Am I the only one thinking Miami/Lakers finals?

[Change]

I think this starting 5 is very good:

Dwight
Gasol
Artest
Kobe
Nash

I don't think Artest is the defensive presence he used to be, but he's still low utilization. I'd expect Gasol to get the "harder" defensive job, so Dwight can help. Nash is very weak defender, and I'm not sure Kobe and Artest have enough athleticism to make up for it.

I do like the JO backup plan, IFF he stays healthy, which he won't.

Blake is a solid combo guard.

They could really use a guy that can shoot and play D at SG (Delonte without injury problems.) Then they could run out:

Dwight / JO
Gasol / McRoberts
Kobe / Artest
SG
Nash / Blake

with Blake and Kobe backing up the SG. I think that a good coach (do they have that?) makes that rotation work really well.

Aren't you forgetting newest Lakers addition?

[celtsfan84]

I think this starting 5 is very good:

Dwight
Gasol
Artest
Kobe
Nash

I don't think Artest is the defensive presence he used to be, but he's still low utilization. I'd expect Gasol to get the "harder" defensive job, so Dwight can help. Nash is very weak defender, and I'm not sure Kobe and Artest have enough athleticism to make up for it.

I do like the JO backup plan, IFF he stays healthy, which he won't.

Blake is a solid combo guard.

They could really use a guy that can shoot and play D at SG (Delonte without injury problems.) Then they could run out:

Dwight / JO
Gasol / McRoberts
Kobe / Artest
SG
Nash / Blake

with Blake and Kobe backing up the SG. I think that a good coach (do they have that?) makes that rotation work really well.

Aren't you forgetting newest Lakers addition?

The Lakers also still have the taxpayers MLE.  Jamison was signed to the league minimum.  You can add two rotation players to that roster.

[LarBrd33]

lock it in

[pearljammer10]

If the lakers don't win the finals this year I will eat my hat. I thought they already had the best line up in the league after the Nash addition. Now replace BYnum with HOward AND add a role playing vet like Jamison? Signed sealed delivered its theirs.

[aporel#18]

nah, the Lakers are old, and Howard's back is an old man back. And Miami just got older, while we're way younger and more athletic than last year.

No way the Fakers get past the Thunder.

A por el #18!!

[Kane3387]

For the Lakers it's all about matching up with OKC.

Who does Nash defend? Harden and Westbrook will beat him up.

Perk defends Howard better then Bynum because of the lack of an offensive game.

Is Brown still having Gasol shoot threes?

[Django]

I wish Dwight wanted to go to the Celtics.

It seems the Magic are ok taking Varejo and draft picks for him. Unbelievable.

[celtsfan84]

For the Lakers it's all about matching up with OKC.

Who does Nash defend? Harden and Westbrook will beat him up.

Perk defends Howard better then Bynum because of the lack of an offensive game.

Is Brown still having Gasol shoot threes?

Which is why having a multi-time Defensive Player of the Year and the big man with the most lateral quickness in the league behind him becomes ultra-important.

Dwight had elite ranking defenses with Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson on the perimeter.  He can cover for Nash.

[celtsfan84]

For the Lakers it's all about matching up with OKC.

Who does Nash defend? Harden and Westbrook will beat him up.

Perk defends Howard better then Bynum because of the lack of an offensive game.

Is Brown still having Gasol shoot threes?

Not if Nash can find Dwight running the floor.  Dwight never had an elite passing point guard to find him on the break.  Jameer isn't an elite passer, not even close.

Who runs faster, Dwight or Perk?  A dunk in transition counts as two points.  And a dunk on a pick and roll counts as two points also.  

Perkins can defend him in the post, no doubt about it. We saw it.  He can't defend him at all in transition or in the pick and roll.

[Lord of Mikawa]

As far as I'm concerned, a Miami/LA Finals is what the league wants. The only thing we can do is play spoiler.

[CelticSooner]

Nash/Westbrook - wash
Kobe/Harden - Kobe
Artest/Durant - Durant
Gasol/Ibaka - Gasol
Perk/Howard - Howard

Bench - OKC as of now

Coach - wash

The matchup will likely come down to the PG. I favor Nash on offense and Westbrook on defense. Adding a paint protector like Howard will only help Nash though.

Lakers as usual get their cake and eat it too.

[BballTim]

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

Perhaps in points he scores a game, you are right there.  Across the board his numbers will probably look similar to Bynum on LA. I think his effeciency could be really amazing though and his FG % could be sky high.  I've always felt he would excel with a real PG and he has never played with one.  Think about Chandler with CP3 in New Orleans on steroids.

He has never played with a player as close to as good as Gasol, Kobe, or Nash.

