http://forums.lakersground.net/viewtopic.php?t=36210&highlight=rockets You know what Houston did tonight? They beat a scrub team like they're suppose to. They do what teams 10 games above .500 are suppose to do. What's my point? Houston is better than the Lakers? No, when both teams decide to show up, I still give the Lakers the edge, however, the Rockets show what LA lacks, a group of players that show up defensively every night and are willing to rotate and sacrifice...they got guys like battier and mutombo and howard, solid role players..unlike LA's finesse !@#@ like Luke walton makin occasional pretty passes and getting schooled a few moments later, Smush parkers occasional nice steals and reverse dunks, and brian cooks streaky 3 point shooting...trust me if Yao and Tmac ever get healthy for a stretch, those dudes are serious contenders... Next time when a big superstar is rumoured to be traded, why not instead of making threads saying the Lakers should get him, why not thinking of some ways to actually improve this team, ie getting the consistent role players we need to reach the next level... we have the core here in Kobe, Bynum, ok i agree we probably need one more "star", however the Lakers should really look to bringing in some solid role players...I never thought I'd see why Houston traded Gay for Battier, but I'm starting to see the beauty of having consistent offensive players who show up every night on defence too to complement your superstars... Oh btw, this is not going to change, the Lakers aren't going to all of a sudden become consistent, don't fool yourself and get your hopes up that Luke and Smush are gonna decide to show up every night all of a sudden on the defensive end...thats not what they base their jobs on, and not what they're trying to get paid for...so I think to reach that next level, we gotta either cross our fingers come playoff time that they can turn it on then, or hope for some change in personnel in the supporting cast asap...
Behind us of course, I still consider the Lakers a darkhorse contender. When all of their players get back and they play defense, there is no team they couldn't beat in a 7 game series. It just depends how well their chemistry is working. Their main problem is Smush has mush for brains. Their fans have no choice but to respect us after the Rockets beat their brains in last time. Plus we beat the Spurs on the road while they just frittered away a home win.
I still don't see why the Lakers are good right now. It's not because I'm hating, I just can't comprehend how they have gotten so much better (recordwise at least) since last season.
The Lakers haven't really proven much (other than that they can beat the Spurs). Their schedule has been extremely favorable and home-heavy, and they've gotten tons of national TV coverage. They still have a losing record on the road, and they have a ton of tough road games coming up. Houston right now, regardless of W/L record, is a clear notch ahead of the Lakers when you consider the quality of wins compiled so far.
Even though they've laid some serious eggs this year, the other Lakers besides Kobe are more consistently productive. This is why losing Odom didn't kill them. Their defense is also very good (at times oustanding) but they don't keep it up all the time. Their abundance of home games has helped too. Bynum is a completely different player from last year. He can actually dominate for short stretches although other times his immaturity shows. Without Bynum's emergence, losing Mihm for the season and Kwame for an extended period would have killed them. Odom and Kobe have finally worked through their on-court issues and can be productive at the same time. Lastly, Kobe has finally grown up, recognizes his own limitations and has helped his teammates get better. There are other smaller things. I'm sure the 2-3 Laker fans here can tell you more. I'm not a Laker fan but have watched a bunch of their games this year because they are interesting to follow.
bynum has developed well, and there is something to say of chemistry. The lakers have had pretty much the same pieces since the shaq trade the past two years outside of the caron butler trade the rest has been the same. there early home heavy schedule made it easier for them to develop that chemistry and also get in i would imagine a lot more practices than the avg team in the rest of the nba. the other players as well have developed nicely into their system. they do have a lot of large bodies. the lakers are a good team this year, but the only reason why i am hesitant to say they will win it all is a)they play inconsistent, their defense is not always there and b)kobe bryant....yes kobe when the game is on the line the rest of the team kind of just stands around and watches kobe...he rarely passes the ball out and will end up taking a much more difficult shot (granted he does make a good amount) my roomate is a lakers fan so i have seen a decent amount of games this year and the times when the lakers have played without kobe and with lamar the rest of the players seem to respond better and step up and then with kobe and without lamar its less apparent. They have a road trip coming up and it will be a good test of where this team stands at the end of it. dark horse for a ring? i dont think so upsetting a higher seed to win a playoff series? yeah i can see the lakers doing that this season
The Lakers will fade fast and very soon as they start having to play lots of road games to make up for a severly weighted Home schedule up to this point. DD
I wouldn't go so far as to say they'll fade, but they should be firmly entrenched in 6th place if the Rockets take care of business in February. Their first half schedule has been a joke. The polar opposite of the Rockets. But now they have to go on an 8-game road trip to make up for it.
This could be another reason why Lakers fans respect the Rockets now. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NivsZrbQZmQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NivsZrbQZmQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Yeah, had to bring it back one more time.
when both teams are healthy, i'd give the nod to the rockets. kobe is amazing, but t-mac is not far off, and we have more weapons and a much more consistent defense.
With the Lakers finally finding an identity beyond feed-Kobe and getting Odom involved via the triangle, they'll be tough in the playoffs. Don't forget how good they did last year until Kobe went bonkers in the second half of the Suns series. The triangle offense is almost impossible to shut down, even when defense gets notched up in April/May. I honestly could see them upsetting the Spurs if they met early. Evan
All the media said that Kobe has changed he is passing more now, this is true for 3 1/2 quarter. I saw the spurs game, at the end of the game it is still kobe's show, he is very good he made tough shots, some of them go in but he can't make them all the time. If you watch the spurs, they pass the ball to who ever open to take the shot. That is trusting your teamate. This is the reason I don't the the lakers can be very successful.
I'm not sure how this guy thinks the Lakers are better than the Rockets if both teams are healthy. We would eat them alive if we ever met them at full strength. Hell, I think we would beat them in a 7 game series without Yao.
At this time I think the Lakers are slightly overrated. Like the previous posters indicated their record is not bad so far because of the soft and heavily home-weighted schedule. They'll start to fade once the schedule gets tougher on them. But I think Lakers should get #6 seed in the west to play either the Spurs or the Rockets in the first round.
Thanks for showing a bit of "truth" for Lakers fans browsing the board. Actually a pretty decent post by the guy quoted up top. Don't have any sympathy for him, but a good, objective post on his part, for a Lakers fan.
yeah the lakers are better when both teams "show up". they barely beat the rockets w/out t-mac and got crushed when we had him.
