How are the Lakers "the team to beat"?

[D-Dogg]

Right you are.

I'm not worried about the integration of Bynum for various reasons, but I am worried about him being tentative after his injury and regressing in the progress he was making as a player. He's a young kid (20 years old) dealing with the first serious injury of his career. It came at a time when we was really starting to emerge as a force for the Lakers as well. I think he'll benefit more from Gasol then be hindered by him though, as Bynum is really best used as a 3rd option for the Lakers not the 2nd, and now he can be. I just hope he doesn't lose confidence after the injury, that's a big concern for me.

My thoughts exactly. He's going to mesh well...his game is perfect for the way they are playing.

However, he's not going to be as aggressive and is going to favor the knee for awhile...he might hurt something else in the process, or be less effective. My primary concern is how he comes out mentally and his level of trust in his recovery.

 

[BeeBeard]

My thoughts exactly. He's going to mesh well...his game is perfect for the way they are playing.

However, he's not going to be as aggressive and is going to favor the knee for awhile...he might hurt something else in the process, or be less effective. My primary concern is how he comes out mentally and his level of trust in his recovery.

You guys need to start seriously evaluating the Lakers with Gasol as center, and stop playing this "What if?" game and putting the cart before the horse, pretending that Bynum is going to make any sort of meaningful recovery this season. Right now, he's still lightly jogging in pools of water and may not be back for another 8 weeks! The supremely well-conditioned front court athletes on other teams, who have been playing throughout the season, are going to eat this man's lunch.

Forget about Bynum. He's a young man, he'll bounce back next season. And what about this season? What do the Lakers have with Gasol? A team that can beat the Heat (twice), the Clippers, the Sonics, the Hawks...the Bobcats...the Timberwolves...

Yes, really a reason to be excited there. They're TOTALLY winning a championship.


--------------
edit: Oh yeah, and let's not forget how awfully proud any Lakers fan should be that the Lakeshow struggled to beat a Portland team that didn't even have their playmaker, Brandon Roy, or a Suns team that the rest of the league has had an easy time beating so far. What a joke.

 

[Trophytown]

Bynum will wear a sleeve on his knee.
Bynum has been projected to return in late March/early April.
Bynum can be slowly integrated with the second team (Farmar, Sasha, Luke, and Turiaf). Its not like Phil's a stupid coach. He's knows its all about the big picture. He wasnt carrying a heavy load especially in minutes to begin with -- 25 - 28mpg.

Beebeard, nice of you to alleviate the Gasol version of the Lakers victory over the Suns at USAC. Ohh..... that game didnt count ?

 

[BeeBeard]

Bynum will wear a sleeve on his knee.
Bynum has been projected to return in late March/early April.
Bynum can be slowly integrated with the second team (Farmar, Sasha, Luke, and Turiaf). Its not like Phil's a stupid coach. He's knows its all about the big picture. He wasnt carrying a heavy load especially in minutes to begin with -- 25 - 28mpg.

Beebeard, nice of you to alleviate the Gasol version of the Lakers victory over the Suns at USAC. Ohh..... that game didnt count ?

You know, I'm prepared to believe the L.A. Times' assessment of Bynum's condition over an anonymous Lakers fan on a Suns message board. Unless you are a Lakers team doctor, you're not a very credible source of information at all, are you?

You've missed the point entirely, but I'm so glad that you think that Bynum's wearing a protective sleeve will give you the edge you need to win a championship! Funniest of all is that now, after all this talk about what a difference-maker Bynum supposedly was, you resort to this "big picture" argument and go "Oh, well, we don't need him healthy anyway, and....and...he doesn't play many minutes anyway and...and...we've got (and then you tick off the names of second team scrubs)." It's hilarious what crazed homers Lakers fans are.

As a Suns fan, I'm incredulous that the Lakers would even point to a near-loss against the Suns, playing their first game ever with Shaq, as some sort of evidence that the Lakers with Gasol can beat playoff teams. I mean where have you been? Most good teams with a shot at the title have been rolling the Suns, but the Lakers sure haven't. They have the softest schedule of any playoff team in February, racking up wins against sub .500 teams, and yet they have apparently declared this a championship season? The arrogance is disgusting. Stop the presses: You beat the Heat...the Nets...and the Bobcats?? C0ngrlat1ns lakrrs, here is yur rings! lol!!

