I need at least two decent bench players to match LA. Our SG position is now significantly weakened without Bonzi and the bench centre position needs beefing up before we could pose a fight with LA with Kobe, Gasol and Bynum. As for PG, it would good to improve it but their PGs (Fisher and Farmar) are probably slightly better than Rafer and Brooks if not on par.
No Gasol, Bynum, Ariza, Mihm, who could have easily been in the starting unit with that thin team, and also Kobe wasn't even 80% that game.
No! We beat the lakers in regular season, and without Gasol. Of course we did not have Yao, but the teams you beat int the regular season are not the same teams in the playoffs. So you can't base your wins on that garbage. Philly beat us in the regular season to. Does that mean anything now? No! it does'nt. The lakers are a championship caliber team. We are not! We are still overhaulin this unit to fit Adleman's system. So we dont know what we will have outside of the obvious pieces in Yao-Tmac-Alston-Scola-Landry. Everyone else is trade bait.
like i said i see 3-5 years of wars with the lakers, i believe we are the only team that can beat them when were healthy
How can we beat the Lakers? Simple. Just watch healthy Yao. The Lakers have NEVER been able to contain him and he always goes berserk when Bynum guards him...it's almost like Bynum is a twig. In fact, Kwame was probably the most effective at guarding Yao based on pure strength...at least he could keep Yao out of the paint. As for Gasol, don't even mention it. He could probably keep Yao out of the paint, but that'd take a hell of a lot of effort, and he hasn't really proven too effective at guarding him in Memphis either. Now for stats to back me up...over the last two years, with five games... Yao is averaging an insane 30.2 PPG/11.2 RPG/3.4 BPG/2.6 APG...I mean wow. Yao loves playing them Lakers.
Northside, this is exactly how it is. As it seems that the Suns and Warriors give Yao the most fits....he has had his best games against the Lakers, NO, and Mavs. It's one reason why we would beat the Lakers is because they couldn't stop Yao. Especially if he gets 26+ ppg and 11+ rebs. Some posters and analyst might say Gasol or Bynum could cancel out Yao, maybe, but neither one are close to being the impact that Yao is. Most teams don't really slow him down unless they front him, rough him up, or have someone like Dwight or Shaq to throw at him. The only thing about this I don't like are the role players on our side, Yao might average like 30 in the series, but the bench is only scoring like 15 to 20 ppg and are shooting below 40%. Also, they fortunate not to run into a really good frontline or team with great low post presence (except the Spurs). I think Phoenix might given them a little more trouble in some areas, because of Shaq and Amare together. I think Gasol would've been complete non-factor at points in the series.
are you serious? your going to go all the way back with mihm? ok... then, we also had stevie franchise injured. you know, the player that scored 40 points and 10 assist on yall a couple years back. he too could have easily been in the starting lineup with our horrible backcourt. anyways, to beat the lakers, you can't play it by their speed. they love to change it around. kind of weird. i remember, once, they would just fast break and run, then two minutes later they would go to a half court set (the triangle). we just have to make defense beat them. they can get really off, and we have to take advantage of that. lots of times, their bench are the ones that gets them going. gets them motivated. when kobe is in their bench, and their role players, farmar, sasha, turiaf, they start scoring. can't let them out hustle you. they thrive with energy. and as soon as fisher goes to the bench, PRESSURE FARMAR. you have to pressure farmar. he is a good young pg, but william completly killed farmar. he's not like luther though, he has good handles and won't turn it over, but he will rush his passes, rush his shots, little things that will screw him and his confidence up. and overall, you just gotta hope our role players can make the shots that our two main guys can create. and yao and tracy must dominate. tracy has to go strong against odom or kobe. yao must go strong against bynum and gasol.
Stay healthy and add Ron Artest. That creates so many matchup issues for them. Ron and Tracy together is a nightmare to defend. I think this move with a few smaller ones (bench players) would get us there.
