Am I simply drinking too much koolaid?

[Discoflux]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.

The Celtics have a great team right now... they've come a long way... but they are overmatched v. The Lakes. 

 

[RebusRankin]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.

The Celtics have a great team right now... they've come a long way... but they are overmatched v. The Lakes. 

 

Better than the ShowTime Lakers? The 1972 Lakers? The Shaq/Kobe Lakers?

[Edgar]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.

The Celtics have a great team right now... they've come a long way... but they are overmatched v. The Lakes. 

 

I am not going to enter the whats your age debate
but this Lakers team isnt as good as the 80s one specially team wise
and yes Magic is in the same Kobe level
I dont know Disco
I respect your opinion but i think youre over the fence in this one
This cs team isnt as good as the 80s ones specially team wise too.

[Discoflux]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.

The Celtics have a great team right now... they've come a long way... but they are overmatched v. The Lakes. 

 

Better than the ShowTime Lakers? The 1972 Lakers? The Shaq/Kobe Lakers?

Better than Shaq/Kobe and equal to Showtime.

I know its hard to digest/belive.  Its one of those things that you'll believe it next year in hindsight but it hasn't hit you yet.  I know it sounds overconfident/cocky... I'm trying to just get the word out in advance that this team is something really, really, really special. 

Obviously the Celtics are an amazing team.  Maybe they win and shut me up.  But I gotta tell you I think what you'll see is a split at home 1-1 and a sweep at Staples.  If that happens to your great team you'd have to give it up to this being a GREAT Lakers team, right?  So we'll see how it goes down and decide at the end.

I respect the Celtics because they are very good.  But do you know the feeling you get when you have pocket Aces and you know your oponent is raising with pocket Kings?

[Cullain]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.

The Celtics have a great team right now... they've come a long way... but they are overmatched v. The Lakes. 

Actually, next year - with Bynum at Center, Gasol at PF, Odom as a huge 3 - the Lakers might be one of the best Lakers teams of all time, and better then the C's.  But right now?  I think the Cs are the better team.  And I really hope I'm right

[Roy Hobbs]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.
 

You're not saying this Lakers team could come close to any of the 80s teams, are you?

Because if so, I'll take the team with Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Cooper, and Scott, thanks.  I hope that you're 25 or younger, because your perspective is warped on this particular claim.

[RebusRankin]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.

The Celtics have a great team right now... they've come a long way... but they are overmatched v. The Lakes. 

 

Better than the ShowTime Lakers? The 1972 Lakers? The Shaq/Kobe Lakers?

Better than Shaq/Kobe and equal to Showtime.

You're crazy if you think this team is better than the Showtime Lakers. Magic in his prime was better than Kobe. Worthy was better than Odom. Kareem was better than Gasol. Scott was better than Fisher. A bench with Cooper, Thompson or McAdoo is better than the current Lakers bench.

[Donoghus]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.

The Celtics have a great team right now... they've come a long way... but they are overmatched v. The Lakes. 

 

You might want to win a title first before opening up that can of worms.  Personally, I can think of at least 3  Lakers teams from the '80s that would probably run this current team off the court. (And that's being conservative)  That's not necessarily knocking the current version.  Moreso, its a testament to how good the Showtime Lakers were.

[Discoflux]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.

The Celtics have a great team right now... they've come a long way... but they are overmatched v. The Lakes. 

 

Better than the ShowTime Lakers? The 1972 Lakers? The Shaq/Kobe Lakers?

Better than Shaq/Kobe and equal to Showtime.

You're crazy if you think this team is better than the Showtime Lakers. Magic in his prime was better than Kobe. Worthy was better than Odom. Kareem was better than Gasol. Scott was better than Fisher. A bench with Cooper, Thompson or McAdoo is better than the current Lakers bench.

I would say equal to Showtime.  If somehow Kobe/Pau/Lamar/Radman/Fish/Vujacic/Ariza could play Mag/Worthy/Kareem/Coop/Scott/McAdoo (all players in their prime) I think it would be a 2pt game in the 4th quarter.


I know it sounds whack, but let's talk at the end of the series and see how it looks then. 

[Roy Hobbs]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.

