Lakers down 0-3, are they same boat as us?

[lightspeed5]

Their team is very banged up, and it looks like theyre about to be swept. as a 7th seed, their era may be ending at the same exact time as ours. Thoughts?

[bobbyv]

They have Dwight to build around, so i think they're a little better off (assuming he resigns in LA).

If he doesn't resign, they are SCREWED.

[SparzWizard]

They have Dwight to build around, so i think they're a little better off (assuming he resigns in LA).

If he doesn't resign, they are SCREWED.

Dwight will resign now that he "likes the scenery" and cooperating with Kobe in LA. But Nash is getting too old, so he might have to retire.

And the Lakers' bench will be atrocious again because of their cap. Unless they trade Gasol. Oh, and they won't get a draft pick since they traded all of them for literally nothing hahah.

[SHAQATTACK]

Simular ......I think Dallas is a mirror image of the Celtics......a .500 club that just missed the west.

LA....will have a near impossible time getting another KOBE .....they might get  Smith or a super good guy...but nobody is as reliable putting up the standard 30 points a night guarantee  every game.  Kobe bailed them out of 10's  of games every season they should have lost. with his last sec prayers off balance , oner leg , falling out of bounds from 40 ft..

Dwight is only part of the puzzle.    They need another KOBE, WORTHY , or Paul PIERCE who can explode for big points nearly every night. Not just a decent game every 2-5 games.

I expect LA to be about where Orlando was when Dwight was at his peak.  In the top 5 teams , but still unable to stop a healthy young LBJ

I don't see KOBE being a dominate player ever again. He would be smart to step down and be content.

[JOMVP]

The NBA will find a way to make them a contender.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I don't think so. I think a Kobe-less Lakers can beat the Spurs at least once or twice in 7 games.

Gasol is not 37 years old. They have younger, athletic guys off the bench and they have Dwight Howard.

Unfortunately for them, they also have Mike D'Antoni as their coach.

[PhoSita]

Dwight still has the talent and ability to be a franchise star.  Not the main scorer, but you could put a guy like Danny Granger was a few seasons ago next to him and they'd be pretty good.

The Lakers are in a much better place than the Celtics because they already have that franchise guy in place.  The Celtics are going to spend the next 5-10 years trying to get that franchise guy, while the Lakers can immediately begin the process of finding the right guys to put around Dwight.

The first step for them is definitely trading Pau to clear up some space and get players that fit next to Dwight better.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

could not care less. all i am worried about is the CELTS. sorry, i do not get the same happiness watching the lakers lose that some do. especially if we are losing as well.  we need to just worry about us.

[BballTim]

Dwight still has the talent and ability to be a franchise star.  Not the main scorer, but you could put a guy like Danny Granger was a few seasons ago next to him and they'd be pretty good.

The Lakers are in a much better place than the Celtics because they already have that franchise guy in place.  The Celtics are going to spend the next 5-10 years trying to get that franchise guy, while the Lakers can immediately begin the process of finding the right guys to put around Dwight.

The first step for them is definitely trading Pau to clear up some space and get players that fit next to Dwight better.

  Yeah, it's a darn shame the Celts don't have a great player who probably won't be their main scorer.


   Oh, wait...

[Who]

No -- they have Dwight Howard who has steadily improved over the last few months and now looks able to regain his previous MVP caliber form.

So they have a genuine franchise player to build around. A defensive center at that.

[eugen]

The Lakers are in a much better place than the Celtics because they already have that franchise guy in place.
 

Cs have frachchise guys too...Lee, Crawfor, Williams...and DA too

[PhoSita]

Dwight still has the talent and ability to be a franchise star.  Not the main scorer, but you could put a guy like Danny Granger was a few seasons ago next to him and they'd be pretty good.

The Lakers are in a much better place than the Celtics because they already have that franchise guy in place.  The Celtics are going to spend the next 5-10 years trying to get that franchise guy, while the Lakers can immediately begin the process of finding the right guys to put around Dwight.

The first step for them is definitely trading Pau to clear up some space and get players that fit next to Dwight better.

  Yeah, it's a darn shame the Celts don't have a great player who probably won't be their main scorer.


   Oh, wait...

Rondo is a very nice player, but in my mind he's a complementary star, not the main piece.  I believe Dwight is the kind of player who can be the main piece, if for no other reason than because he's a dominant center in a league without many good centers.

I know we've had this discussion before and you feel differently, so there's not much point in rehashing our positions on it.


I'll just say that I think it's silly when people act like saying that Rondo is not the guy to build your franchise around is the same as saying he's not very good.

Robert Parish and Kevin McHale were great players.  James Worthy was a great player.  Tony Parker is a very good player.  Manu Ginobili was a great player and is still a very good one. 

None of the above wins a title without Bird, Magic, Duncan, etc.

[CelticConcourse]

It's no guarantee Dwight stays with the LAL.

[gpap]

Yes, I think they are. As others stated however, at least the Lakers have Howard they can build around (should he decide to resign.)

But all-in-all, the Lakers and Celtics both made the same mistake. They've continued to build around an aging core and left themselves with literally no bench.

It's almost like it's 1979 all over again. Both the Celtics and Lakers need a lottery pick franchise player to be good again. Til then, lights out.

[CelticConcourse]

Question: who wins a championship first, Celtics or Lakers?