ESPN hating on the Celtics

[Steve Weinman]

The West will be fun to watch, I am curious about Portland the most.  They could blow the doors off some teams if Oden does what is expected of him.  There isn't a big out West that can contain him.

Imagine LA gets the first seed, and Portland sneaks in at eigth?  That would be nightmare matchup for LA and there paper thin front line.  If that matchup comes to be, I am running to the nearest casino to put money on the Blazers.

I agree with the curiosity about Portland D Dub but LA has a 'paper-thin' front line?  With Bynum, Gasol and Lamar Odom?  I'm not sure I understand this.

-sw

Well, they don't have a backup center and those 3 guys mentioned are not exactly 'hard nosed'.  Losing Turiaf was a big blow, they now have no physical presense up front.  Teams with dominant pf's and c's are going to have a field day going against Chris Mihm when Gasol & Bynum get in foul trouble.  And they will get into foul trouble often, as niether one is a very good defender. 

If they go into the playoffs as is, I think teams like SA, Portland, & Houston have major advantages over them.  Bynum will get exposed as a weak defender and a soft presense, just as Gasol did last year.

It's funny how Faker fans think Oden and Bynum will bet the next Hakeem/Shaq rivalry.

Greg Oden is a monster and Bynum looks like a holiday ham!

If only all holiday hams, so to speak, could - at age 20 - put up 13 points, 10 boards, 2 blocks and nearly 64 percent field-goal shooting in less than 30 minutes per game. 

-sw

Fair enough but Bynum didn't put those numbers up against the Cavs, Magic, Pistons, Celtics, or Rockets!

Anyways the Celtics are not going to win 70 games next year not even close. And I'm a fan that thinks Tony Allen and JR Guiddens together will be more helpful to us than ONE James Posey. I also expect Rajon to take it two steps further.

But I don't think the Celtics can win 60 games next year let alone 70!

Once again, he's 20 years old.  I could hand-pick a few games that each player in the league didn't play well last year too, by the way...that doesn't necessarily make a given player a 'holiday ham.'

But since you did in fact hand-pick five teams against whom Bynum played a total of seven games against last year, while he didn't play all that well against the Celts or Rockets...

...he went for 17 points (50 percent shooting), 11 boards and 2 blocks in his one game against the Cavs...

...he went for 12 points, 7 boards and a block in just 22 minutes against Detroit...

...he settled for 10 points (5-for-9) and 6 boards against the Magic, but he also blocked 7 shots...

I'm not really sure this adds all that much to your case against Bynum.

-sw

[celticmaestro]

Clearly Bynum is quality for his age, but I think the thing that gets to a lot of people is the fact that Laker fans grossly overrate him. For example a large number believe that if they had Bynum, they'd have swept the Celtics.

There's no doubting his talent or potential, but he's got a lot to prove. And saying that you're not going to trade him for established superstars like Paul, Howard etc is a ridiculous thing to say, for now at least.

[Reyquila]

Nobody knows how the finals would have gone if Bynum had been healthy. We can reasonably assume the Lakers would have been tougher just because of the number of centers would would have had to deal with, after such tought 20 playoffs games. We may have a chance to find out this year, maybe not. We already are weaker having lost Possey, a bench player. If we get to the finals again, and so do the Lakers, uncathed; we may have an answer who is the best of the two.

[CelticPride]

Sure - the Lakers might have done better if Bynum wasn't hurt (or they might not have traded for Pau if Bynum was there). But imagine how many Banners would have if Len Bias hadn't died. Jordan might never have won a championship.

[Redz]

Maybe the Lakers lose to the Spurs if they have Bynum...Who on earth knows?

[2008CELTICS17]

Here is how it will go down.

East
1. Boston Celtics 63-19 Going for 18!!
2. Orlando Magic  56-26 Nobody talks about this team.
3. Det. Pistons   55-27 Just were they belong
4. Clevland Cavs  51-21 A more stable team. A few more wins.
5. Wash. Wizards  46-36 Gilbert heathly a 4 year rematch with cavs.
6. Philly 76ers   44-38 I see this team without a leader.
7. Toro. Rapters  42-40 I see a injuries to O'neal again.
8. Charl. Bobcats 39-43 Surprise team.

[incoherent]

Lakers are over-rated.

