Who's the best team in the league?

[StartOrien]

My brother is a huge Laker fan, (we're from Los Angeles) and he keeps laughing at me because I said the they wouldn't get out of the West.  Right now they look pretty [dang]ed tough to beat.

I'm surprised to see such complete confidence out of the LA fan base. There's now three teams (Thunder, Blazers & Mavericks) who have some serious front court depth that can match up w/ their size. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be the favorites, but their road to the Finals is going to be a lot more difficult this year.

[Jon Niednagel]

My brother is a huge Laker fan, (we're from Los Angeles) and he keeps laughing at me because I said the they wouldn't get out of the West.  Right now they look pretty [dang]ed tough to beat.

I'm surprised to see such complete confidence out of the LA fan base. There's now three teams (Thunder, Blazers & Mavericks) who have some serious front court depth that can match up w/ their size. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be the favorites, but their road to the Finals is going to be a lot more difficult this year.

Yeah. The Lakers should come out of the West, but I don't think it will be as easy as previous years for them. They could get Memphis in the first round. People may laugh, but Memphis won't be an easy out.

[StartOrien]

My brother is a huge Laker fan, (we're from Los Angeles) and he keeps laughing at me because I said the they wouldn't get out of the West.  Right now they look pretty [dang]ed tough to beat.

I'm surprised to see such complete confidence out of the LA fan base. There's now three teams (Thunder, Blazers & Mavericks) who have some serious front court depth that can match up w/ their size. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be the favorites, but their road to the Finals is going to be a lot more difficult this year.

Yeah. The Lakers should come out of the West, but I don't think it will be as easy as previous years for them. They could get Memphis in the first round. People may laugh, but Memphis won't be an easy out.

Eh, I don't know. I think Bynum devours Randolph, and I don't know where else they're going to get their scoring.

[Jon Niednagel]

My brother is a huge Laker fan, (we're from Los Angeles) and he keeps laughing at me because I said the they wouldn't get out of the West.  Right now they look pretty [dang]ed tough to beat.

I'm surprised to see such complete confidence out of the LA fan base. There's now three teams (Thunder, Blazers & Mavericks) who have some serious front court depth that can match up w/ their size. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be the favorites, but their road to the Finals is going to be a lot more difficult this year.

Yeah. The Lakers should come out of the West, but I don't think it will be as easy as previous years for them. They could get Memphis in the first round. People may laugh, but Memphis won't be an easy out.

Eh, I don't know. I think Bynum devours Randolph, and I don't know where else they're going to get their scoring.

I think Bynum will be matched up with Marc Gasol, leaving Pau to deal with Randolph. Randolph is a monster, and Marc is no slouch either. Then, with Arthur's emergence and Powe's comeback, they now have some good frontcourt depth that can really beat teams up in the paint. Three of those four bigs can really shoot the ball well from outside too, making them very tough to deal with. There has been an attitude change this year that goes beyond just the natural development and maturation of their young players. Much of it, btw, has to do with old friend Tony Allen. This Grizz team is much tougher physically and mentally than many casual observers realize (not calling you a casual observer, just making a comment about people who may conceptualize them through the prism of the last few years).

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t honestly believe they will beat the Lakers in a 7-game series, but I do believe they will make it tough for them.
 

[StartOrien]

I don't see why the Lakers wouldn't put Bynum on Randolph.

[Jon Niednagel]

He may. In fact, I'm sure the Lakers will be switching defensive assignments quite a bit if they meet up with the Grizz. In some ways, I actually think Odom might be the best match up on Randolph. I think Randolph is quicker than Bynum, and can get by him off the dribble. He can also pull Bynum out of the lane with his shooting. I just think it is a bad match up for Bynum on the defensive end. I think Bynum would be better defensively on Gasol. Gasol can shoot from outside, but he is not particularly quick from point A to point B (though he does have a quick spin move to create space, but that is something different). Just my two cents. I could be wrong.

[wdleehi]

I would go with TBD.

[LakerPete]

My brother is a huge Laker fan, (we're from Los Angeles) and he keeps laughing at me because I said the they wouldn't get out of the West.  Right now they look pretty [dang]ed tough to beat.

I'm surprised to see such complete confidence out of the LA fan base. There's now three teams (Thunder, Blazers & Mavericks) who have some serious front court depth that can match up w/ their size. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be the favorites, but their road to the Finals is going to be a lot more difficult this year.

I'm not sure how Portland has front court depth that can contend with the Laker's size. They start Gerald Wallace @ PF, Aldridge at C, and bring Camby off of the bench. Even in Camby's case, Bynum has a good 50lbs on him.

As long as Dirk plays a ton of minutes at PF, the Lakers have a considerable size advantage over the Mavs. And Bynum pushed Chandler around in their last matchup. Again, just too much of a weight discrepancy.

OKC has the size with Ibaka/Perkins, but they have no one aside from Durant that can score in the half court, and he struggles with Artest. They're intriguing though. I just don't think they have the requisite offense.

I don't understand the comment about the Laker bench being weaker than it has been in the previous 3 years. It's the opposite...it's the strongest it's been. The Lakers will only run 9 deep in the playoffs, with Odom, Barnes, Blake, & Barnes coming off of the bench.

Contrast that to '08, when you had Luke Walton & Vladimir Radmanovic being the primary options at SF. Blake & Barnes represent a significant upgrade from Farmar and Walton, who occupied their spots in the rotation last year.

A lot of talent went East this year. Melo, Deron, Amare, Boozer, specifically. I don't think this year will be any harder for the Lakers than the last 3 have been out West.