Am I the only one thinking Miami/Lakers finals?

[saltlover]

LA hasn't made it past the second round of the last 2 playoffs.  DH12 is a great player, no doubt, but how much better than Bynum is he?  Steve Nash is 38, and will be 39 before the next All-Star game.  Yes, he's still got something left in the tank, but there are few examples of 39 year-olds having major roles on NBA teams for a reason.

Without a doubt, LA has made themselves a better team this off-season, but a lot can happen in the 100 games between now and the Finals.  If you gave me a choice between LA and the field, I'd take the field.

[Chelm]

LA hasn't made it past the second round of the last 2 playoffs.  DH12 is a great player, no doubt, but how much better than Bynum is he?  Steve Nash is 38, and will be 39 before the next All-Star game.  Yes, he's still got something left in the tank, but there are few examples of 39 year-olds having major roles on NBA teams for a reason.

Without a doubt, LA has made themselves a better team this off-season, but a lot can happen in the 100 games between now and the Finals.  If you gave me a choice between LA and the field, I'd take the field.

Absolutely, I'd take the field over 90% of the championship teams in history.  That being said, if they get DH12 I'd take them over any individual team in the West.

[celtsfan84]

LA hasn't made it past the second round of the last 2 playoffs.  DH12 is a great player, no doubt, but how much better than Bynum is he?  Steve Nash is 38, and will be 39 before the next All-Star game.  Yes, he's still got something left in the tank, but there are few examples of 39 year-olds having major roles on NBA teams for a reason.

Without a doubt, LA has made themselves a better team this off-season, but a lot can happen in the 100 games between now and the Finals.  If you gave me a choice between LA and the field, I'd take the field.

Not a ton better than Bynum, but a MUCH better fit.

He has better lateral quickness than Bynum and can cover more ground defensively for his older teammates.

Bynum's big advantage over Dwight is post scoring, but the Lakers have a multitude of scoring options.

The Lakers don't really need Bynum's best attributes.  The Lakers desparately need Dwight's best attributes.

That's the difference, not overall talent level.

[Chelm]

LA hasn't made it past the second round of the last 2 playoffs.  DH12 is a great player, no doubt, but how much better than Bynum is he?  Steve Nash is 38, and will be 39 before the next All-Star game.  Yes, he's still got something left in the tank, but there are few examples of 39 year-olds having major roles on NBA teams for a reason.

Without a doubt, LA has made themselves a better team this off-season, but a lot can happen in the 100 games between now and the Finals.  If you gave me a choice between LA and the field, I'd take the field.

Not a ton better than Bynum, but a MUCH better fit.

He has better lateral quickness than Bynum and can cover more ground defensively for his older teammates.

Bynum's big advantage over Dwight is post scoring, but the Lakers have a multitude of scoring options.

The Lakers don't really need Bynum's best attributes.  The Lakers desparately need Dwight's best attributes.

That's the difference, not overall talent level.

This.  I think there are situations in the NBA where Bynum is more valuable than Howard.  The 2012-2013 Lakers are not one of them.

[Q_FBE]

I am more interested in seeing what we can do with our players. Who gives a hoot about the Cheat and the Fakers?

Let Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Chris Bosh, and Ray Allen all go down with season ending knee injuries for all I care.

[Change]

It will Finals from hell.

I can't envision the Lakers losing either. Usually the team that dedicates the lineups wins. Miami forced other teams to play small. And it played right into their hands. Lakers will touting 2 giants in the middle. 1st is superstar freak of nature center, and 2nd is most skilled big man in the league. Miami will have a hard time going inside. Lebron won't get those deep post-up that was so effective in the playoffs. It will force Lebron to shoot long distance shot. Therefore Miami Heat loses in the Finals to the Lakers.

[Dom-n-o]

If DH12 joins the Lakers, they make the finals IMO.

Miami is in for the fight of their lives though to get there.  I think that the Cs play them with intensity and extreme prejudice....

[greenhead85]

It makes me sick to say. However, if the Lakers get Howard, I don't see how they are going to be stopped in the West.

In the East, I think Miami is still the beat team (on paper.)
Lebron has clearly hit his stride, Bosh has been huge for them and they are putting quite a bench together with Allen, Battier and Lewis.

Look, I think the C's will be a 3 or 4 seed again, no doubt.

But can anyone honestly tell me the Celtics (as currently constituted) are a championship team?

Yes, I know the season hasn't even started. Just going by what I see on paper

LA will have to squeeze it through OKC which I believe is still the team to beat in the West. OKC added PJ3 and Thabeet. PJ3, though to be utilized sparingly, could play the 3 or 4 and that may mean KD could sometimes slide to 2. Thabeet, being a bean pole, adds depth at the 5 and gives them an extra body to give out 6 hard fouls.

