Are Lakers still our main threat?

[gar]

from "Lakers Off Season Report"
http://www.clublakers.com/lakers-offseason-report-3245.html

"So far this offseason the Lakers have re-signed Sasha Vujacic, and signed Josh Powell, Dwayne Mitchell, Joe Crawford, and Sun Yue."

And we worried that we have not had a good off-season. Bynum is unproven and coming off an injury and their major off season achievement is resigning "the Machine". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8NcET64lUI

Kobie's "not worried".

Should he be?
Should we be?

[Redz]

I think it's tough to really consider any team from the West our biggest threat.  Not necesairily based on talent, but just because we're going to have to win 3 series vs. Eastern opponents first.

[Roy Hobbs]

Cleveland played the Celts the toughest in the playoffs, and I think they're probably the biggest threat next year.

That being said, the Lakers are basically replacing Ronny Turiaf with Andrew Bynum.  That's a big improvement to their squad.  (Bynum is a lot less "unproven" than you suggest; he averaged 13 / 10 last season on 63.6% shooting.)

The Lakers should be better with Bynum, and on paper, the Celtics downgraded from where they were in the playoffs.  I'm hoping things blow up in the Lakers' face, but chances are that they'll be very, very good next season.

[gar]

Guess it is just interesting to hear that the Lakers fans are just as worried as we are, and with good reason. Bynum may put them over the top; but the fact that the Celtics made their bench look so utterly incompetent is a real testimony to just how good the C's defense was. I don't see the Lakers having a cohesive team with or without Bynum. They need some serious Umbutu and I don't see where it is coming from.

[LB3533]

Well it will be interesting to see and monitor Kobe's pinky over the course of this upcoming season.

He got away with it last year and through the Olympics.

Any slight injury that may further damage that pinky could hurt the Laker's best player in 2009.

[carlherrera]

Andrew Bynum unproven? His Wins Produced per 48 minutes last year were significantly better than Kobe's. The truth is last year he was as good a player as Kobe. I know it's hard to admit based on all the hype that Kobe gets but if you objectively look at the numbers, if Bynum is healthy and plays similarly to last year the Lakers are the team to beat. Also, Bynum is very young and should actually improve next year - if healthy...

[jdub1660]

A healthy Bynum back makes LA great, but an Odom trade for Artest would have made them twice as good as that.(I think Odom is a great player, but he doesn't fit his role that well in LA) Philly is looking sicker by the week on paper, but all and all its Cleveland. Once Delonte gets signed then we have an improved Cavs team. Detroit too should be good, especially if they get a trade off before the season starts. Number 18 is going to be 10x harder to get...

[jay_jay54]

Just as things should be tougher in the west for the Lakers this coming season,they will be for the Celtics as well in the east.The Hornets,Houston,the Spurs should  all be right at the top competing again for the western conference championship.The east will be much tougher this season with Philly,Wizards,Detroit,and Cleveland all jocking for position to take over the east.The chances of Celtics meeting the Lakers in the finals will not be as likely to happen this season.(imo)I see a Celtics vs Hornets series or Celtics vs Spurs.

[2008CELTICS17]

All of you hit the right points! Cleveland will be the rival for us for the next few years. I want them as a rival. Lebron and Paul have talked trash for years. The Lakers not much better. They have to worry about a tough West. Im not thinking of them right now. Im worried about Cleveland,and thats who im concerned with.

[xmuscularghandix]

[img width= height=]http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0aF41hM7Gt0Lb/340x.jpg[/img]
[img width= height=]http://images.art.com/images/-/LeBron-James--C10126004.jpeg[/img]

[Roy Hobbs]

Andrew Bynum unproven? His Wins Produced per 48 minutes last year were significantly better than Kobe's. The truth is last year he was as good a player as Kobe.

I think that's as much of an indictment as "wins produced" and that silly "wages of wins" junk as it is an endorsement of Andrew Bynum.

According to the same stat, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo are equal as players.  Even more amusing, Marcus Camby is better than any player on the Celtics, and is *much* better than any player other than KG.  That cracks me up, and should pretty much show this to be a useless stat.  (Andris Biedrins is significantly better than Paul Pierce according to that "stat", as well.)

[SShorefan 3.0]

Who is our (Celtics) main threat?

Looking at other teams and looking at off season moves and looking at what happens to a team when they reach the mountain top, I think we our (Celtics) biggest threat could very well be ourselves.

In the immortal words of Pogo:

[Silas]

No way.  That would be like saying at the beginning of the baseball season this year that Arizona or St. Louis was the Sox main threat, and forgetting about the rest of the American League. Getting out of the east and past Philly will be tough enough, but I see Cleveland and Washington as the Cs main threat.  If, big if, Washington is healthy, they will be playing Boston in the Eastern Finals.

[td450]

A dark horse in this is Portland, who is putting the pieces together for possible long term domination. The likelihood is that they will need another year or two, but they might not if Oden turns out to be a little better than expected, and they get just one or two minor breaks.

If Miles doesn't make the 10 game threshold, they are sitting on some serious money and could add one more major piece on top of a very talented young team.  They are stockpiling some incredible talent.

[Gainesville Celtic]

Were the Lakers ever our main threat?

Last year I'd put the threats as:

1. Detroit
2. Cleveland
(big gap)
3. San Antonio
4. New Orleans
5. Lakers


This year I'd put it something like:

1. Cleveland
2. New Orleans
3. Orlando
4. Detroit
5. Houston
6. Lakers