However, his defensive prowess makes the team far better IMO.  Not that Bynum is a bad defensive player but Dwight gets you 50 wins or so alone if he's on your team due to his defensive and rebounding dominance.  The Lakers will be formidable.

I see your points as well, Dwight with a real pg would be very good and would be the case here. Still, Dwight and Kobe are two guys who need the ball in their hands. Bynum has sort of learned to get along in the Laker system (Kobe takes a million shots and you get the rebound) where idk how it will sit with Howard... In all honestly I sort of see a repeat of the Knicks Amare and Melo, two plays who need the ball in their hand and dont mesh at all. Nash will definitely help with that, but if he goes down for any reason, I think that teams screwed honestly. Defensively they probably will upgrade a bit I agree there. Just remember this speculation also accounts for Dwight being at full strength after back surgery... we dont even know if that will be the case yet.

Dwight doesn't need the ball in half court sets as much as you would think.  He gets a lot of his points off of running the break (he is the quickest center in the NBA) which will not disrupt the Lakers offense.  He also gets a lot of his points off of offensive rebounds which will not disrupt the Lakers offense.

Comparisons to Amar'e and Melo are WAY off.  I think even the most optimistic Laker-hater should acknowledge the fit is much better here.

  Dwight's been known to complain when he doesn't get the ball enough. He doesn't *need* it, but he obvioiusly wants it.

If they are winning (which they will be), that becomes far less of a problem.  Winning heals a lot of wounds.

Complaining about touches when your best teammate is Hedo Turkoglu is a lot different than complaining about touches when your best teammate is Kobe Bryant . . . and you also have Pau Gasol and Steve Nash.

Was Pierce more willing to sacrifice for KG and Allen or for Potapenko and Delk?

  He's complained when he's been on pretty good teams, and he was still first or second on the team in shots.

[hardlyyardley]

Rooting for someone in a Laker/Heat final would be like choosing sides in the 80s when Iran and Iraq were at war....in short...hope for a tie

[celtsfan84]

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

Perhaps in points he scores a game, you are right there.  Across the board his numbers will probably look similar to Bynum on LA. I think his effeciency could be really amazing though and his FG % could be sky high.  I've always felt he would excel with a real PG and he has never played with one.  Think about Chandler with CP3 in New Orleans on steroids.

He has never played with a player as close to as good as Gasol, Kobe, or Nash.

However, his defensive prowess makes the team far better IMO.  Not that Bynum is a bad defensive player but Dwight gets you 50 wins or so alone if he's on your team due to his defensive and rebounding dominance.  The Lakers will be formidable.

I see your points as well, Dwight with a real pg would be very good and would be the case here. Still, Dwight and Kobe are two guys who need the ball in their hands. Bynum has sort of learned to get along in the Laker system (Kobe takes a million shots and you get the rebound) where idk how it will sit with Howard... In all honestly I sort of see a repeat of the Knicks Amare and Melo, two plays who need the ball in their hand and dont mesh at all. Nash will definitely help with that, but if he goes down for any reason, I think that teams screwed honestly. Defensively they probably will upgrade a bit I agree there. Just remember this speculation also accounts for Dwight being at full strength after back surgery... we dont even know if that will be the case yet.

Dwight doesn't need the ball in half court sets as much as you would think.  He gets a lot of his points off of running the break (he is the quickest center in the NBA) which will not disrupt the Lakers offense.  He also gets a lot of his points off of offensive rebounds which will not disrupt the Lakers offense.

Comparisons to Amar'e and Melo are WAY off.  I think even the most optimistic Laker-hater should acknowledge the fit is much better here.

  Dwight's been known to complain when he doesn't get the ball enough. He doesn't *need* it, but he obvioiusly wants it.

If they are winning (which they will be), that becomes far less of a problem.  Winning heals a lot of wounds.

Complaining about touches when your best teammate is Hedo Turkoglu is a lot different than complaining about touches when your best teammate is Kobe Bryant . . . and you also have Pau Gasol and Steve Nash.

Was Pierce more willing to sacrifice for KG and Allen or for Potapenko and Delk?

  He's complained when he's been on pretty good teams, and he was still first or second on the team in shots.

I don't recall him having any Hall of Fame teammates or actually being on many "pretty good teams".  When did he complain?  I don't remember him complaining on the Finals team.  Most of those teams were only good because he was on them, IMO.

I think a Kobe jumper or a Nash jumper is an easier pill to swallow than a Turkoglu jumper.  We'll see.

[Moranis]

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?

If they are healthy and Pierce and KG can hold up and not deteriorate (much if at all), then they are certainly a contender, but would have to be behind Miami in the East and OKC (and probably LA) in the West in the championship pecking order.