Gasol is better than Scola on paper. But I think Scola will be at least as good as him if not better when they played face to face. On paper Rockets are way better than lakers. Rockets has better chemistry, higher BBIQ and heart of Champion. Lakers are fakers.
lol did you say scola is as good gasol face to face? on paper how are the rockets way better then the lakers? lolwut?
I'm a little shocked that so many don't see the difference in what Artest gives compared to Odom. Odom plays NO defense and is actually a no-show offensively as much or more than he is an offensive force. It is very difficult to think of a player of Lamar Odom's caliber who fails to show up in big games more. Actually, the only one might be his team mate, Pau Gasol. I can agree that Yao/Tmac vs. Bynum/Kobe is a wash. In that case, I would take Artest/Scola vs. Odom/Gasol simply because you can count on at least one of those two Lakers to not show up. Ask the Celtics. Regarding Fisher; he isn't what he was during the Laker dynasty. He isn't even what he was when he "shut down" Tmac two years ago in the playoffs. He's a smart, veteran player who has no consistency and gets exposed as much as any PG by the new generation of guards in the league. I'd take Alston over him at this point every night of the week.
Bynum will not beat Yao or is even 50/50. Bynum looks slow with that huge knee brace, that will keep him from exploding this season.
Odom is like Robin Williams: Every once in a while, he does something that makes you realize how talented he is, but you have to suffer through about a dozen cringe-inducing outings in between.
treason!!!!!!!!!!!! wtf are u on this board? when healthy, let's just say kobe is clearly better than tmac, but not much better. remember, we have the better defensive player to match up against kobe that would arguably make our wings better. artest is also clearly better than odom, no doubt about it. artest's defensive prowess, agressiveness, strength, does make him better than odom. while yao can be taken out of the game with the right defense, so does bynam. it's just that nobody gives enough crap about him to do so. the only thing i can agree wif u is that fisher and farmar are better than rafer and brooks, though not much. if francis can make a comeback, then the edge clearly goes back to us.
Um..........what????????? So either the Lakers' players are "much better" or it's a wash??? Kobe is not "much" better than T-mac. T-mac is a very very good play maker and an excellent passer. Kobe has much more tenacity and is an excellent scorer. There is a gap. But not that "much". Advantage Bryant. I'm not sure Fisher and Farmar are much better either. Fisher is starting to show some decline in his game. Alston runs our team very well and is a very good defender. Farmar at this point is obviously better than Brooks. But what if it's not Brooks playing back up? What if Steve does come back and can actually produce? As Artest said, don't sleep on Francis. At this point the edge goes to the Lakers but can swing the Rockets way. Advantage Laker pg's. In a seven game series, I'm taking Artest everyday, all day, over Odom. I know I'll have Artest there for every game. Excellent rebounder. Versatile scorer. Lock-down defensive player. Odom may show up 2 or 3 games. Good rebounder. Versatile scorer. Good defensive player. Advantage Artest. Gasol better flopper. Scola is hot on his heels though. Right now Gasol is a proven player. Good scorer. Will get you a couple blocks a game. Avg's almost a double-double. Scola isn't there..........yet. He is definitely capable but being 3rd or 4th option as opposed to 2nd doesn't help. He won't get the 2 blocks a game but he'll definitely give you some extra possessions with his hustle. He's a crafty scorer and once he becomes as consistent as Gasol then at that point we'll have a wash. Slight advantage Gasol. Yao and Bynum. You must be a Laker fan. What in the world has Bynum proven??? I had no idea Bynum was just as good a scorer as Yao. Bynum gets his points gift wrapped. Defenses are not worried about him. Yao WORKS for his points. Yao is a MUCH better passer than Bynum. He can create offense and is a defensive presence. Bynum is a defensive presence also and a good rebounder. That's about it. When I see him shooting the mid range, creating some offense from the post, and can make an excellent pass THEN we can compare. Until then, Bynum is no where near Yao Ming. Big advantage Yao. Given the 3-2 advantage the Lakers have here, I still see the Rox beating them in a series. They will have no answer for Yao and we'll be abusing Bryant all series long with Batman and Artest. In the end our defense will be too much and the Lakers' non-existent defense will be there down fall.
umm... what? odom "brings it" like what... 50% of the time, tops? gimme a break. if the lakers offer odom for artest straight up you're an idiot if you take it. and we played the lakers damn well last year, even w/o yao. so what's this nonsense about needing yao to "dominate?"
People may call me crazy, but I thought the Rockets at full power were better than the Lakers at Full Power (even with acquisition of Gasol). The Rockets matchup the best with them along with Portland, Boston, and Phoenix. I thought even before the Artest trade...the Rockets still had good shot at beating the Lakers...with a healthy Yao, an improving Scolandry, Brent Barry pickup, and an unheralded rookie in Donte Greene (who might be pretty good in a few years). I believe a team of that caliber would've been good enough to beat the Lakers, but with trade for Artest and the possible re-emergence of Francis. The Rockets are clearly better on paper than the Lakers. Anyone who thinks Bynum is as good as Yao is just an outright homer or reads too much into certain bias media personnel. Yao has been consistently a 22 + and 10 reb player for the last 4 years and is clearly the best all-around center in the league. How is it a wash...when one player has only played one good month of basketball vs. a player who has been the best for the last few years? Gasol is probably a better player than Scola, but not by much though. In fact, if you put Scola on an inferior team, then his numbers would much closer to Gasol's. Scola could easily put up 14-16 ppg and 8 to 9 rebs on sub par team. He easily averaged those numbers with the Rockets when Yao was injured. I believe Scola is closer to Gasol than Gasol is to the likes of Duncan, Amare, Nowitzki, and Brand. For as good as Odom is, Artest is on another planet. Artest is one of the most talented players in the league on both sides of the court and a gamebreaker. Odom, like another poster said is good from time to time, but he is not a model of consistency or a great defender. Kobe is clearly better than T-Mac, while Rafer vs. Fisher is somewhat of wash or push. Fisher is more consistent and better shooter, but Rafer is more explosive and a slightly better passer. LA Bench: Farmar, Walton (could be starting), Ariza, Vujacic, Radmanovic, and Mihm vs. Houston Bench: Landry, Battier, Hayes, Brooks, Barry, Francis, Dorsey, and possibly Mutombo. Talent wise, the Rockets are slightly better than Lakers.
