Lakers look good!
 

After watching tonights game there is no doubt in my mind that the Lakers are the best in the west. Lakers vs. Celtics will be a fun to watch in the finals.

PGARDN, you still wanna take me up on who will go farther, the Lakers or the Spurs?






















Didn't think so.

I think the bet was made before the trade so taunting is a bit uncalled for in this case.

The Lakers were on top without Gasol, and now they miles the best with Gasol. The way this team plays defense and runs the court is awesome to watch. I loved the teams of 2000, 2001, and 2002, but give me Gasol over Shaq anyday.

From North Carolina # 42........James Worthy !!

Spurs are still the team to beat in the West. I have a hard time believing the Lakers can beat the Spurs in a 7 game series.

This is comical.

The Lakers do not play enough defense to withstand a 7 game series. Bowen has proven he can shut down the best player on the other team in a series. The Lakers have zero answer for Duncan on the inside and Parker will be able to get to the lane as much as he wants. Also, the Spurs are 2-1 against the Lakers this which doesnt say much since both teams have added to their roster. Both are very very very good teams. Head to head in a 1 game mathup I would say it is even, but over a 7 game series, Spurs have the edge. But it is still a longshot that they see each other in the series.

Thanks for giving me time to respond, I just got home.

Yes and hell yes.
We got a guy in Kurt Thomas we badly needed.
Parker is back on the floor.
Yes and hell yes.

All I need to make sure of is that you will pay up.
Anyone else that wants a piece you got it.
No excuses about Kobe's finger.

Gasol cannot give Duncan a lick of trouble.
We love Gasol. And if anyone can find a lineup
that puts Bynum and Gasol on the floor at the same
time as Odem I thank you because 3's will rain down
on your butt. Why not put 4 seven footers with Kobe?
Maybe Mihm is feeling better.

The Lakers cannot cover any of our 3 best players,
I got no problem with this bet. You have been warned,
bring it. We will have to think of the format.

It was.
But that is the ND man's way.

I still want it.

One game he scored 18 and then he scored 30 when Parker and Duncan were not playing. In addition, in game 2, Bowen did not guard Kobe. And in game 3 when Kobe scored 29 Bowen played 23 minutes and only guarded Kobe for 12 of those minutes (according to elias). Plenty of size does not equate to wins. But we shall see--who knows.

If they meet, we shall see.

Actually it is fairly easy to 'shutdown' Duncan's scoring by doubling him. However teams are wary of doing so because he is such a good passer and SA has always had guys that can hit open jumpers. Kobe is close to impossible to keep from scoring.

Bowen may hold Kobe to 38. I just read somewhere where someone made the comment that Bowen was slowing down and wasnt the player he was. I will try to see if I can find it.

Well Kobe is avg 28.1 pts per game. So we prob should define--shut down. I would say that Bowen did a good job if he holds Kobe to 20 pts or less per game. Is that fair?

Let's not get carried away with the Bakers.

Oh please let me strike the match.

:rolleyes:

Here's what I know...the team that scores the most points is going to win. Typically that team is the one with the most prison tats.

Interesting.

PGARDN, it's on.

The western conference playoffs will be very interesting. although the Lakers appear to be the team to beat, I think it is so evenly matched, they could also be knocked out in the first round. I honestly think the Spurs have just as good a shot as the Lakers to advance to the finals.

The Lakers are looking good. But let's not give them the title yet. They have only played one good team since the Gasol trade and that was the Suns game, where the defense still gave up 124. Getting Bynum back will be a big plus but if there is one thing I've learned from this game, it's the value of experience. Three guys that the Lakers will be depending heavily on in the playoff are Gasol, Bynum, and Odom and none of them have that high pressure playoff experience yet. I'm still not sold on Gasol and Bynum not getting in each other's way. And I do expect the Suns to get better as they get Shaq into the flow of things. I also expect that Kidd is really going to improve the Mavs. He's going to create tons of open shots and just make the game easier for Dirk and especially for Howard. The Spurs are the champs and know exactly what it takes to win and they still have three guys that are arguably top five at their respective positions in the league. Right now, I would rank them:

1. Spurs
2. Mavs
3. Lakers
4. Suns

Which western team which will likely have 50 wins do you think will be left at home?? Golden State, Denver, Houston??

enver. Get it?

I dont think the West is as evenly matched as people think. Lets take a look at the Northwest Divison. Utah is 21-12 against the west with winning records in each divison 5-4 / 9-5 / 7-3. Denver is 17-14 against the west with records of 8-3 / 4-6 / 5-5. Denver's only winning record against the west is in their own divison. Now 7 of those 8 wins are against Portland (29-25), Minnesota (11-42) and Seattle (14-39).

In the Pacific, the Lakers seem to be head and shoulders above everyone. They are 20-8 against the west with winning records in each division 10-1 / 5-2 / 5-5. Their 5-5 record is against the SW with loses to San Antonio (twice), New Orleans (once), Dallas (once) and Houston (once). Their wins against the SW are Memphis (twice), San Antonio (once without Duncan and Parker), Houston (once), and New Orleans (once). The Lakers struggle with the top teams from the SW. Phoenix is 16-15 in the west with records of 6-3 / 7-6 / 3-6. They struggle with the SW.

In the SW division, you have New Orleans who is 26-11 in the west with records of 9-6 / 9-3 / 8-3. They clearly dominate the west and their own divison. San Antonio is 20-13 against the west with records of 8-3 / 6-5 / 6-5. They struggle a little in the PAC and SW. Dallas is 23-8 against the west with records of 8-3 / 7-2 / 8-3: clearly the best record of any team vs all three divisons.

My rankings of the top teams in the west as of today based on the season so far are:
Dallas
New Orleans
Lakers
Spurs
Utah
Phoenix
Houston
Denver

I think that if these were the teams to make the playoffs, San Antonio, Dallas, Lakers and New Orleans are much much better than the other 4.

thud

They play Gasol, Bynum, and Odem against any team that has a perimeter game and they die.
You are the first in on the bet. But its gonna have to be this way as I fear the Jazz, Rockets, and Dallas much more than LA:

If LA and San Antonio meet, I get San Antonio you got LA. 200 bucks. We will give the money to a person we both trust if they match up. Is it a go?

Beautiful 200 Bucks. I did not read this post thoroughly.

I was the only one who said anything about Kobe's finger.
So the bet is placed as posted previously?
You are perfectly correct, Kurt Thomas is useless for the Spurs.

Maybe we could both send our money to Mr. Cannon?