It is not fair to Lebron, because he was quite young and inexperienced. Kobe is known for playing under par in the finals.
No way. The Thunder are being overrated. They have no front court. Bynum and Gasol will eat them alive.
IMHO with KD and WB we'll see the same fate the Mavericks had with Dirk, Nash and Finley: good team curtailed by a lack of low post scorers. They need a dominant post option to match up with the Lakers, Spurs and of course us. Sege Ibaka's good but he's more of an all around player rather than an elite post scorer. Right now 2nd round fodder is all they're good for, Gasol/Bynum, Yao/Scola or Duncan/Splitter will beat the crap out of them. Guards may lead the season, but big men are the difference makers in the playoffs.
the mavs had no defense... the thunder were top 5 defensively most of the year then slipped a little toward the end when the offense seemed to explode for some reason... and honestly i dont think the mavs never got a title because of the lack of a post presence. they were up 2-0 in the finals and about to take a 3-0 series lead, it wasnt a lack of post presence that made that slip away. i hate the mavs, but i truly think they would have won the title the year golden state took them out. they were just unfortunate getting matched up with the ONE TEAM in the entire league they didnt have mismatches all over the floor in their favor.
I agree with the sentiment that the Thunder need to get at least one solid big man to truly contend for the title. However, to think that they actually had a decent shot at beating the Lakers last season in spite of their massive underdog status is scary, and a large part of it is due to Kevin Durant, who is clearly setting himself up as the true heir apparent to Kobe Bryant, in terms of being the league's most unstoppable scoring force and closer extraordinaire. I've been watching him in the world championships and he really is a revelation. Right now he's easily my favorite NBA player not wearing Rocket Red. I watched Lithuania literally drape themselves all over him in a desperate bid to make sure he didn't get the ball or score, and once crunch time came he just shook them off coldly in a way I've never seen any American player do on the world stage -- the type of stuff you typically only see Kobe do occasionally in NBA games. And he's just 21. And you'll never see him gloat, look for the spotlight, or promote himself. He exemplifies humility in stark contrast to a group of certain others, mostly heralding from the class of 2003. Yeah I'm gushing over him a bit, but I have to. I wish he were a Rocket. He will many championships and accolades, and every one will be well deserved.
I agree with you on all points (especially wishing he were a Rocket), except that I don't think this is a revelation. His ability to penetrate is one thing, but his deadly accuracy makes him a veritable god in Fiba play, particularly when you consider the zones every team desperately throws at the Americans. Those of you still sitting on the Thunder, please pass the crack. Yes, no dominant big exposes some vulnerability, but they're a solid shooter and defensive big from equaling the Lakers/Heat as favorites. And still, I think they should challenge for a title, easily. This year will be closely contended between us and them in the west, but as much as I hate to admit, they will eat our current team alive for years to come. And let's not even get into Yao's injury history. I think our only chance to contend with them down the road is to get a player of Melo's stature, an alpha dog closer who we can legitimately trust for the last shot.
Nice job intentionally (?) misreading my statement to infer that I claimed Kobe's entire finals performance was historically poor. No, I was obviously referring to the clinching game 7. You remember that game, right? The one where Mark Jackson was making John Starks references in the fourth quarter when talking about where Kobe's game 7 ranked historically.
Jeff Who, ur wrong. it has everything to do w Kobe. the threats posed by Kobe forces the opposing insde defenders to Man up on the Lakers big 3. without the Kobe threat, Pau would get double-teamed D, therefore not as effective on offense.
you have provided convincing evidence that the Lakers are deep. despite all theses short-comings that you've identified, the team won the championship. now that is a deep team ! .
Overrated. They've coasted injury-free over the past three years. It will inevitably come, and then, we'll see their true colors in the light of adversity. And gimme a break on Westbrook. Dude plays at one speed, and is very erratic. His style is not suited for playoff ball. **OMG, they took the Lakers to 6 games!!** Big ****ing deal. LA was playing around, and hell, even Houston took that same team to 7 while missing its best player.
good point. but i don't think OKC is over-rated. also think that team brass was complacent resting on their azz during the off season. could have pick up some seasoned FA to add experience to the team.
Exactly. They spent a huge part of their capspace this year on Cole Aldrich, a guy who looks to be the next Jerome James. You really don't think they're overrated? A panel of 93 voters decided to pick OKC as the second best team in the west, over better teams like POR and DAL. The same 93 voters picked Durant to be the MVP of 2010-11. The same panel of voters picked OKC to be second most likely team to be deemed the "team of the decade." Are you kidding me? All because they *gasp* won two playoff games. smh.
Oh my God another thread hijacked by Kobe Only Fans or Laker Nuthuggers, can we just get back on subject please? Anyways I think the Thunder have a good, deep team and they could possibly make it deep into the playoffs, but I don't see them winning it until like two years from now.
no dumb ass its because if you know anything about basketball you can tell how good they are going to be by simply watching them.
Thank you. Leave it to the people who actually followed the Thunder last year to judge how good they are and can be. I watched more than half of their games lst year. During some stretches of their games, their defense was just a joy to watch. Defense is one thing that fans seem to always overlook.
They can be really good. Folks seem to be underrating how much better their younger players can be next year, especially Durant. A player as good as him makes all the difference in the world.
Yep and they have gotten the hard part out the way. They have a legit franchise player and westbrook is also a top talent. The quicker they get rid of odom part 2, the better they will be in the long term.
That is the thing. 1) Portland and Houston are NEVER healthy. They did/do have great teams on paper but who cares if their top players can't play. And San Antonio Spurs haven't been healthly for the past 2 season, Duncan is on the downside of his carrer. As about Dallas. They can be great during regular season but who cares if they can't win a series in the playoffs.
