Their talent is way over rated. Their top 5: kobe pau bynum odom ariza might be the best in the league, but they rest of their roster isn't that good. Even bynum is way overrated.
I think Bynum's play after the injury certainly dents their talent level. Odom is the bigger issue. I know we use the phrase a lot here but the guy is fool's gold. You can pencil him in to choke in big games. In fact, the bigger the game the more likely he is to not contribute. So what the Lakers are left with is a hole in the lineup but it's worse because it isn't like someone can step in and take his place like he was injured. Instead, he is out on the court but just doesnt do much. Gasol has beaten the choker label to me. He might not go 20/10 each night but he won't go 4/3 like Odom can.
Odom and Paul are very good, skill wise. They are just soft. if they have a real leader, they will perform like stars. Bynum is a bad scrub. Ariza is a good scrub. Kobe.....Lakers need him to be a leader more than a scorer.
Didn't you just say Rox is better w/o Yao? So who is not overrated in NBA? I guess they are all overrated. W/o Basketball, I do not know how Yao makes living. LOL.
Their talents are very real. But they lack of heart, leadership etc. That's why they are fakers. Nuggets was bigger fakers before Billup comes. you need to be a winner to win. Fakers are not winner. As i said here before the regular season, no lakers won anything as they are #1 option.
Their team reminds me of the TMac teams....one guy who dominates the ball, if he goes for 50 they win...if not...well.... It really boils down to efficiency, when Kobe is efficient they are better, when our team is efficient we are better.... Very cool series so far. DD
They did have much better talent in the first half of the season, but the injury has done a lot to reduce that advantage for them, same as the Rockets has experienced. Bynum, Farmar, and Walton, all came back from injury not long ago, haven't got enough time to get into the playoff shape yet, so they are very talent on paper, but not on the court at this point. But those guys will play better, get into better shape with each game passes by. So if they can get by the Rockets, then I don't think they will have any problem with Denver, or Cavs. LA's biggest weakness is Fisher, he is just too old, too slow at this stage of his career, and his shooting is no longer there. That might not be a problem playing other teams, but unfortunately for them, they are playing the Rockets, whose biggest strength is their back court speed.
They are a better offensive team than T-mac's. We win the games due to a better defense. We did not score more after Yao is out. But we limited their offense in the 2 wins. Do you notice last night we are very patient offenseively, good ball movement and better shot selections, especially AB. Defensely we are stick to every lakers. I just hope Ron can play more team balls and we'll be even better. If the Lakes can not score 90, they'll lose for sure.
Kobe does not believe in his teammates. he hasn't for years. he has now given up on Fisher,Gasol, Odom, and Bynum. you can see it in his body language, on the bench, in the game, in the postgame Presser, etc...
Their talent is for real. Contrary to popular belief the Lakers aren't soft or lack heart. Soft teams don't close out the Jazz handedly in 5 games. Heartless teams don't secure the best regular season record. If the Lakers do go on to face the Nuggets I think they will win in 5 or 6 max. Give credit where credit is due. The Rockets are playing out of their friggin minds and they're making the Lakers look bad.
