Out West - which teams 2-8 have the best shot of beating LA in a series

[heyvik]

Hi,
Of course, I'm a C's fan and a LA hater. I want to see the hated Lakers out of the playoffs this year.
Which team/s have the best chance according to seeding to knock them off?
As of 4/5/10
1 - 8 LA vs Portland
4 - 5 Utah vs Phoenix
2 - 7 Dallas vs SA 
3 - 6 Denver vs OKC

I'd love to see SA get the 8th seed to give the Lakers a 7 game fit.
if the Lakers prevail, I'd like to see Utah as the winner in the 4-5 matchup. if they still win then, I'd love to see Dallas beat them. Does anyone else have any other good scenarios matchups?

[PosImpos]

It's hard to say. 

Without K-Mart and Coach Karl, I wouldn't place too much confidence in the Nuggets.

If they're healthy, the Spurs can beat anyone, in my opinion.

The Mavs are dangerous, and so are the Jazz.  The only teams I don't believe could beat the Lakers are the Blazers, the Suns, and the Thunder.

Boy, would I love to see the Suns prove everybody wrong and just have a great post-season, though.

[Greenbean]

San Antonio has been playing incredibly of late and most of it without Tony Parker. Ginobili looks as good as he has in a couple of years and that means trouble for the Lakers.

Utah can give them a run too but I think SA can beat them.

No one else though.

[fairweatherfan]

Almost everyone - San Antonio is VERY dangerous now that Ginobili is healthy and the team is clicking.  Add 2 very good PGs (LA's weakest position) and they're probably the toughest first-round opponent for LA. 

Portland seems to play well against the Lakers at home but I doubt they could get it done on the road.  If Bynum is back they'll have serious frontcourt issues too.  Maybe even if he isn't.  They're probably the best 1st rd matchup for LA.  OKC is also of course the team no one wants to play early, but they'll probably stay out of 8th.

After that, Denver seems to match up well with them, but without Karl and Kenyon Martin they don't have much of a chance.  And LA has owned Utah in the playoffs and Phoenix in general lately. 

The best chance overall has got to belong to Dallas.  They have a lot of weapons on O and D after that Wizards trade. 

[Chris]

The teams I think that have the best chance are San Antonio, Dallas (I think they are built for the playoffs), and possibly Utah or Denver.  Utah and Denver both have enough talent to give them trouble, but Utah's talent is a little iffy, and Denver really does not have the poise IMO.  But I would not bat an eye if Dallas or the Spurs went to the finals.

[Who]

#1 -- Dallas
#2 -- Oklahoma
#3 -- San Antonio

The other teams (Denver, Portland, Utah, Phoenix) have no real hope against LA.

[pearljammer10]

Honestly I think there are only 4 teams this year that have the potential championship winning roster...

Cavs, Lakers, Spurs, and Celtics... All of these teams have that "it" factor, or as Bill Simmons' likes to refer to it as the secret... No one knows exactly what "it" is but there are the only four teams in my mind that have it. One of these four teams will rightfully hoist the trophey at the end of the year.

[GreenFaith1819]

To answer the thread: I'd say San Antonio. They are the best team out west right now, and they don't have Tony Parker, yet.

But personally I'd like to see LA make it all the way through to June, myself.

There is no one else I'd like Boston to win Title 18 against.

To beat them in June 2010 would certainly silence Most of the doubters I have spoken with over the last few years:

"Yeah, you all beat us, but we didn't have Bynum or Ariza"

"ESPN picked LA to win it back in 2007-2008"

And I'd absolutely Love to hear Ray Allen utter that awesome phrase once again - the same one he spoke at the ESPYs in Summer of 2008:

"Another Win In LA "

I certainly relished Boston beating Houston in 1986, but I had an empty feeling that we could not beat LA instead. I don't want that feeling again.

[PosImpos]

#1 -- Dallas
#2 -- Oklahoma
#3 -- San Antonio

The other teams (Denver, Portland, Utah, Phoenix) have no real hope against LA.

I disagree that OKC has a chance.  They don't have a legit C, and they also have no playoff experience.  Those two issues are [dang]ing for a playoff team.  They'll give their first round opponent a hard time, but that's it.

It's similar to Portland last year.  They were one of the hottest teams in the NBA in the second half of the year, and they ended up with the 3 seed, but they lost to Houston because they couldn't match up down low and they lacked experience.

[Who]

#1 -- Dallas
#2 -- Oklahoma
#3 -- San Antonio

The other teams (Denver, Portland, Utah, Phoenix) have no real hope against LA.

I disagree that OKC has a chance.  They don't have a legit C, and they also have no playoff experience.  Those two issues are [dang]ing for a playoff team.  They'll give their first round opponent a hard time, but that's it.

It's similar to Portland last year.  They were one of the hottest teams in the NBA in the second half of the year, and they ended up with the 3 seed, but they lost to Houston because they couldn't match up down low and they lacked experience.

Sefolosha is the best wing defender in the NBA and he gives Kobe Bryant a huge amount of trouble. He can defend Kobe straight up and in doing so he can limit Kobe's playmaking + has the size to trouble Kobe's post game and force him into more jump shots + lower Kobe's overall offensive efficiency.

From there -- Los Angeles cannot stop (1) Kevin Durant (2) Russell Westbrook (3) Oklahoma's transition game.

I agree the Lakers can beat Oklahoma, comfortably beat them, if they pound the ball inside and let Gasol + Bynum tear them apart. If Kobe Bryant takes a back seat and allows his big men to be the focal points offensively.  That is a very big "if" though. And, to me, that is the exact same "if" for (1) Lakers against San Antonio (2) Lakers playoff hopes in general - whether they are the most talented team in the league and the team to beat, or, if they're vulnerable (as they have been throughout the regular season) and there for the taking.

