[bud23]

SHOCKING NEWS; Howard To Lakers,it´s done.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8252042/...m-deal-complete

[El_Diablo]

meh.

OKC and Miami are still favorites to meet in the Finals.

[Baseball]

QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Friday, Aug 10 2012, 22:25)

meh. OKC and Miami are still favorites to meet in the Finals.

And they will meet again. Unless there will be injuries. But yeah, the Heat is gonna destroy everyone this season.

[bud23]

Howard mega transfer, collateral effects ;

-Denver acquire Igoudala

-Sixers acquire Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson

-Orlando Magic acquire Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless.



Kobe,Nash,Howard,Gasol....not sounds bad.Imo,the team to beat,I see to LA now as the favourite number one.

Odds updated after the transferthe ,Lakers as the second favourite after the heat.
The current five favorites are the Heat (5/2), the Lakers (3/1), the Thunder (11/2), the Bulls (9/1) and the Spurs (14/1).

This post has been edited by bud23 on Saturday, Aug 11 2012, 10:28

[DOOM!]

QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Friday, Aug 10 2012, 22:25)

meh. OKC and Miami are still favorites to meet in the Finals.

Seriously? I love my Thunder but with the Lakers acquiring Dwight Howard it's hard not to say these guys are the favorites for the Western Conference. Lakers still have Antawn Jaminson at the 6th man, aswell.

I'm also going to be interested seeing Andrew Bynum in Philly and dominate the Eastern conference. Hopefully he will have his head on right with the Sixers and unleashed his full blown potential. Sixers are a very young, good team. It will be a interesting season for sure.

[El_Diablo]

QUOTE (DOOM! @ Saturday, Aug 11 2012, 17:16)

Seriously?

seriously.

Howard is really not that much of an upgrade compared to Bynum. Dwight is better than Andrew, but not by much. he's also a terrible free-throw shooter.
and the rest of the team is just as old. now you throw in Nash.

the Lakers will be great.
but they're always great.

this deal doesn't automatically put them at the top.
not with Miami hitting their stride and OKC barely scratching the surface of their capabilities.

[InstantCClassic]

QUOTE (DOOM! @ Sunday, Aug 12 2012, 00:16)

QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Friday, Aug 10 2012, 22:25) meh. OKC and Miami are still favorites to meet in the Finals. Seriously? I love my Thunder but with the Lakers acquiring Dwight Howard it's hard not to say these guys are the favorites for the Western Conference. Lakers still have Antawn Jaminson at the 6th man, aswell. I'm also going to be interested seeing Andrew Bynum in Philly and dominate the Eastern conference. Hopefully he will have his head on right with the Sixers and unleashed his full blown potential. Sixers are a very young, good team. It will be a interesting season for sure.

I disagree with El_Diablo's "Thunder/Heat are still the favorites" statement. They're not the favorites. If I see another 4-1 series between them I will be pissed.

[Funktipus]

QUOTE (DOOM! @ Sunday, Aug 12 2012, 00:16)

QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Friday, Aug 10 2012, 22:25) meh. OKC and Miami are still favorites to meet in the Finals. Seriously? I love my Thunder but with the Lakers acquiring Dwight Howard it's hard not to say these guys are the favorites for the Western Conference. Lakers still have Antawn Jaminson at the 6th man, aswell. I'm also going to be interested seeing Andrew Bynum in Philly and dominate the Eastern conference. Hopefully he will have his head on right with the Sixers and unleashed his full blown potential. Sixers are a very young, good team. It will be a interesting season for sure.

Lakers perimeter defense struggled against OKC in the playoffs. We'll see what happens now. I don't think LA's a lock to get to the Finals. Thunder are younger and more athletic, and how long will it take LA to mesh?

Co-sign on Bynum. If he gets his sh*t straight, Philly will be nice.

I tell you what - I can't wait for the season to start.

