kingfish Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 There are some legitimate teams out East but in the West it seems to have gotten a whole lot weaker. The Lakers are pretty much the only contender in the pacific division, with Stoudemire leaving Phoenix. Nobody in the West really improving significantly, could it be a cake walk to the Finals? Looks like Denver is about to lose Carmelo also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeroadkill Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 (edited) nope, still got mavs, spurs, nuggets(if melo stays), jazz, thunder, blazers(imo could beat the lakers if healthy) and rockets Edited September 22, 2010 by MoeRoadKill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Regime Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 (edited) Nope. The Rockets and Blazers can make things tough on us if they stay healthy. Even a team like the Thunder can put up a solid fight, as they did in the playoffs last season. I'm not too worried about the Mavs, they've proved to be worthless in the postseason year in and year out. Edited September 22, 2010 by Confidence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 Blazers with a healthy Roy and Oden could be an interesting team. The Mavs will be good as well and if Melo stays in Denver then they will be good as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Penny Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 (edited) Mavs are a legit threat to take away the #1 seed, but i don't fear them too much come playoff time. if Yao is healthy the Rockets scare me. they allways seem to own us. the Blazers scare me too. there are teams like the Jazz, Nuggets, and Spurs who are solid veteran teams who can be annoying. even though the Thunder have been hyped like crazy they could still put up a fight, and even then there's teams like the Clippers, Kings, Hornets, Grizzlies and Suns who still have quite talented teams and could put up a fight. Edited September 22, 2010 by Lil' Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted September 22, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 Portland can't beat us as long as we have HCA in the playoffs. Houston can be trouble, but Yao's health is still a concern, and I'm not worried too much about Kevin Martin. If they get Melo, though? Big, big problem. The Spurs aren't the same. No Bowen, no idea how much Manu will even produce at any given time...just not the force they used to be. Phoenix is out of the question, and so are the Hornets, Clippers, Grizzlies, and with the number of players Utah lost, they are in the same boat. The Wolves, Kings and Warriors may not even make the playoffs. Denver won't even have Melo by the time April rolls in. Dallas is a big threat, but to be honest, I have really never had a reason to be worried about them while the Lakers are winning rings. Oklahoma City took us to six games, but Bryant had a swollen, fluid-filled knee for 4-5 of them. Durant will only get better, though, and so will Westbrook, so I have to say the Thunder are the biggest threat out West. With that established, I'm not going to break a sweat if we're 100% healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poe Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 (edited) Getting to the NBA Finals is not a walk in the park for any team. As far as which teams can actually match up with the Lakers and provide some competition, I'd say the Mavericks and the Rockets (with a healthy Yao). The Mavericks have a lot of offensive weapons with Nowitzki, Butler, Beaubois, Kidd (when up against a mismatch), Terry, and Marion. Though they don't have any real defenders that can slow down Bryant and Gasol as much as some other teams the Lakers may face in the playoffs, they have a lot of depth, a lot of offensive fire power, and a lot of experience. The Rockets may have lost Artest, but they still have Shane to match up against Kobe, who will likely do a better job defensively than last year now that the Rockets have an interior presence. The scorers in Martin and Kobe may cancel each other out, and the post players in Yao and Gasol may do the same. It would be up to Bynum to come up big for the Lakers, and Brooks for the Rockets. The Lakers are still by far the best team in the West, and have a ton of defensive depth. I don't see either of the above teams stopping the Lakers, but if I'm to choose a team that will come close, it will be one of those two. Edit: I forgot about the Blazers. They're also a team with a lot of depth, and they match up very, very well with the Lakers. If the team is healthy, mainly Roy and Oden, I can see them giving the Lakers the most trouble out West. Edited September 22, 2010 by Poe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Check my Stats Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 The Lakers are heads above any other team, but yes I think their walk to the finals will be easier than the Heat's for sure. The Mavs would be my biggest fear but with all that talent, they always find a way to get bounced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poe Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 There are still more good teams out West, but the East has the best peak now. The Celtics will give the Heat more trouble than any Western team will give the Lakers, but LA will have more good teams to knock out. For example, a likely bottom seeded team to play against the Heat could be the Knicks. The likely bottom seeded team to play the Lakers are the Thunder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Feelgood Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 The Blazers have always given the Lakers trouble when they play. Even when LA is at home, the Blazers still keep the game very close and in your face. The Lakers struggle greatly in Portland but if LA has HCA, they'll always prevail against us, sad to say. I still think we're the biggest threat against LA though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Check my Stats Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 There are still more good teams out West, but the East has the best peak now. The Celtics will give the Heat more trouble than any Western team will give the Lakers, but LA will have more good teams to knock out. For example, a likely bottom seeded team to play against the Heat could be the Knicks. The likely bottom seeded team to play the Lakers are the Thunder. I think Orlando will give Miami more trouble than Boston will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poe Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 I think Orlando will give Miami more trouble than Boston will. Boston improved by getting bigger and adding depth, plus they were an NBA finals team last year. Orlando made no improvements and is getting worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clutch Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 Portland can't beat us as long as we have HCA in the playoffs. Houston can be trouble, but Yao's health is still a concern, and I'm not worried too much about Kevin Martin. If they get Melo, though? Big, big problem. The Spurs aren't the same. No Bowen, no idea how much Manu will even produce at any given time...just not the force they used to be. Phoenix is out of the question, and so are the Hornets, Clippers, Grizzlies, and with the number of players Utah lost, they are in the same boat. The Wolves, Kings and Warriors may not even make the playoffs. Denver won't even have Melo by the time April rolls in. Dallas is a big threat, but to be honest, I have really never had a reason to be worried about them while the Lakers are winning rings. Oklahoma City took us to six games, but Bryant had a swollen, fluid-filled knee for 4-5 of them. Durant will only get better, though, and so will Westbrook, so I have to say the Thunder are the biggest threat out West. With that established, I'm not going to break a sweat if we're 100% healthy. agree with everything - everyone else either got worse or remained the same, lakers got better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YugoRocketsFan Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 Lakers are above everyone but they do have some teams to be worried about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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