The Celtics have a great team right now... they've come a long way... but they are overmatched v. The Lakes. 

 

Better than the ShowTime Lakers? The 1972 Lakers? The Shaq/Kobe Lakers?

Better than Shaq/Kobe and equal to Showtime.

You're crazy if you think this team is better than the Showtime Lakers. Magic in his prime was better than Kobe. Worthy was better than Odom. Kareem was better than Gasol. Scott was better than Fisher. A bench with Cooper, Thompson or McAdoo is better than the current Lakers bench.

I would say equal to Showtime.  If somehow Kobe/Pau/Lamar/Radman/Fish/Vujacic/Ariza could play Mag/Worthy/Kareem/Coop/Scott/McAdoo (all players in their prime) I think it would be a 2pt game in the 4th quarter.


I know it sounds whack, but let's talk at the end of the series and see how it looks then. 

I say Showtime sweeps, with an average margin of victory around 18 points per night.

[Donoghus]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.

The Celtics have a great team right now... they've come a long way... but they are overmatched v. The Lakes. 

 

Better than the ShowTime Lakers? The 1972 Lakers? The Shaq/Kobe Lakers?

Better than Shaq/Kobe and equal to Showtime.

You're crazy if you think this team is better than the Showtime Lakers. Magic in his prime was better than Kobe. Worthy was better than Odom. Kareem was better than Gasol. Scott was better than Fisher. A bench with Cooper, Thompson or McAdoo is better than the current Lakers bench.

I would say equal to Showtime.  If somehow Kobe/Pau/Lamar/Radman/Fish/Vujacic/Ariza could play Mag/Worthy/Kareem/Coop/Scott/McAdoo (all players in their prime) I think it would be a 2pt game in the 4th quarter.


I know it sounds whack, but let's talk at the end of the series and see how it looks then. 

It doesn't sound "whack", it is whack.  Look at the names you're throwing out there.  You're talking about multiple Hall of Famers and Top 50ers going up against a current day squad that contains one slamdunk Hall of Famer surrounded by a somewhat quality supporting cast but clearly nowhere in the class of the Showtime Lakers.

It'd only be a two point game when the Showtime Lakers jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the game.  Things would get progressively worse.   Who is stopping Abdul-Jabbar down low?  No one.

[bandonox]

Yo Redz, "Scoobs" is fine. I have so many nicknames, I am never worried about adding another one. I welcome them. I also agree with what you said. They struggled earlyw ith the expectations and the first go aroudn thing. But by the end of the Detroit series I think this team solved that puzzle and answered the bell on that issue. Decisively.

I also agree with you Perkinsera44, I do not feel the Lakers have seen any significant defense.

Lakersin6: Are Laker fans allowed to post here? Can we not maintain some sense of purity...

Seriously, I can understand why you feel very confident about the Lakers. I wouls feel the same way had the Celts rolled through the playoffs as you did. Kobe is playing out of his mind as well. He is the most dominat player in the league right now. Not an MVP, but the best player. There is a difference between those two things, in my book anyway.

The Celtics have had a target on their back all season, that can wear on you. However, the 3 teams playing the best defense in the league in the playoffs were Cleveland, Detroit and Boston. Boston being #1. The defense is still there.

Bynum will be lucky to come back, ever, the way he was with that kind of injury. If he does, and Oden is Healthy, you guys are in trouble out there.

Paul Pierce has had his bouts with immaturity, but he has gotten pat that now. He "gets it".

Garnett is one of the leading scorers in the playoffs, he'll do just fine, thanks very much

Ray Allen: I wouldn't call 25 and 29 point games non factor. Expect to see more of it.

Rondo is very underrated. Fisher will have his hands full with this kid.

Vujajic and Farmar as game changers? Not with a hand in their face. They will largely disappear.

Kobe can be crowded and jammed. You'll never stop a guy like Kobe but you can make him very inefficient. That will do.

But Lakerslosingin6, here is the main thing that I think all the pundits are missing in their laker love fest.

Round one:
you guys played a team in complete disarray and one that played Zero defense. We played the youngest, most athletic teams in the league with three up and coming, legitimate potential all stars and a good heady point guard on it that came out with energy like you guys haven't seen out West. The only other team I've seen bring that kind of intense energy so far was the Pistons.

