Considering a playoff matchup T-Mac >= Kobe. Check the playoff numbers, the only players who's career playoff numbers and efficiency is Shaq and Duncan. Meaning right this minute T-Mac is the 2nd best playoff performer in the league(Shaq is now irrelevant). One factor not mentioned is that Kobe actually has to guard somebody. There's no more standing next to Battier in the corner for him. He'll have to work extra hard guarding either T-Mac or Artest for a full 48 minutes. He will have no energy to save up for offense. Add to the fact that Artest and Battier will be bring 48+ minutes of hell just to get a single shot off. And he can't just leave Rafer alone to go roam on others like he did with Rondo in the Finals, last time that happened Rafer had a career game. My matchups: Alston >= Fisher (both basically play the same role on their respective teams, but Rafer is slightly better on both ends) T-Mac >= Kobe (I'm talking playoffs, individually T-Mac is better in the playoffs and the numbers prove this. Now if the other 4 guys can have his back like they do Kobe.....) Artest >> Odom (Artest is better on both ends and Odom is known to shrink as the stage gets bigger) Scola < Pau (but Scola can even this matchup with some physical defense) Yao >>> Bynum (don't kid yourself, Yao will torch Bynum on both ends and put him in plenty foul trouble..... the refs will have to go into Kings/Lakers 2002 mode to even this matchup) Rockets bench > Lakers bench - Sasha has become vastly overrated after successfully guarding Ginobili who was at best 40%. Radmanovic can shoot, Ariza brings good energy and hustle but nothing offensively. They have no backup center. Mihm is a question mark and Dbenga is a lost cause on the court. They might pose a threat just by sheer size and length but neither brings nothing near the productivity that Landry and Mutombo does. Farmar was only moderately better than Luther Head in the playoffs. We have the proven Brent Barry bringing that Spurs savvy to our bench. Aaron Brooks showed flashes even in the playoffs. He can go to his natural scoring role with Brent Barry being the facilitator. Landry can equal Scola's production and provide a bigger spark on both ends than anyone on the Laker bench. Mutombo single-handedly changes games. Head is the lone black hole. But if the theory some bring up that he's just horrid against the Jazz, it can get real ugly for the Lakers since they always leave shooters open.
How about the Blazers? They have some serious depth, too. They're just young right now and lack experience. If they aren't a contender this season, they should definitely be next season. Blake/Rodriguez/Bayless Roy/Fernandez Webster/Outlaw/Batum Aldridge/Frye/Diogu Oden/Pryzbilla They have looked great at times in preseason and seem to have very good chemistry. They just keep running talent at you off the bench.
I dont think the Lakers are as good as everybody in the National media thinks they are. Actually my concern are the Spurs and Hornets. The fact the Hornets team addresses every weakness of the Rockets. The Spurs I dont pay attention to them until late March and early April. If they are healthy and get on a run they will be a threat.
They have a great team, I agree with that part. But the chemistry part I'm not so sure. Portland is currently a talent rich farm. And all talent rich individuals want individual spotlight sometime or another, but they mostly happen early in their careers (obviously and evidently). Unless their coach can keep the players unselfish and happy, Portland is one spotlight ticking time bomb waiting for another Shaq and Kobe incident.
I think the Lakers are a top three team in the West, but we have a defensive tough team thats puts us above them. Look at the way the Celtics manhandled them. Although they do get Bynum back, I'm not drinking his kool-aid yet. I think he's good, but not great. I think Gasol is overrated and Odom is inconsistent. Kobe usually kills us, but hopefully the Battier/Artest combo can contain him. Overall the Lakers are a strong team, but I believe we have a much better defense and an equally good offense.
That's a very good point. I sort of got that feeling watching Roy and Fernandez on the court together last night (btw, Rudy is still looking legit). They were both calling for the ball at times and were running to the same spot on the floor. There is so much youth and competition at just about every position. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. McMillan will have a fun year but challenging, too.
I agree about the defense but disagree about the offense. The Lakers are an offensive juggernaut but there defense is still suspect. They have great length though, something we are lacking. That should help on the boards and with clogging the paint.
