Maybe, because this so-called elite big man has been struggling to elevate the Lakers (a team with Kobe, Bynum, and few other decent players) and is moving towards his mid-30s. If he cannot elevate his game with one of the best shooting guards in history and a good center, what makes you think he's going to become a greater player past his plateau on an inferior team. One of the biggest reasons, the Lakers got swept last year, and are facing elimination right now. One of the biggest pink elephants in the room . . . their starting power forward is casually disappearing in some of the most important games of the season. If Houston ever decides that Pau Gasol is a savior of the franchise, or any other lesser player is worth upper level max dollars. It will doom the Rockets from ever becoming a true contender over immediate history. He's a good player, but he has been getting ran ragged by lesser players all year long. Honestly, if he were playing like a Tim Duncan in his prime, or a Karl Malone or Kevin McHale at their best, the Lakers would've beaten the Nuggets, easily. That's not the case. Because, only a fool would compare Gasol to those kind of players. Go over to LakersGround.net, see some of their comments about Gasol. Just copy those comments and see how much they compare to this board's comments once the Rockets find themselves outside of the playoffs again, or left in the 1st round dust as usual. There's something wrong with a player, especially a big man that a team is willing to trade and who fans often criticize.
I don't agree. In 2009, the Rockets broke through in game 1 and had a chance in game 2 until Ron Ron lost his temper with about 6 mins left. Rockets started strong and were actually in control of the series until the Lakers broke through and won game 3 in Houston with authority. From then on, it was a home-court see saw. In this series, the Nuggets barely showed up until game 3 and blew game 4 at home. They have been in complete control ever since (except for Kobe's nuclear eruption at the end of game 5). The only similarity is the Lakers got killed on the road in game 6 in both series. Other than that, there is a completely different vibe this time. It appears Denver has the Lakers figured out and there is no reason to think they won't win game 7 in LA. In 2009, the Lakers were far more talented; not so this year.
The Nuggets are more talented than the Rockets once they lost Yao, no? The 09 Rockets played hard, but their wins were fueled by 3 pt flurries, which are never that sustainable.
Yes, Bynum lost it in the Mavs series last year, but he and Brown have been in conflict the entire season this time. Bynum didn't shoot a stupid 3-pointer last year and remain defiant about it. I also don't remember him ignoring team huddles in the playoffs. Either Bynum is getting progressively more loopy or Brown replacing PJ is hard for him to deal with. (The coaching change is hard for the entire team to deal with). When Brown is gone and the Lakers get a PG that can feed the post effectively and set him up, he'll erupt and post 22/13 season averages. He doesn't need a superstar PG.
The Lakers frontline killed us in that game 7. But the Nuggets are a lot bigger then we were at the time, given the injuries to Yao and Mutombo. I mean our biggest guy at the time was Brian Cook for crying out loud! If Denver comes out balls to the wall, swinging, I think they have a fighting chance to take out the Lakers in game 7.
No, its not the coach. Thats a weak excuse anyway. If other players can work with Brown, why not Bynum? He's always had these weird attitude problems. It didn't just start this year. If Kobe doesn't shoot 100x a game, Bynum might be already putting up 22/13 per.
Bynum is an immature knucklehead and doesn't react well to circumstances he doesn't like. I'm not excusing him. He needs to get with Brown's program like everyone else since the guy is there. But he has no respect for him.
The Lakers frontline killed us in that game 7. But the Nuggets are a lot bigger then we were at the time, given the injuries to Yao and Mutombo. I mean our biggest guy at the time was Brian Cook for crying out loud! If Denver comes out balls to the wall, swinging, I think they have a fighting chance to take out the Lakers in game 7.
Ha, I wonder if Karl is thinking 2 things: 1) Gasol won't try to take over offensively. 2) Bynum will get pissed and not defend if he doesn't get touches.
Well, we're thinking it. So, I would bet he's already been thinking about it and was thinking about it before they did it.
That's right. If Karl succeed, that's brilliant coaching. If you take the Lakers' two bigs out of the game, all they've got is Kobe's jump shots. He can go off for 40 points and the Lakers will still lose if Bynum and Gasol aren't engaged. World Peace is going to be the x-factor in game 7. Is he going to save them or is he going to mess them up more? I have a feeling that he's going to come out and play out of his mind. And being out of his mind is usually a good thing for him.
Bynum/Gasol just need to do their thing on defense end. If they didn't let McGee went off 9-12 for 21 points in game 5. Lakers already closed the series.
Stein is delusional. We played an immensely better Lakers team with a way deeper bench in the 2nd round and we won our games more decisively. Lakers are losing to the Nugs because they're missing a starter, Kobe is sick, and the other players are not as hungry. Plus how hard is it to out-coach Brown compared to Jackson? **** this guy.
Rockets never had a chance in that series. Lakers were uninterested and just putting off destroying us until they had to.
Lakers have looked uninterested this series too...and this is a crappier Lakers team with Mike Brown at the helm. You think these Nuggets > 09 Rockets?