 

[Bynum3000]

HaHa at suns fans over here hoping against hope that Bynum won't come back or will only be a shell of himself. Face it the Lakers are back and the team to beat with the spurs. The suns are done and their tiny "championship" window has been slammed shut. It must be painful as a suns fan to never have tasted victory. Good thing us Laker fans don't have that problem.

 

[nowagimp]

HaHa at suns fans over here hoping against hope that Bynum won't come back or will only be a shell of himself. Face it the Lakers are back and the team to beat with the spurs. The suns are done and their tiny "championship" window has been slammed shut. It must be painful as a suns fan to never have tasted victory. Good thing us Laker fans don't have that problem.

Now that youre done with whatever intelligent basketball discussion you are capable of, hope not to hear from you. Your contributions wont be missed at all.

 

[Bynum3000]

Now that youre done with whatever intelligent basketball discussion you are capable of, hope not to hear from you. Your contributions wont be missed at all.

 

[nowagimp]

Beebeard, nice of you to alleviate the Gasol version of the Lakers victory over the Suns at USAC. Ohh..... that game didnt count ?

The lakers need to first worry about the spurs, the suns are definitely secondary to their WC hopes. That is, unless a series victory over the suns would constitute a "championship" that would validate their season. The Lakers will need a healthy bynum to beat the spurs, especially now that the spurs have KT.

Actually I suffered the bynum injury when I was a player, hopefully medicine is alot better than it was(probably). Such a knee injury really takes your strength, hops away for a while as all those muscles around the knee atrophy and the knee just doesnt feel solid for awhile. Defense is very tough coming back from a serious knee injury like that. Next year, he will be OK for sure, but I will be amazed if he comes back anything like he was this year. Even if he does heal up fully, he will probably see very little serious competition till the playoffs with all the teams tanking and experimenting late in the year.

 

[Darth Llama]

HaHa at suns fans over here hoping against hope that Bynum won't come back or will only be a shell of himself. Face it the Lakers are back and the team to beat with the spurs. The suns are done and their tiny "championship" window has been slammed shut. It must be painful as a suns fan to never have tasted victory. Good thing us Laker fans don't have that problem.

Hey, do us all a favor ok? If you're going to come here as a Laker fan, show some class and stop making us all look like trolls. This is a Suns forum where we are allowed to talk basketball as long as we're respectful and follow the rules. Please make sure you either do that, or just don't post here. There are some Laker fans here that don't want people representing us that way. Show some class and respect or don't post here. You're not doing yourself, the Lakers or any other member of our fan base any favors.

 

[D-Dogg]

Right now, he's still lightly jogging in pools of water and may not be back for another 8 weeks! The supremely well-conditioned front court athletes on other teams, who have been playing throughout the season, are going to eat this man's lunch.

Beebeard, do you have reading problems? That article says nothing of the sort of him being out another 8 weeks. It says he will miss the initial 8 week timetable by a bit, but not another 8 weeks. Initially, he was expected back mid to late March. Now it is "He hasn't started jogging on a treadmill, the next step in his rehabilitation, making a late March or early April return date more likely."

I think I've read and listened to juuuuuuuuuust a little bit more about Bynum than you have.

Forget about Bynum. He's a young man, he'll bounce back next season. And what about this season? What do the Lakers have with Gasol? A team that can beat the Heat (twice), the Clippers, the Sonics, the Hawks...the Bobcats...the Timberwolves...

Yes, really a reason to be excited there. They're TOTALLY winning a championship.


--------------
edit: Oh yeah, and let's not forget how awfully proud any Lakers fan should be that the Lakeshow struggled to beat a Portland team that didn't even have their playmaker, Brandon Roy, or a Suns team that the rest of the league has had an easy time beating so far. What a joke.

Uhm, are you saying the Suns suck? That's what I'm hearing. Fairly loudly, in fact. The Lakers went team lightswitch on the Blazers, yes, and won. It happens...some blazers had career nights. The Lakers haven't been "beating" those bad teams, btw, they've been crushing them. Very big difference. Oh, and the Suns and the Magic were also thrown down during this streak. And pre-Gasol/post-bynum injury, they lost in Detriot by a point on a miss at the buzzer, after allowing a miracle three to get down in the first place...that same Detroit team that annihilated your Suns at home. With no laker on the team over 6'10.

