at anytime post-Shaq, but as his individual dominance fades, he will need to depend on them more and more. He's not going to start sucking any time soon, but he will decline. BNM
it's nice to be consistent but what has he really done in the NBA? i mean he's good but let's not get crazy, and bynum is good, could be great but a stud that can handle the ball is worth ALOT in the NBA. when's the last time a team with two dominant big men and role playing guards won it all? you could argue SA with Duncan and DRob, but even they had elliott.
Right now, he's at 1059 (including playoffs), putting him at 1200 probably around the end of next year, a couple months before his 32nd birthday in the summer of 2010. To contrast, Moses Malone reached 1200 at around the age of 35. It's interesting that it is presumed that he will drop off after a certain quantity of games, when no player has ever reached that number of games at such a young age. Kobe (and to a lesser extent, Garnett, who is at 1114 at the age of 32) is actually a bit of a case study.
and i won't deny he's in great shape and has been fairly injury free, at least from MAJOR injuries. it will be interesting to see how he holds up, just don't see him being a force in 4 years when i think portland will really be making serious runs at a championship.