[InstantCClassic]

QUOTE (Funktipus @ Sunday, Aug 12 2012, 18:15)

QUOTE (DOOM! @ Sunday, Aug 12 2012, 00:16) QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Friday, Aug 10 2012, 22:25) meh. OKC and Miami are still favorites to meet in the Finals. Seriously? I love my Thunder but with the Lakers acquiring Dwight Howard it's hard not to say these guys are the favorites for the Western Conference. Lakers still have Antawn Jaminson at the 6th man, aswell. I'm also going to be interested seeing Andrew Bynum in Philly and dominate the Eastern conference. Hopefully he will have his head on right with the Sixers and unleashed his full blown potential. Sixers are a very young, good team. It will be a interesting season for sure. Lakers perimeter defense struggled against OKC in the playoffs. We'll see what happens now. I don't think LA's a lock to get to the Finals. Thunder are younger and more athletic, and how long will it take LA to mesh? Co-sign on Bynum. If he gets his sh*t straight, Philly will be nice. I tell you what - I can't wait for the season to start.

CALL IT: Thunder and Lakers will meet in the Western Conference Finals next year.

I thought one factor that made Miami win this year was their experience. Thunder didn't have any Finals appearances at that time, Miami's will led them to the gold.

Don't doubt other Eastern Conference teams(Boston, Chicago, Pacers, Nets). It won't be a easy ride. Repeat before the prime starts kicking in Miami, that's all I have to say.

[DOOM!]

QUOTE (Funktipus @ Sunday, Aug 12 2012, 18:15)

QUOTE (DOOM! @ Sunday, Aug 12 2012, 00:16) QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Friday, Aug 10 2012, 22:25) meh. OKC and Miami are still favorites to meet in the Finals. Seriously? I love my Thunder but with the Lakers acquiring Dwight Howard it's hard not to say these guys are the favorites for the Western Conference. Lakers still have Antawn Jaminson at the 6th man, aswell. I'm also going to be interested seeing Andrew Bynum in Philly and dominate the Eastern conference. Hopefully he will have his head on right with the Sixers and unleashed his full blown potential. Sixers are a very young, good team. It will be a interesting season for sure. Lakers perimeter defense struggled against OKC in the playoffs. We'll see what happens now. I don't think LA's a lock to get to the Finals. Thunder are younger and more athletic, and how long will it take LA to mesh? Co-sign on Bynum. If he gets his sh*t straight, Philly will be nice. I tell you what - I can't wait for the season to start.

OKC had no answer for Bynum for the first four games... no answer. I can't imagine Perkins or Ibaka trying to guard Dwight Howard for a 7 game series. In all reality LA should've won Game 2 and 4 anyways.

[gta_player5]

Let's put it like this; Ron Artest, Metta World Peace, whatever you'd like to call him, will be the worst player in the Lakers' starting lineup.

/end

Artest and Kobe will provide the perimeter defense. Kobe isn't as quick or explosive as he was five years ago, but he is a smarter player. He has made the NBA All-Defensive first or second team 12 times. He can't guard Russell Westbrook or Kevin Durant, but other than LeBron James, name someone who can. Artest will provide his strong, aggressive and irritating defense as usual.

Steve Nash plays no defense, I will make no bones about that, but that's not what the Lakers brought him in to do. Name a Lakers point who has played good defense in recent years. Derek Fisher sure didn't, but they still won the NBA Finals in 2009 and 2010. Steve Nash is an upgrade from Ramon Sessions because, well, he's Steve Nash. I can only think of one point guard that can be argued to be as good as Nash has been over the last 10 years.

The key to this team now, other than Kobe, and the reason why it will be so good is because of its four and five. No team in the NBA has a better combination there. Not Miami, not OKC, not New York or even Chicago. The Lakers front court will dominate games. Dwight Howard shoots for a better field goal percentage, averages more points (mainly because he had to), pulled down more rebounds and averaged more blocks. Howard's free throw shooting is the only thing that lets him down. Howard does, however, get to the free throw line more than Bynum and is consistently among the league leaders in free throw attempts. It is easier to guard Bynum in the post than Howard because of Howard's athleticism.

LA will not steamroll OKC, but the OKC bigs will get pushed around by Howard and Pau Gasol. In a series between the two teams, I would pick the Lakers in six right now.

Edit: Plus, the Lakers will have an improved bench. Antawn Jamison will be the sixth man and Jodie Meeks will help spread the floor and provide threes.