Kobe > TMac Bynum < Yao Artest > Odom Scola = Gasol Rafer < Fisher Benches Landry, Battier, Barry, Brooks > Farmar, Mihm, Vuchavich, Radman. The Rockets are a the better team top to bottom......and we can wear Kobe out with Battier and Artest, and even Tmac if we have to.....the Lakers will have to guard everyone the Rockets put on the floor, the Rockets...do not have to do the same. DD
It's sacrilege to say so here, but I think Yao and Bynum are going to be much closer this season than people think. Don't be surprised if Yao's output decreases sharply with all the new additions, and Adelman intent on establishing more of his motion offense. And Scola > Gasol? I can't understand that at all. Here's my comparison, on a scale of 1-10: Kobe:9.5 > TMac:8 Bynum:7.5 < Yao:8 Odom:7 = Artest:7 Gasol:7 > Scola:6 Fisher:5 = Alston:5 Overall, I think there's more talent on the Lakers starting group, but I'm not sure if they fit as well. I think there's a good chance one of Bynum, Odom, and Gasol come off the bench. If that's the projected starting lineups, I think the Rockets have a decided edge in their bench. Overall, on paper, these teams look like a wash to me. The Rockets have better chemistry on the defensive end, the Lakers have better chemistry on the offensive end, and the X-factor is that the Rockets are far more injury-prone. So, edge Lakers.
Myth: Lakers' bench is good. Fact: Lakers' bench is horrible and Rockets' bench owns them. Myth: Judging position players on one team to another will lead to an objective way to measure which team is better. Fact: 4 players playing together can produce a synergy of talent that is above and beyond what the 4 can individually produce. The Rockets 4 complement each other a lot more than the Lakers' 4. Not to mention that Odom and Gasol both disappear when you need them. Artest's mental toughness is what I believe makes him better than Odom. Plus, Artest has never messed up in-bounding the ball. Myth: One great player surrounded by 3 good players is a good team. (Lakers) Fact: One great player surrounded by 3 career letdowns is a bad team. (Lakers) Myth: Kobe is a lot better than Tmac Fact: 1on1, Kobe is a lot better than Tmac. As a team player, I'll take Tmac over Kobe. Myth: 3 people die from rabies every year. Fact: 4 people die from rabies every year. (Just to make sure you are paying attention)
If Francis can come back to the court soon and at least can be back to 80% of his best, the rockets will be really good. Otherwise, I don't think the rockets can go very far. Our pg position is too bad! Last night's game showed it very clearly.
Talking whatever you want, the big difference between Lakers and Rockets is the team defense. Besides Kobe and Fisher, nobody wants to play defense, their big men are soft, and lost the only tough big guy (name?) to Gold States this year. If you take an example of the last year champ run, you would know which team has a better chance in the west.
I disagree. McGrady, Yao, Scola, Artest, Battier and our bench > Pau, Kobe, Odom, Bynum, their bench Even if you disagree, the difference is by no means so clear that you can say we're "certainly NOT the most talented", all-caps "NOT" and everything. We have the advantage in depth and overall talent (meaning ability to play both ends).
To those in this thread that think Gasol is better than Scola. Scola gives you everything he has every play. Gasol does not. See playoffs. Do not try to come at me with numbers for Gasol vs Scola. Gasol spent his career on a sucky team and happened to be the best player for them. You can compare Gasol's numbers as a Laker per 40 min. to Scola. That would be a fair comparison but I still take Scola's heart over Gasol. To those in this thread that think Odom is better than Artest. Odom is one of the most tallented losers you'll ever watch and IMO is a discusting display of wasted potential. He will never carry the burden of winning a game that counts. Artest would break you in half to win if it were within the rules. He probably thinks about doing it anyway. He is more than willing to carry the burden of winning if necessary. Heart. Head to head Artest's defense and consistant effort would bury Odom. I take Artest hands down. Nobody even cares about Battier. Kobe is going to see a constant diet of fresh Artest or Battier all game long. T-Mac is gonna see what? Not Kobe after the beating he will take on the offensive end. You watch Kobe will be getting some technicals due to frustration playing us. I agree that Kobe may be better than TMac due to his competitive drive and durability but replacing TMac with Kobe on this Rockets team would be a chemistry disaster. Then there is Barry and Landry, Head and Brooks. Farmar is the only guy off that team that I think would improve this team (if you consider chemistry) when everyone is healthy. Lakers have no chance against us. Heck I don't even take Fisher over Rafer, at least not with the team we have.
This is ridiculous. If the Fakers could win three championships with Derek Fisher running the point full time, then we will be just fine with our PG rotation. That said, a healthy Stevie would be very nice. PG is still our weakest position, but we are LOADED everywhere else.
