NBA thread

[derek]

Howard is not better offensively than Bynum and is very foul prone...he also can't shoot FTs....He might be better defensively, but against the Spurs, Duncan is a good perimeter shooter that can force Howard to come out and defend him on the perimeter which allows Parker to drive to the hoop at will. The Spurs really feared Bynum more because of his size. With their speed, they can handle Howard w/o a double team that Bynum required.

The Lakers also have new players which takes time to develop any chemistry if there is any. Add to that Howard won't be back till January too. This season is a wash for the Lakers.

[FRED HALE SR.]

Originally Posted by derek

Howard is not better offensively than Bynum and is very foul prone...he also can't shoot FTs....He might be better defensively, but against the Spurs, Duncan is a good perimeter shooter that can force Howard to come out and defend him on the perimeter which allows Parker to drive to the hoop at will. The Spurs really feared Bynum more because of his size. With their speed, they can handle Howard w/o a double team that Bynum required.

The Lakers also have new players which takes time to develop any chemistry if there is any. Add to that Howard won't be back till January too. This season is a wash for the Lakers.

Then why did he score at a 20.6 clip to Bynums 18.7? He even had more assist per game and grabbed more offensive rebounds. How is that not better offensively? The defense is a given Bynum is only good in the half court set defensively, he can;t get back on breaks another one of Howards strengths. The Spurs feared Bynum more because he is an inch taller?

The logic is baffling in every way imaginable and the Lakers look pretty well stocked for a return shot in the playoffs.

Also wanted to add that the Lakers late in games are gonna be pounding it into Gasol in the post, because of Howards free throw deficiencies.

[debaserr]

Originally Posted by derek

Howard is not better offensively than Bynum and is very foul prone...he also can't shoot FTs....He might be better defensively, but against the Spurs, Duncan is a good perimeter shooter that can force Howard to come out and defend him on the perimeter which allows Parker to drive to the hoop at will. The Spurs really feared Bynum more because of his size. With their speed, they can handle Howard w/o a double team that Bynum required.

The Lakers also have new players which takes time to develop any chemistry if there is any. Add to that Howard won't be back till January too. This season is a wash for the Lakers.

Things don't occur in a vacuum. The 2nd best player on the Magic last year was Ryan Anderson, who put up 16/8/1a on 44% shooting.

Bynum had Kobe and Gasol to draw attention, two players that are much better than Anderson.

You should also consider that the addition of Nash makes everyone much harder to guard.

He can't shoot FTs, so he may be subbed in / out offense / defense late late game; I don't think this is a massive deal.

Howard is by far the best PnR defender in the league, he has the speed / length to show on shooters and still get back for dribble penetration. This is the area where the swap will show it's greatest effect. Bynum was positively woeful defending the PnR; he was big, sure, but he had no foot speed (just watch some tape of him jogging end to end).

I don't know who can really get away with double teaming this team anyways, Kobe / Nash / Gasol are all deadly jump shooters (Metta has his moments as well).

[derek]

Originally Posted by FRED HALE SR.

Then why did he score at a 20.6 clip to Bynums 18.7? He even had more assist per game and grabbed more offensive rebounds. How is that not better offensively? The defense is a given Bynum is only good in the half court set defensively, he can;t get back on breaks another one of Howards strengths. The Spurs feared Bynum more because he is an inch taller?

The logic is baffling in every way imaginable and the Lakers look pretty well stocked for a return shot in the playoffs.

Also wanted to add that the Lakers late in games are gonna be pounding it into Gasol in the post, because of Howards free throw deficiencies.

Howard got alot of scoring on putbacks with his rebounding, but against a team like the Spurs who are great at boxing out, he won't be able to duplicate that. Howard is also prone to fouling all of his career. He doesn't have the offensive moves like Bynum. It isn't all about height...Bynum is a huge guy(285lbs) and when he backs down the defender, his shot is like less than 10ft from the basket. His turnaround shot is almost unstoppable. His body type is big. Just look at him when he and Howard stand next to each other. Bynum is only a inch taller but he looks alot bigger with his frame and weight. The Spurs are probably relieved that Bynum is gone.

If you watched the Lakers last year, Gasol doesn't fit into their system when both big guys are down low. That is why he was parking on the perimeter alot taking jump shots. He is gonna have the same issue. If anything, he will be better w/o Howard in the middle at the same time. Both bigs at the same time will not work effectively just like what happened this past season. Pau will be a jump shooter just like last year. He and Howard will be crowding each other just like last year when Bynum was there.

Don't get me wrong, the Lakers are improved, but still not enough to take over OKC and Spurs especially with new teammates, time for chemistry to develop just like it took the Heat over 2yrs, and Howard won't be back till January. This year is gonna be a wash for the Lakers.

[derek]

Originally Posted by eric generic

Things don't occur in a vacuum. The 2nd best player on the Magic last year was Ryan Anderson, who put up 16/8/1a on 44% shooting.

Bynum had Kobe and Gasol to draw attention, two players that are much better than Anderson.

You should also consider that the addition of Nash makes everyone much harder to guard.

He can't shoot FTs, so he may be subbed in / out offense / defense late late game; I don't think this is a massive deal.

Howard is by far the best PnR defender in the league, he has the speed / length to show on shooters and still get back for dribble penetration. This is the area where the swap will show it's greatest effect. Bynum was positively woeful defending the PnR; he was big, sure, but he had no foot speed (just watch some tape of him jogging end to end).

I don't know who can really get away with double teaming this team anyways, Kobe / Nash / Gasol are all deadly jump shooters (Metta has his moments as well).

You're forgetting that Westbrook can break the pnr defense with his speed and athleticism which allow other teammates to get open when Howard comes out to help during the pnr defense. Westb is the guy that takes them over the top when it comes to breaking down the opponent's defense.

[Franco Pepe Kalle]

We got a dream team with Los Angeles Lakers

Dwight Howard
Pau Gasol
Ron Artest
Kobe Bryant
Steve Nash

[debaserr]

Originally Posted by derek

You're forgetting that Westbrook can break the pnr defense with his speed and athleticism which allow other teammates to get open when Howard comes out to help during the pnr defense. Westb is the guy that takes them over the top when it comes to breaking down the opponent's defense.

Sure he can.

All I'm saying really is that they have a legit shot at it:

Lakers / Heat / OKC / SA(doubtful) / Boston(doubtful) / Chicago(doubtful) / Memphis(doubtful)

[derek]

For this coming season:

1). Heat(repeats) against OKC though much closer series ...this assumes no major injuries for both teams.

2)a. Lakers or Spurs end up in WCF losing to OKC
b. Celtics or Indy end up in ECF losing to Heat

[steve0211]

So i hear that of the Top Paid ballers for the upcoming season, 11 out ot the top 12 will plya for teams in New York, LA or Miami.

Can we just reshuffle the deck and start over?

As far as who will compete for the Trophy this year, I would say that OKC is the only team with a legit chance to get past the teams in NY, LA and Miami.

[debaserr]

The NY teams are pieces of crap.