Let's not get into a "who beat bad teams/good teams" argument, k...lest I bring up the Suns fantastic record against the West playoff contenders. You've lost 1 less game to the Lakers and Nooch combined than the Lakers have lost in the ENTIRE WESTERN CONFERENCE. Yikes.

 

[Bynum3000]

Hey, do us all a favor ok? If you're going to come here as a Laker fan, show some class and stop making us all look like trolls. This is a Suns forum where we are allowed to talk basketball as long as we're respectful and follow the rules. Please make sure you either do that, or just don't post here. There are some Laker fans here that don't want people representing us that way. Show some class and respect or don't post here. You're not doing yourself, the Lakers or any other member of our fan base any favors.

So does that mean taking whatever these suns fans say and just shutting up?? This is in direct response to beebeard, who as you can tell from his posts is nothing but a diehard Lakerhater. You might be allright with Lakerhaters spouting their propaganda, but not me. And do all of us Laker fans a favor and stop kissing up to Lakerhaters. You make the rest of the Laker Nation look bad.

 

[D-Dogg]

You know, I'm prepared to believe the L.A. Times' assessment of Bynum's condition over an anonymous Lakers fan on a Suns message board.

Good. Then stop talking nonsense. From the times:

Bynum won't play in time to hit the early side of the team's initial timetable of "at least eight weeks" for him to return.

(which would be March 15)


Their SUBHEADLINE

He probably won't play until late March or early April.

the guy you put on blast as to not taking his word over the times:

Bynum has been projected to return in late March/early April.

Wait...something looks....familiar.

He probably won't play until late March or early April.

Bynum has been projected to return in late March/early April.

Where's the disconnect, dude?

 

[D-Dogg]

As a Suns fan, I'm incredulous that the Lakers would even point to a near-loss against the Suns,

The Suns led in that game for a grand total of a minute, tops. Wow.

We rolled you with Bynum, btw, so I don't know what you are jabbering on about.

And to date, the Lakers had one of the toughest schedules in the league and didn't just magic up their record...when Bynum got hurt they were first in the West. They slumped immediately after a bit, got gasol and lit it back up again. Now they get a softer schedule. The Suns had a soft schedule, and haven't overtaken the Lakers...now the Suns schedule is toughening up.

 

[bko32]

You guys need to start seriously evaluating the Lakers with Gasol as center, and stop playing this "What if?" game and putting the cart before the horse, pretending that Bynum is going to make any sort of meaningful recovery this season. Right now, he's still lightly jogging in pools of water and may not be back for another 8 weeks! The supremely well-conditioned front court athletes on other teams, who have been playing throughout the season, are going to eat this man's lunch.

quote]

Aren't Suns fans playing the "What if" game with Shaq? Aren't Suns fans putting the cart before the horse, pretending Shaq is going to eventually mesh in and be great for the Suns?? Maybe Suns fans need to start seriously evaluating the Suns with an old, slow, no-defense-playing Shaq and stop playing the "What if" game.

 

[BeeBeard]

God, how I love bating Lakers fans! I'm practically a master at it.

Some might say I'm a master bater...





Seriously, when the Lakers start developing something more than theoretical dominance over playoff powers in the East and West alike, then I might sit up and pay attention. Right now we just see the Lakers nation patting itself on the back as the Lakers do what every playoff team can do, which is destroy lottery teams that are trying to tank.

I'm going to plant that seed of doubt in your minds. It is medically impossible for Bynum to ever be 100% ever again. I'll explain:

Once you tear the ligaments in your knee, ankle, arm, or other extremity, the body heals only up to a certain point. While a great deal of the original functionality and strength of the ligament can be restored through rest and special exercises, the body part in question is never the same as it was before the injury. It will always be susceptible to future, easy reinjury. And the body part stays like that for the rest of your life. This is why you see NBA players, and indeed, athletes in any sport, wear protective bandages, braces, and wraps on their bodies. It is for the added support, but it's also precautionary, because the body part (in this case Bynum's knee) can give out at any moment. And again, Andrew Bynum will have a weak knee now, for the rest of his life. Have a nice weekend!

 

[D-Dogg]

God, how I love bating Lakers fans! I'm practically a master at it.

Some might say I'm a master bater...

Ok, that made me laugh.

You are forgiven for your ignorance.

 

[Trophytown]

God, how I love bating Lakers fans! I'm practically a master at it.

