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.

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).

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.

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.

We got a dream team with Los Angeles Lakers

Dwight Howard
Pau Gasol
Ron Artest
Kobe Bryant
Steve Nash

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)

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

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.

The NY teams are pieces of crap.

You are probably right, but the excitement of the team in Brooklyn is going to make things interesting.

Also, love him or hate him, Melo may one day carry a team deep into the playoffs.

Fantasy BBALL

http://www.musicbanter.com/sport-rec...ml#post1243916

Harden to Houston, I'm officially writing off them in the playoffs this year.

Also included: Daequan Cook, Lazar Hayward and Cole Aldrich for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and draft picks. Their bottom line was apparently more important than contending this year (even though they could have traded him later).

whoops.

Rockets will get the 7th or 8th seed this year.

Draft tonight @ 11p EST

Los Angeles Cap Busters League Office - Free Fantasy Basketball - ESPN

Feeling pretty good about our chances for a title this year (assuming they all stay healthy) Age could show its ugly face as it already has somewhat with Kobes foot injury. Although imo our only other legitimate threat traded away one of their most prized possessions. (Harden) Who to me was the energy when Durant was'nt up to par in some of the games. With Rose out for the season most likely and Dwayne Wade creeping up on old age himself. I think we have as good of shot as any at another title. If your asking yourself why I left the Celtics out of the equasion well....I think that speaks for itself. They may very well be in the hunt come playoff time but I doubt they go very far into the mix of things.

Yes with Dwight at the helm of things and Nash dishing the ball like the Nash of old. Artest (who I refuse to call world peace) playing solid D and rebounding, Gasol getting his 12 or 15 and of course Kobe doing what he does. Is talk of another ring to high of expectation or would anything less be a disappointment? Of course our bench has to show up as well but I dont think thats going to be a problem. At any rate my hopes are high as we open the season with a game against the Mavs.

Meh Lakers blew it. Not much chemistry flow in that game last night. Maybe it will develop as the season progresses.

I don't know why Brown feels the need to use a complicated system. Maybe it will pay off in the long run, but it looks awful now. It's hamstringing most of the players (Kobe / Nash / Howard in particular).

They looked noticeably confused. Mike Brown does not look like hes been coaching them in the least. Howard and Nash didn't even seem to remotely know where their spots were in the offense. Looks like an expensive trainwreck at the moment. Babysteps.

Running a Fantasy League, draft @ 6:30p EST:

Welcome to Deandale League Office - Free Fantasy Basketball - ESPN

How does fantasy work? I've heard a lot about how it works with football but not in basketball. What steps do you have to do to put together a team?

Standard Snake draft. You set your lineups in advance for each night.

You go head to head on a weekly basis against another owner.

THis is H2H Points:
http://i.imgur.com/NOtxB.png

You just pick a league and join up?

Or you can make your own if you want the right settings.

Looks complicated, I dont even know where to begin. Not sure if its worth the hassle. Might try it next year.

can't wait for my T-wolves to install some white supremacy back into the league, even without k-love.

K Love is like half of your team. It's not gonna be pretty.

hey now, schved could be great. We picked up ak and Broy who probably have one more good season in 'em. We have the potential to go .500 for the 6-8 weeks it takes for love and rubio to come back. If there is one thing white people can do it's abuse a system for their own gain, i think thats why adelman made the moves he did.

Pekovic will put up numbers as well, we got a lot of hustle players-budinger, steisma. We'll be aight.

I wouldn't count on Broy.

why not? he got the kobe bryant surgery, it worked for kobe. I'm expecting paul-pierce level athletism. He's not starting, he'll be fine 20 minutes a game. Coaches seemed comfortable with it, its a one year deal, we have nothing to lose by it.

Kobe wasn't out of the league because of his knee prior to the surgery, it's not a miracle procedure.

You don't have much to lose, no, but taking it as granted is questionable.

You have to count on Roy, because otherwise he was signed for no reason. The Wplves are obviously counting on him, that's why they invested.

It's a high risk/high reward move any time you buy a guy with an injury like that. Too tough to tell if it's going to actually pay off, and Roy has also been out of the league, so there's that too.

Even if he doesn't work out, I like it. He was one of my favorite players when he was with the Blazers before, and it could be a huge steal.

Hardin ........45 points. **** yea, good for the rockets

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Wtf? Since when are you a rockets fan RezZ? lol.

Anyway my Lakers suck, not sure what the problem is other than just not having very much chemistry. Other than Kobe none of them seem to be playing very aggresively with any sort of passion. Nash was hurt but its not like he's been a big contributor in the previous two game anyway. I know new players need time to mesh with new coaches and each other. I dont however think you can continue to lose consecutive games without hitting the panic button at some point. I'm not so sure the Lakers have much time to find themselves or for Brown to implement his scheme of things. To much talent to be 0-3 though thats for sure.

2 of those losses were to a very athletic and well playing clippers team.

It's a long season.

I'm kinda surprised howard didn't have a bigger game last night too, though.

My wolves crushed sacremento without hardly ever shooting the ball in the hoop. Adelmans game seems to be about getting to the free throw line, I'm not complaining. I'm saying the wolves are a western conference team with rubio and love back totally.

Timberwolves are in a good start.

LA Lakers are 0-3.

Last night was the Lakers' 3rd in 4 nights, Howard just came back, he was tired (and he can't be 100% yet).

Eventually Los Angeles Lakers will get back on track. Right now, LA Lakers are getting used to their new team.