I know the Lakers are on good wave right now, but I have to wait for the 3 year domination over the NBA titles, because... 1) I don't see anybody on that team that is anywhere near the impact of that big Aristotle guy....he was probably the biggest reason they won 3 titles. If I had a chance to get healthy 27 to 30 year old Shaq vs. The next two best players... I still take Shaq. 2) I would say it easily, everybody in the West comes into next with same roster, but I highly doubt it, they are too many key players that are up for grabs or about to join the FA line. To say who is going to win the West. One or two moves and some teams jumping back in front of the Lakers. And then you have wild card teams, like the Rockets, Trailblazers, and the Mavs who had the injury bug or some crazy move (Mavs and having an owner like Cuban). 3) They still haven't won the championship, they have been very good, but I wouldn't say dominate...they're still not a great defensive team, not yet anyway and they have honors of playing defensive juggernaut (Pistons and Celtics) who both might be slightly better and younger than Spurs were. 4) I could see the Lakers as the type team that everyone bandwagons all the way until next end up with great 60 win season and bow out in 1st or 2nd round to a team, like Phoenix, Spurs, or even Us. I just don't see them as that team that we can't stop.
wtf, u give we way too much credit when did we last advance past the first round of playoff? when did we last qualify for the playoff 3 yrs in a row? wtf
when did we last advance past the first round of playoff? Golden State advanced past the 1st round last year for the 1st time in 15 years. The Cavs made it the championship last year, after they were probably had not business going or only winning about 49 or 50 games. The Lakers were only borderline playoff team the last two years and after one move....they are in the championship the next year. And wasn't Yao injured the last portion of season/playoffs with other players being knicked up? when did we last qualify for the playoffs three years in row...ummm? 96 - 99, but we had injuries in 05, 02-03 we were a cellar dwellar and Yao an Francis made us good enough for 8th best record in the West, but we lose out on tie breaker. We know have a better more flexible coach and more quality players. You can't keep harping on this team can't get out of the 1st Round, when really it is not the same team year in and year out....your team changes every year, because of injuries, trades, draft choices, and coaching changes. I'm pretty sure the Rockets will have 2 or 3 new players next year and it is chance that Yao and T-Mac will both be healthy for an extended run. Look at what happened to Dallas and Phoenix from 01 to now, Dallas went from a strictly offensive team and offensive fire power and 1st round fodder with Don Nelson to WC winning Avery Johnson team in span of 2 years...and look how much D'Antoni and Nash changed Phoenix around.
That along with magical potions for Landry's knee, Rafer's consistency, adding height to both Brooks and Head, some potion to give Hayes a J from further than 5', and then hoping Morey drinks a gallon of the stuff on draft day so he avoids the under tall and under athletic.
I think he was atleast 80%... besides my point definitely wasn't that Tmac is better than Kobe or that he kills him every time. I think Mcgrady plays much harder than usual in the playoffs and the Lakers don't have anyone (besides Kobe) who could check him. Battier would be shadowing Kobe the whole game and Yao would dominate their bigs. I don't think we're a better team. I just think that is one of our more favorable matchups in the western conference. I think if we were injury-free (which i agree is a prayer of an assumption) that we matchup much better than we do with either of the other elites in the West. We would have a harder time with the Hornets, Suns, Spurs, and Jazz.
Yao cannot play 40 min a game. I think we need to look at platooning him like Shaq did in his days with the Lakers and Miami. Shaq diddled around most of the early season and didn't start to really play towards the playoffs. That big body of his was prone to injuries. How many times you hear Shaq got his toe stepped on or had someone throw a knee into his thigh? People played Shaq hard and he had to constantly fight through double teams. Yao needs less minutes not more..at least in the early season. In the playoffs sure, he can play 40. But we cannot afford for him to go down again.
Spurs are probably still better than us. I think we're just a better team (when healthy) than Jazz and Hornets. I think Suns shot themselves in the foot with Marion trade...and he was one of the biggest why struggled against them. An older Shaq and Nash, makes them slightly more beatable. Try this one Golden State. Kryptonite (for Rockets). I wouldn't want to play them in first round, I would've like the seen them make it to playoffs, I think they would've managed to at least 2 from the Lakers....they have way more heart than 2/3rds of playoff teams out there, run like there is no tomorrow, and play they very aggressive. If they come back with similar team next, I would not want to have to play them out of the gates. Pretty much our achilles heel, if we are healthy as team. Another one are the Trailblazers, even if Oden is overrated, if he is above average....they will move up the standing fast, too.
I agree with that, since this team proved it was 60 to 70% win team without him. Why not, let him come in November and let him lounge a bit around his usual injury time in Jan and Feb....bring him back around mid March and let him play hard April. This is what the Spurs and Pistons, they play decent or above average the first part of the season, then lower it around the middle of the season....and then put gas pedal on in the last month or two.
Agreed. To me it boils down to teems that run and teams with great penetrating PG's being the worst matchups for the rockets. The rockets' great defense doesn't look so great when a team can force Yao to get on the move.