This post has been edited by gta_player5 on Monday, Aug 13 2012, 07:04

[Nah Tso Gud]

I just want to see Nash win a ring, Ive been a die hard Nash fan since the first basketball game I watched ( in the past 10ish years at the time ) back in late 06. Yes, I will feel guilty for cheering for the Lakers, yes I will feel especially bandwagony after they got Dwight.. I don't like that Nash went there, I don't like that he changed his number.. but he (sigh, yes the Lakers) and the Twolves are the only teams I will be cheering for this year. Maybe I can get some Wolves Lakers floor seats and get Nashs new jersey signed as well.. ( I got his Suns jersey signed... but the signature is upside down.. FAIL. )

Anyhow, how about mah Wolves? Rubio should be in tact.. Brandon Roy, Andrei Kirilenko, Budinger signed.. Love, Pekovic.. Alexey Shved just killed it in the bronze medal game.. They should be an exciting team barring injury. Weo0o! Excited!

[Troll Proof]

L.A. will only be a beast if the starters have their touches on the ball. Howard and Gasol should handle the brunt of the offense, leaving Kobe and Nash as role players and MWP as a lesser element. Even more important is their non-existant bench, since the loss of Trevor Ariza, the Lakers bench has declined in quality.

[Funktipus]

QUOTE (Troll Proof @ Wednesday, Aug 15 2012, 06:04)

L.A. will only be a beast if the starters have their touches on the ball. Howard and Gasol should handle the brunt of the offense, leaving Kobe and Nash as role players and MWP as a lesser element. Even more important is their non-existant bench, since the loss of Trevor Ariza, the Lakers bench has declined in quality.

Gasol will flourish with a point guard like Steve Nash, who'll get him the ball in his sweet spot.

[DOOM!]

QUOTE (Troll Proof @ Wednesday, Aug 15 2012, 06:04)

L.A. will only be a beast if the starters have their touches on the ball. Howard and Gasol should handle the brunt of the offense, leaving Kobe and Nash as role players and MWP as a lesser element. Even more important is their non-existant bench, since the loss of Trevor Ariza, the Lakers bench has declined in quality.

What roster are you looking at? If anything they've inclined on quality bench players.

Nash had his finest years under the pick and roll scheme. That would be a nasty move with Pau and Dwight.

[bud23]

QUOTE (Troll Proof @ Wednesday, Aug 15 2012, 07:04)

Even more important is their non-existant bench, since the loss of Trevor Ariza, the Lakers bench has declined in quality.

Steve Blake,Antawn Jamison,Chris Duhon or Jordan Hill are good complementary players.
For me the Lakers are the best team.

Interesting;The 2013 Lakers aren't the 2004 Lakers

http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers...the-2004-lakers

[Funktipus]

4 years, $48mil extension for Ibaka.

And as a die-hard Knicks fan, I hope Carmelo's play during the Olympics carries over to NY.

[DOOM!]

I'm thrilled to have a set team for years to come. All we can expect is to have a ring in a year or so.

I'm kinda hoping they will keep bring James Harden off the bench, it seemed very effective as he'd be running the court when Westbrook and Durant were on the bench.

[gta_player5]

QUOTE (DOOM! @ Saturday, Aug 18 2012, 14:39)

I'm thrilled to have a set team for years to come. All we can expect is to have a ring in a year or so. I'm kinda hoping they will keep bring James Harden off the bench, it seemed very effective as he'd be running the court when Westbrook and Durant were on the bench.

Not to mention the Thunder's incredible luck in drafting Perry Jones III. Scouts say he has knee issues and that he will only last three or four years in the NBA, but I don't buy into it that much. Will he be the next Kevin Durant? No, probably not. He is, however, a versatile and athletic player who will learn from Durant. That selection was the steal of the draft, IMO.

[DOOM!]

He has been getting banged up in the summer league, but we will see how he transitions into the NBA. A year or two ago he was predicted to be a lottery pick and we ended up getting him at the end of the 1st round. I thought we would focus on trying to get another big man, but I'm not disappointed with the outcome so far.