Not gonna happen, that's not the priority. Plus while east does have 4 good teams, west is still having more playoff caliber teams. 9,10 teams are having a winning record and contend for a playoff spot. You can expect most of them to win a game at home versus Lakers.
If they wanted to and stayed healthy they could get close. The west isn't as strong as it was a few years ago. However, they are an older team and probably won't stay healthy and will rest players when necessary. The team really has no weaknesses except for maybe a slight lack of perimeter shooting. If Bynum can contribute they are going to be incredibly hard to beat.
They are 7-0. This is very premature. When the Rockets started a season 15-0 once upon a time, was anyone asking whether they'd get 72 wins?
I was just thinking the same thing last night. It is definitely premature, but the 2010-11 Laker team is the deepest we've seen in years. The Blake, Barnes and Ratliff aquisitions were huge not because they are great players, but because they are hoops smart guys that can pass, play D and run.
Probably not... On the bright side, if they're winning all the games, then other teams, mostly in the west are losing. Advantage, Rockets
The Lakers have only played one good team this year and haven't had a single tough game on the road. They have another difficult test coming up in the mighty Timberwolves @Staples. Way, way too premature.
See that's the thing.....you can't really blame it on the schedule, most teams in the NBA just suck. At some point they were going to blow all these teams out regardless, it just so happens to be in the first month of the season. Now that I think about it, they will break the record because it's the only real challenge they will have. Getting to the Finals is second nature at this point and I wouldn't even be surprised if they blow out the Heat by 20 or more with a healthy Bynum. The worst guy on the team is one of the most clutch players in the history of the league (Fisher). Take a second to really think about that. Everyone from last season's championship team has improved, the free agent signings are fitting in perfectly, and even the 2nd round picks are showing promise. You really can't knock this team. I mean if this team can't win 72+ games, what team possibly could?
so why play if the lakers are going to win the title so easily?? and fisher is not the worst guy on the team, you have Sasha Vujab**ch. and of course the schedule matters, you can play 15 games against all the bad teams, and then you get 5 tough teams, and you lose, so your record say: 15-5, but you have to see if you can beat the best in the NBA.
The point is, the schedule is so easy early on that they are expected to have a dominant record. You can't really tell how good they are until they start playing good teams. I'm not sure why you'd think they'd blow out the Heat by 20 when they barely beat the Heat last year and didn't beat the Cavs at all... and this year's Heat, by Christmas, will definitely be better than both of those teams if they aren't already. This year's Laker team may be better that last year, but it's not THAT much better.
Well lets hope the two teams both bring their A-game. If Gasol can show no mercy when playing against the Heat's "bigs", then he's legit. Artest/ Kobe/ Barnes vs James/ Wade should be pretty intresting as well. Overall,it depends on who controls the boards, and therefore control the tempo. If the tempo is semi-transition/ halfcourt, then Lakers should win no problem. If the Heat's streaky shooters are on that day, and they run and gun, then they'd probably take it. For some reason I think that the Lakers, by virtue of aquiring Artest, Barnes, and Blake, and them playing the Celtics in the Finals, made them more gritty than before. As long as they're focused, I really don't see any team in the league that can beat them in a series, though it's still probably too early to tell.
I don't know if they can win 72 games but I put down $500 before the season started that they'll win the championship. Barring major injury to Kobe, I don't see anybody being able to stop them from 4-peating over the next 2 years. The depth of that team is just sick...they can coast through most of the season resting key players and still get the #1 seed. Just not fair.
Barring injury, I do think it's pretty much a given that the Lakers are in the Finals and will be facing the Heat (or possibly the Celtics). Pretty much the same thing as last year, and it's a shame that besides determining HCA among these teams, the long season is basically just a formality. I think the Lakers will struggle with the Heat because they have a difficult time against teams that play good perimeter defense (this has been the case for as long as PJ has coached the Lakers). At the same time, the Heat really don't have an answer for the Laker bigs.
You'd better hope they win because you'll need that $500 to cover your Heat bet... that team is def. winning at least 65 games. They'll probably lose a few more this year but then they will go on a huge winning streak and, unlike last year with the Cavs, they won't rest because the Lakers will likely be fighting them for HCA. I see both teams winning 65+ (but not 70). They aren't THAT much different than the last two years-- the older players (Kobe, Fish) are going to decline over the season, the others will mostly be the same (although Pau is playing out of his mind), and the bench is def. improved but that isn't as key in the playoffs with the starters playing 40+ in big games. Last year obviously Boston gave them a big challenge. This year, I think they will have a tough time with the Heat, esp. if the Heat have HCA. Next year, the Heat will be the favorites undoubtedly because they will have a year of cohesion and will almost certainly shore up their interior with a big man. Also, if PJ retires after this year... well, all bets are off.
Yup, and with the Rockets and Yao not doing so good, this season is already looking bleak. It's just craziness..the Lakers are missing their starting Center (15ppg/10 rebounds) and nobody cares because they're undefeated. It's like they aren't missing anybody. Rockets lose Yao and everybody writes them off. Even it weren't Yao, it would be an uphill battle missing the 3rd or 4th best player on a team. Hopefully the NBA can stop these megateams in the next contract bargaining.
I see this year alone, they'll have 7 losses - 2 already. Celtics on Thursday. @Orlando on Thanksgiving @Dallas on Nov 27 @Utah Dec 8th @Lakers on Christmas It doesn't really matter on the improvement of Kobe/Pau/Fisher...we know what they bring every year. It's the arrival of Lamar Odom...that dude is playing so well he's mentioned in the MVP race...seriously 3 MVP candidates from the same team? http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/11/05/race-to-mvp-kobe-bryant/ And then you have their bench. They traded in malcontents and sucky players for Matt Barnes and Steve Blake while re-signing Shannon Brown. Last year, the Lakers were one of the worst 3 point shooting teams in the NBA, this year, they are the best 3 point shooting team...massive improvement. That's why Pau is so productive, they are so good from 3 point land you can't pack the paint and the zone is useless. The Lakers have 4 players shooting over 50% from 3 point range. 2 of their players are the top 2 three point shooters in the NBA. I cannot believe how much they improved in the off season.