Of course, being healthy is our thing, we have a pretty potent offense. With Landry for the whole season, Barry's shooting, and if Brooks steps up we have a good scoring bench. Not to mention if Battier plays of the bench, thats another high % 3pt shooter. Adelman has also said he's going to open up the offense a lot more this season. We added the third scorer we needed, I just see the offensive numbers jumping this season. Heck, even Von Wafer looks like he's ready to contribute.
I hope so but the Lakers have proven to have a good offense. We are still talking about it. Hopefully, it will materialize for us. I still see defense as our backbone even with Adelman as head coach. We have two of the best defensive players in the league in the top 6 of our rotation. Then we have guys like Hayes and maybe Deke coming off the bench. We also just drafted a defensive specialist in Dorsey even if he isn't ready to contribute much this season.
I also think Turiaf will be a huge loss for them; now their front-court "depth" consists of wusses like Mihm and Odom. Plus, Bynum has even more health questions than Yao does. The easiest way to gauge how the matchup works is to look at who Laker fans are afraid to face in the playoffs. We're sitting pretty on this one.
Yeah our defense is our strong point. I don't see our offense taking a step back , so thats good. I think our defense does give us the edge over the Lakers. can't wait for the season to start.
our games against the lakers have been mainly blowouts in recent years. I think this will change this year.
That huge loss will be mitigated by the return of Bynum. Wusses? Mihm is a solid back up center. I'd love for a healthy Mihm to be on the Rockets. 100% wrong. Bynum had a freak accident and is now 100% healthy. Yao is also 100% healthy, but because of last year's stress fracture, his minutes should be monitored. Everyone is worried that Yao will re-injure himself. I'm not sure if anyone has the same concerns for Bynum. I don't think the Lakers are afraid of us. They just dont want to play us b/c we pose the biggest threat (in the western conference....at least on paper). A lot of us probably feel the same way about them for the same reason. I've read through most of the posts in this thread, and the majority of you are seriously underestimating them. Alston better than Fisher? Give me a break. I'd rather have Fisher and his consistent shooting any day of the week. Sure, Alston plays better defense, but we have Deke/Yao guarding the paint. Tmac better than Kobe? I'm not even going address that one. Thats just sheer idiocy. And like Tmac, Odom is a point-forward. He's most effective with the ball in his hands (which makes it tough to play w/ Kobe). I could easily see him coming off their bench and doing damage. I do think that we're the better team, but at least be objective in your analysis about the lakers.
I was thinking about this the other day when the lakers were playing fc bacelona. Personally, I don't think the rox match up with them and their size. For some reason though, the rox seem to play pretty well against them. Bynum may not be able to cancel out yao, but the gap between gasol and scola is pretty big. Kobe is better than tracy, but that seems to balance out a little. Artest is better than whoever plays that position, but its not a gulf. Fisher is better,more consistent than rafer and sasha is a good shooter so I can say they have a advantage there also. Their bench depth legnth is gooing to be a problem for a small team like the rox. I mean when bynum ms off for a breather, the bring in 7ft er after 7 ft er to bang on yao. Yao leaves the court and who comes in, dosey,hayes? Plus the have the taste of getting to the championship game experience in their mouth. The only way they beat the lakers is if he out toughs LA.
Yea, too much emphasis is being put on 1-1 matchups. The question comes down to, who has the best player on the court on that day PLUS who is playing better as a team. If you have that one unstoppable player surrounded by a solid team that is clicking at the right time ...that's your winner. Paul Pierce isn't better than Kobe ...but he was clearly better in that series. Plus Boston played all around better as a team. Gasol could never get it going and Odom was consistently inconsistent which let Boston's defense key onto Kobe better. Game - Set - Match. What I like about the Rockets is that they are extremely unselfish so there won't be any problems for them to gel as a team. We'll be a top notch defensive team and a hi powered offense. So if Yao is healthy, there is just no answer for him. None. No way the Lakers can stop him. They'll try and then they gotta leave other guys open ...Game - Set - Match. We have 2 answers for Kobe. They have none for Yao. Our supporting cast is better. We're the team to beat.
You're basing this assumption on what? The number of games that Artest, Tmac, and Yao have played together? Game-Set-Match? Hardly. In order for Yao to stay healthy, he will have to play fewer minutes. When he's on the bench, the LA bigs will have an easy time scoring.