The PF/C they added (obviously its Dwight) will have his hands full against Ibaka, Perk, Collison, Thabeet and Aldrich. DH and Pau will have to slug it out against them. So, I think they will eventually even out.

At SF, KD and PJ3 will have a glaring advantage over MWP and the other SFs.

At SG, Harden, Sefolosha and even KD will definitely be quicker and more athletic than Kobe and Barnes (if they re-sign him).

At PG, Westbrook and soon Reggie Jackson will be too much for Nash and Goudelock (if he aint included in the trade package) to handle. Quicker, sharper and leaps and bounds more athletic are the OKC PGs.
This position actually is a mystery to me. Is Nash going to be just a transitional PG? Will he be eventually packaged to a trade to get a top tier PG (think of CP3; will they make another attempt to acquire him)?

Overall, OKC will still have the edge up to this point. LAL are still looking for more players to help them. Dwight is the most impt but it is not enough. I think LAL are not yet done in their offseason moves as they try to improve athleticism and quickness at the SF and PG. We wont see Kobe running the break as often and they will definitely ask the PGs and SFs to do this particular job.

[masteremile123]

People seem to forget we added : jeff green , jason terry , avery bradley and chris wilcox. Not to mention the potential of sully and that Danny is trying to add more role players ... Remember we took miami to game 7 last year with our bench being: Dooling , Mp3 and hollins. So I don't know what you guys think but I feel a lot better about our team this year

[esel1000]

Am I the only one who thinks its a huge mistake to trade Bynum for the Dwightmare? D12s coming off back surgery... the difference between him and Bynum isnt that great to start with and for all we know his back could have hampered his abilities a bit. I just dont think its as smart a move as it sounds and if the Lakers get further than the 2nd round this year it will be because they got Nash, not Howard

[BballTim]

It makes me sick to say. However, if the Lakers get Howard, I don't see how they are going to be stopped in the West.

In the East, I think Miami is still the beat team (on paper.)
Lebron has clearly hit his stride, Bosh has been huge for them and they are putting quite a bench together with Allen, Battier and Lewis.

Look, I think the C's will be a 3 or 4 seed again, no doubt.

But can anyone honestly tell me the Celtics (as currently constituted) are a championship team?

Yes, I know the season hasn't even started. Just going by what I see on paper

  The Celtics (as currently constituted) are a championship team.

  Feel better now?

[Chelm]

The PF/C they added (obviously its Dwight) will have his hands full against Ibaka, Perk, Collison, Thabeet and Aldrich. DH and Pau will have to slug it out against them. So, I think they will eventually even out.

Really?  I agree with most of your points, except for this.  You're saying DH12 + Gasol are a wash against OKC's front line?

[Snakehead]

Am I the only one who thinks its a huge mistake to trade Bynum for the Dwightmare? D12s coming off back surgery... the difference between him and Bynum isnt that great to start with and for all we know his back could have hampered his abilities a bit. I just dont think its as smart a move as it sounds and if the Lakers get further than the 2nd round this year it will be because they got Nash, not Howard

I think there is a pretty big difference between the two players.  The only thing Bynum is better at is back to the basket scoring and Dwight is I think a good amount better at everything else and still scores 20 ppg.  Add in Howard playing with a PG who can get him easy points finally?

In addition, Bynum has had only one healthy season so bringing up health won't get you anywhere.

It's a smart move for sure.

[esel1000]

Am I the only one who thinks its a huge mistake to trade Bynum for the Dwightmare? D12s coming off back surgery... the difference between him and Bynum isnt that great to start with and for all we know his back could have hampered his abilities a bit. I just dont think its as smart a move as it sounds and if the Lakers get further than the 2nd round this year it will be because they got Nash, not Howard

I think there is a pretty big difference between the two players.  The only thing Bynum is better at is back to the basket scoring and Dwight is I think a good amount better at everything else and still scores 20 ppg.  Add in Howard playing with a PG who can get him easy points finally?

In addition, Bynum has had only one healthy season so bringing up health won't get you anywhere.

It's a smart move for sure.

True but Dwight was also "the guy" on the Magic. On a team with Kobe and Gasol I think his numbers may go down a bit... Good point about Nash, I actually think hes more important to that team's success to whether or not they have Dwight or Bynum. Still, coming off surgery, new environment, and having Kobe on your team I don't see him being much more effective than Bynum was on the Lakers. Could be wrong, but I just dont see it

[Shoot the J]

Guess it's time to go out and get my new Lebron jersey. The Heat already broke the seal this year and are the only ones with a realistic chance to beat the new superteam Lakers.

I love the Celtics with all my heart, but I don't see how we get past them with that treacherous lineup. I would much rather see the Heat win than the Lakers.

You should probably get a Lakers jersey too, just in case. You wouldn't want to look like a fool representing a losing team