Bynum will not be a huge impact, Kobe is on the decline... Gasol is on the decline... Their bench is weak weak, in my opinion.

[CelticBalla32]

Lakers are over-rated.

Bynum will not be a huge impact, Kobe is on the decline... Gasol is on the decline... Their bench is weak weak, in my opinion.

Kobe on the decline? Explain...

[JR Giddens]

Here is how it will go down.

East
1. Boston Celtics 63-19 Going for 18!!
2. Orlando Magic  56-26 Nobody talks about this team.
3. Det. Pistons   55-27 Just were they belong
4. Clevland Cavs  51-21 A more stable team. A few more wins.
5. Wash. Wizards  46-36 Gilbert heathly a 4 year rematch with cavs.
6. Philly 76ers   44-38 I see this team without a leader.
7. Toro. Rapters  42-40 I see a injuries to O'neal again.
8. Charl. Bobcats 39-43 Surprise team.

No WAY JOSE! They still don't have a power forward or reliable point guard. Dwight can't dunk his way to 56 wins and the defense is not good either. I say 52 games maximum for the Magic at best!

[JR Giddens]

Lakers are over-rated.

Bynum will not be a huge impact, Kobe is on the decline... Gasol is on the decline... Their bench is weak weak, in my opinion.

Kobe on the decline? Explain...

I kind of agree. He isn't as explosive as he was 2 years ago and he's already played over 1000 games in his career which is more than Ray Allen who's 33 years old.

But then you also have to also say the BIG 3 are in decline 

[Finkelskyhook]

ESPN has Smith and Jamele Hill as NBA "experts" on staff.

Why anybody would take anything ESPN says concerning the NBA seriously is beyond me.

[nickagneta]

Lakers are over-rated.

Bynum will not be a huge impact, Kobe is on the decline... Gasol is on the decline... Their bench is weak weak, in my opinion.

The 28 year old Gasol and the 30 year old best player on the planet are in decline?!?!

Wow, now I've heard everything!

The MVP of the league is in decline!!

As CelticBalla said, please explain that one to me.

[KCattheStripe]

Here is how it will go down.

East
1. Boston Celtics 63-19 Going for 18!!
2. Orlando Magic  56-26 Nobody talks about this team.
3. Det. Pistons   55-27 Just were they belong
4. Clevland Cavs  51-21 A more stable team. A few more wins.
5. Wash. Wizards  46-36 Gilbert heathly a 4 year rematch with cavs.
6. Philly 76ers   44-38 I see this team without a leader.
7. Toro. Rapters  42-40 I see a injuries to O'neal again.
8. Charl. Bobcats 39-43 Surprise team.

Why are the Cavs playing 72 games? Is that how good LeBron is, so good that ten teams on the schedule automatically forfeit ?

[JR Giddens]

Lakers are over-rated.

Bynum will not be a huge impact, Kobe is on the decline... Gasol is on the decline... Their bench is weak weak, in my opinion.

The 28 year old Gasol and the 30 year old best player on the planet are in decline?!?!

Wow, now I've heard everything!

The MVP of the league is in decline!!

As CelticBalla said, please explain that one to me.

Kobe will remain elite for the next 3 years.

However I don't think Kobe has the basketball IQ or awareness that MJ had to make up what he lost physically in the 96-98 era.

[JBcat]

Lakers are over-rated.

Bynum will not be a huge impact, Kobe is on the decline... Gasol is on the decline... Their bench is weak weak, in my opinion.

The 28 year old Gasol and the 30 year old best player on the planet are in decline?!?!

Wow, now I've heard everything!

The MVP of the league is in decline!!

As CelticBalla said, please explain that one to me.

I did a double take when I saw that comment and would like to hear an explanation as well.  I don't know how you can call a professional basketball player at that age with no major injuries to speak of to be in decline.  If anything they are in the middle/just past the middle of their prime.  For all the people who love to compare Kobe to Jordan MJ won 3 more titles after the age of 30.   Maybe in their Olympic career they are on the decline as Kobe dominated the 4th quarter of the gold medal game and Gasol had an around stellar Olympic performance.  They have no where to go but down 4 years from now.

Just saw the last post.  Should be interesting to see if Kobe can compete at a very high level well into his 30s like Jordan did.