Round two:
You guys played a team that has not one guy with a sack on him and who has an interior defense like swiss cheese. We played what I would call arguably the 3rd best team in these playoffs behind the Celts and Detroit. They had Zadrunas, Varejo, Joe Smith and Ben Wallace...4 big men who know how to play dirty and bang and hit you all night. You've got good perimeter shooters and LeBron James. I honestly believe you guys would have been lucky to win 2 games in that series. They would have annihilated you on the boards.

Round three:
You guys played an obvioulsy exhausted and aging San antonio team with one of it's three major stars injured in Ginobli. I'm also sorry to inform you that Duncan, Oberto and Horry are not as good or deep of a front line as PJ Brown, Garnett, Perkins, Powe and Pierce. Not even closed, defensively or offensively. Their defense is past it's prime.

We played a team that's been there 6 straight times and handed it to them in game six on their court. Chauncey Billups also said he was 100% the last two games and don't beleive that crap that Rip was injured, that's crap. You could tell he was just fine.

Anyway, the commom thread that everyone is missing is that you guys simply have not faced any significant defense this year. Great defenses have a tendency to make good offenses look very average when they collide.

I agree Donoughus, I think the tone will change. I'm not sure the Lakers have really met the physical challenge yet that they will face around the rim.

I don't think Kobe can be stopped for the most part. That's a given. But I think the bigger issue is that both pau and Odom are going to find their going very difficult against Perkins and Garnett. Perkins has the ability if his head is in it, to actually dominate Pau defensively. He can body up because Pau isn't fast enought o go around him. odom isn't a great enough shooter to pull KG that far away from the basket and he's a complete mismatch aroudn the rim. I could be a war but I really just expect a few barks from the lakers before it's starts unravelling and the MVP starts screaming at everyone like he was in a southern california strip mall parking lot earlier this year when things weren't going well for him.

By the way, is that a pre-requisite for being an MVP these days...throwing your teammates and the organisation under the bus when it isn't going well for you?

Godd analysis cuckroller. Different teams with vastly different seasons. I think the Celtics have met every challenge, culminating with the maturity they showed in Detroit. These guys became basketball men this playoff season, all five starters and the bench.

They will win the championship.

I just got done Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.in' about how many tp's you have and then you gave me a reason to give you one.....
ps... I realize the MVP has different criteria in each sport, but last time I checked, in the NBA, the MVP was the best player on the team with the best record, or at the very least the most important player....anyways, well said Scoob..

[RebusRankin]

So assuming you have Kobe on Magic, do you really think Gasol can guard Kareem? Or that Worthy wouldn't kill Odom. That Scott wouldn't shoot all day over Fisher? Cooper would shut down anybody in your second unit and Turief gets killed by McAdoo or Thompson.

[2008champs]

No, you are not drinking too much koolaid.  You have reason to believe we'll pull this one out.  

Yes, we have played below our expectations against the Hawks and Cavs, and early on against the Pistons.  But take a look at what we've done since then:

-we beat our deadliest competitors in the East (DET), in 6 games
-we beat the Pistons twice on their home court
-we came back from a double digit deficit in the 4th in a must win game for Detroit

We've played poorly on the road early in the postseason, but we're showing signs of being the spectacular road team once again.  I think the last game against the Pistons is going to boost our confidence again.

[fan33]

The Lakers right now are among the best Lakers teams we've ever had.
I don't think this year's Celtics match up to the 80's Celtics.

The Celtics have a great team right now... they've come a long way... but they are overmatched v. The Lakes. 

 

Son, your team hasn't proved anything to the Celtics in the Garden or at their gym this year as of yet. However, I read and hear all over the MSM from the likes of Chucky on TNT from which this narration of yours has been regurgitated ad nauseam... Just don't bring it here!

I suspect its just a pregame marketing ploy boosting flag sales 

But for the moment I'll except your view enclosed, simply for the opportunity to whoop in a 6 (or 7) game series the best Lakers team that Kobe has ever played on exageration(nevermind of all time) which should knock some sense back into the conversation as to the difference between pregame bravado and the actual experience!!!

-Celts in 6-