Until Kobe makes that adjustment, and becomes more of a facilitator, I'm going to keep both Oklahoma and San Antonio in the picture.

--------------------------------------------------------

Kobe had some similar issues back during their three-peat but he always (except 2004) put the team ahead of his own agenda when it came time to play in the playoffs. But back then he had Shaq on the team. A dominant personality and player who demanded the ball and took over games. As a result, I was never really worried about him putting himself before the team.

On this Lakers team today? I don't know. I don't think it's a given that he makes that adjustment. Nobody on that roster will stand up to him, call him out. They all kiss his ass. And Gasol is so passive, so too is Odom, and Bynum is only semi-established.

Maybe it happens, maybe it doesn't. I don't know. The answer to that decides how much of a threat a team like Oklahoma can be + the Lakers overall postseason hopes.

-------------------------------------------------------

Portland lost to Houston because they had a one dimensional offense (Brandon Roy + shooters with a lack of other go-to scorers) and were matched up against the best defensive team in the West and the best wing defender in the NBA (that season). They were able to contain everyone on that roster outside of Brandon Roy and turned Portland into a below average defensive team. Portland were also a mediocre defensive team so they didn't have much to fall back on once their offense began to fail.

In comparison, Oklahoma is a very good defensive team + has three matchup advantages that cause the Lakers a huge amount of problems on the other end of the floor.

I think that Oklahoma and Portland are two very different situations.

[Witch-King]

It's hard to say.  

Without K-Mart and Coach Karl, I wouldn't place too much confidence in the Nuggets.

If they're healthy, the Spurs can beat anyone, in my opinion.

The Mavs are dangerous, and so are the Jazz.  The only teams I don't believe could beat the Lakers are the Blazers, the Suns, and the Thunder.

Boy, would I love to see the Suns prove everybody wrong and just have a great post-season, though.

I'm hoping that Manu and the Spurs give the Lakers another playoff series from Hell especially since they will likely be the 8th seed compared to the Lakers 1st. If the Spurs can't get it done then I'd have to put my money on the Mavericks, the Nuggets haven't had the nerve yet to get under that Lakers' skin in the post-season (even during the current Billups era) and if Kenyon Martin isn't healthy by playoff time they will definitely struggle against the Lakers should they face them again this season. The Lakers had the easiest playoff run ever last season, the year the beat Allen Iverson's 76ers they didn't lose a single game until game 1 of the finals so worse may come to worse though I'll be rooting against them the entire way...

[PosImpos]

#1 -- Dallas
#2 -- Oklahoma
#3 -- San Antonio

The other teams (Denver, Portland, Utah, Phoenix) have no real hope against LA.

I disagree that OKC has a chance.  They don't have a legit C, and they also have no playoff experience.  Those two issues are [dang]ing for a playoff team.  They'll give their first round opponent a hard time, but that's it.

It's similar to Portland last year.  They were one of the hottest teams in the NBA in the second half of the year, and they ended up with the 3 seed, but they lost to Houston because they couldn't match up down low and they lacked experience.

Sefolosha is the best wing defender in the NBA and he gives Kobe Bryant a huge amount of trouble. He can defend Kobe straight up and in doing so he can limit Kobe's playmaking + has the size to trouble Kobe's post game and force him into more jump shots + lower Kobe's overall offensive efficiency.

From there -- Los Angeles cannot stop (1) Kevin Durant (2) Russell Westbrook (3) Oklahoma's transition game.

I agree the Lakers can beat Oklahoma, comfortably beat them, if they pound the ball inside and let Gasol + Bynum tear them apart. If Kobe Bryant takes a back seat and allows his big men to be the focal points offensively.  That is a very big "if" though. And, to me, that is the exact same "if" for (1) Lakers against San Antonio (2) Lakers playoff hopes in general - whether they are the most talented team in the league and the team to beat, or, if they're vulnerable (as they have been throughout the regular season) and there for the taking.

Until Kobe makes that adjustment, and becomes more of a facilitator, I'm going to keep both Oklahoma and San Antonio in the picture.

--------------------------------------------------------

Kobe had some similar issues back during their three-peat but he always (except 2004) put the team ahead of his own agenda when it came time to play in the playoffs. But back then he had Shaq on the team. A dominant personality and player who demanded the ball and took over games. As a result, I was never really worried about him putting himself before the team.

On this Lakers team today? I don't know. I don't think it's a given that he makes that adjustment. Nobody on that roster will stand up to him, call him out. They all kiss his ass. And Gasol is so passive, so too is Odom, and Bynum is only semi-established.

Maybe it happens, maybe it doesn't. I don't know. The answer to that decides how much of a threat a team like Oklahoma can be + the Lakers overall postseason hopes.

-------------------------------------------------------

Portland lost to Houston because they had a one dimensional offense (Brandon Roy + shooters with a lack of other go-to scorers) and were matched up against the best defensive team in the West and the best wing defender in the NBA (that season). They were able to contain everyone on that roster outside of Brandon Roy and turned Portland into a below average defensive team. Portland were also a mediocre defensive team so they didn't have much to fall back on once their offense began to fail.

In comparison, Oklahoma is a very good defensive team + has three matchup advantages that cause the Lakers a huge amount of problems on the other end of the floor.

I think that Oklahoma and Portland are two very different situations.

You raise good points, but I have a feeling that history is overwhelmingly against a team of very young players with no playoff experience going very far in the playoffs.  Especially one without a scorer in the post.  Correct me if I'm wrong, though.

[Change]

If Bynum comes back somewhat effective, the answer is no body. Without him, Fakers could be upset in the 1st round. Kobe is out of sync. And they have an awful Bench. Anything is POSSIBLE!!