kobe bryant was ejected from game 5 of the 2006 playoff series against the Suns, to name at least one other ejection from his 10 year career
1. Utah = Boozer = man handle us the entire series and along with that other guy named DeRon Williams spelt doom for us.....the dreaded great PF/PG combo and center who likes to shoot from the outside....Utah causes way more match up problems for us than Kobe....Kobe has gotten his against us, but usually we beat the Lakers or keep everyone else grounded. And utah plays very physical that's not a team you want in first round.... 2. The Lakers have a great team, and could possibly win the west, but they are pretty much evenly match with most of the other teams, before the season I believe they were probably better than most teams, except Dallas and San Antonio...with Gasol it puts them closer to them, but not overall better. Vujacic and Farmer are decent, but I wouldn't call them fantastic reserves, like the ones I see in Phoenix, Dallas, or San Antonio...
The Lakers have not played anyone worth mentioning since they got Gasol. The only game that could have been a good match up was with the Suns and they are in the process of adjusting playing with Shaq. The rest of their winning streak has been against teams not in the top 8 in the West.
in the end Lakers will prevail over the Rox, less than 7 games. too much depth; a much more productive bench. look for Yao 2 b bewildered by Andew's sound footwork and quickness. Each will score easily on the other. Yao will out-score Bynum, but the youngster will out-rebound the less athletic / not as quick Yaoster. never-say-die can't compensate for skills and smarts, which Gasol has plenty. LO will the the 4th option. with less pressure on him, LO will be more active. TMac will easily outscore LO; LO will get lots of rebound and assist. in his NBA career, Battier has never been one blessed with much offensive skills. despite all that qualifications, you still give the advantage to Rafer ? i think not. Mr. Steady / dependable Fish will out-play Rafer.
you don't think that Gasol is the the process of adjusting playing w the Lakers, and vise versa. ? and adusting not having a true center manning the post. The Lakers were playing on the 2nd of a back-to-back in Sun's home court. The Suns, a first place team, were well-rested at home and still lost. The Suns played well. Amare, playing at his natural position, PF, was a stud. and Shaq was good, probably one of his better game of the season. Still not enough to beat the Lakers. imagine what the Lakers ,with a healthy Bynum and a Gaol that knows a little about the triangle, will do against the Suns.
Besides Bynum, they have two other guys who are above average players, that are out with and injury right now. Travis Ariza is gonna be back around the same time as Bynum, while Mihm could not come back out all this season. The point I'm trying to make is that they are so deep that even their IR players are better than other teams'.
On paper, we might agree that the Lakers are deeper and more talented and they have this known factor called Kobe. But I just get this feeling that the hustle and aggression of front court guys like Luis Scola and Carl Landry have made a difference and WILL make a difference. The Rockets have gotten by on excellent team defense. And the steals and hustle plays by guys like Scola and Landry complementing Yao will be very noticeable. Yeah, we admire Pau and Odom's skill set but I just get this feeling. I've been on Lakers Ground and that's what Laker fans are discounting. That high energy and hustle of the slightly shorter Landry and Scola. It'll be interesting to see if Pau can man-up once the really good front-court teams come to the fore, one after the other. Notice how even during games in which TMac and Yao were not close to being up to par...the Rockets have found a way to gel and get it done. One great example was the game vs a very good and winning Cleveland Cavs team. Now with Bobby Jackson being a crucial weapon added to the Rocket mix...apparent already in his first game with the Rockets, dead weight such as Bonzi and MJames gone, there are some solid game pieces. The Houston Rockets in 2008...21-4! 12 game win streak. That's scary for ANY team to contemplate.
by implication, you feel that the other Rox don't hustle ? my feeling is that the depths of skilled players of the Lakers, and team basketball, will more than overcome the "hustle and aggression" of the 4th and 6th option of the Rox.
Agreed, but even if he becomes just a player off the bench to back up Pau, the Lakers will be very tough to beat.
people on this site b**** about the lakers getting gasol for free. we got our starting pf for a euro combo guard who thinks he's the t mac of the greek league.
Based on what? The fact that Yao kills Bynum in head to head matchups. Or is Bynum going to channel 92-93 Olajuwon? Yao does his best work against big, traditional centers. Ask Dwight Howard (who is light years better than Bynum and much more athletic) how well his speed and footwork works against Yao.
Problem is no one knows how good vspan is. He could be even better than tmac for all we know. There were teams giving better offers for gasol, but mem wanted to drop salary that is what pisses a lot of people of.
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I hope you are joking. If V-Span was a good as he thinks he is or as some fans think, he wouldn't have quit the NBA like a b****. Better than T-Mac? Well, at least T-Mac didn't cry, moan, b**** and then quit the NBA. T-Mac came in as a high schooler, V-Span came in as a older, more pro experienced rookie. But at the end, who was looking more like a high schooler? V-Gina my friends, V-Gina.