Some might say I'm a master bater...





Seriously, when the Lakers start developing something more than theoretical dominance over playoff powers in the East and West alike, then I might sit up and pay attention. Right now we just see the Lakers nation patting itself on the back as the Lakers do what every playoff team can do, which is destroy lottery teams that are trying to tank.

I'm going to plant that seed of doubt in your minds. It is medically impossible for Bynum to ever be 100% ever again. I'll explain:

Once you tear the ligaments in your knee, ankle, arm, or other extremity, the body heals only up to a certain point. While a great deal of the original functionality and strength of the ligament can be restored through rest and special exercises, the body part in question is never the same as it was before the injury. It will always be susceptible to future, easy reinjury. And the body part stays like that for the rest of your life. This is why you see NBA players, and indeed, athletes in any sport, wear protective bandages, braces, and wraps on their bodies. It is for the added support, but it's also precautionary, because the body part (in this case Bynum's knee) can give out at any moment. And again, Andrew Bynum will have a weak knee now, for the rest of his life. Have a nice weekend!

I have two words: Minnesota Timberwolves

 

[Covert Rain]

And to date, the Lakers had one of the toughest schedules in the league and didn't just magic up their record.

Forgive me if I am wrong but I thought the Lakers had one of the weakest schedules to start the season. If memory serves me correctly the Lakers were somewhere between the middle and bottom half of the league based on strength of schedule.

Currently they rank as having the 15th hardest schedule out of 30 teams in the NBA with games remaining. I would hardly qualify that as one of the toughest schedules.

Then again every team in the West in the NBA has a tougher schedule by default. We are not the East.

 

[D-Dogg]

Forgive me if I am wrong but I thought the Lakers had one of the weakest schedules to start the season. If memory serves me correctly the Lakers were somewhere between the middle and bottom half of the league based on strength of schedule.

Currently they rank as having the 15th hardest schedule out of 30 teams in the NBA with games remaining. I would hardly qualify that as one of the toughest schedules.

Then again every team in the West in the NBA has a tougher schedule by default. We are not the East.

No, for quite some time they had a top 5 difficulty schedule, which is what kept them high up in Hollinger's rankings. Their SOS is only now coming down because they are hitting the easier segment.

 

[D-Dogg]

I should clarify btw...TO DATE should have been, two weeks ago. Since they've played miami twice in the last week and the clips as well, their SOS has gone down.

 

[nowagimp]

Once you tear the ligaments in your knee, ankle, arm, or other extremity, the body heals only up to a certain point. While a great deal of the original functionality and strength of the ligament can be restored through rest and special exercises, the body part in question is never the same as it was before the injury. It will always be susceptible to future, easy reinjury. And the body part stays like that for the rest of your life. This is why you see NBA players, and indeed, athletes in any sport, wear protective bandages, braces, and wraps on their bodies. It is for the added support, but it's also precautionary, because the body part (in this case Bynum's knee) can give out at any moment. And again, Andrew Bynum will have a weak knee now, for the rest of his life. Have a nice weekend!

Yeah my knee was never the same after the meniscal tear, just wasnt as strong, never got "tight" again really. I couldnt cut, accelerate, or bang with it the same way as before the injury. I was tentative dunking as landing was another potential injury. Subsequently, I injured it again and couldnt jump enough to dunk after recovery(hence "nowagimp"). Hopefully, bynum will have a better recovery, and since he is a big man, jumping isnt as critical to the needed skills. But it isn't a trivial injury in my experience as the ligament holds the kneecap in place and hard landings(or unexpected landings) want to force it out. On the bright side, the medicine is better nowdays, and at least it isnt a nasty microfracture injury.

 

[D-Dogg]

No, for quite some time they had a top 5 difficulty schedule, which is what kept them high up in Hollinger's rankings. Their SOS is only now coming down because they are hitting the easier segment.

I went back and found some posts where I had been documenting from Hollinger's stats...no links but since they change daily a link would be irrelevant anyway; you'll have to take my word for it.

Man, and the Lakers are still plowing through the league's toughest schedule at SOS .545 (Raptors have second hardest at .539).

That's not gonna change with the Suns on Xmas and Boston before new years.

Lakers third in the league in scoring, behind the suns and warriors. The Lakers and Suns stats are oddly similar. Almost the same differential, with the suns scoring two more ppg but allowing two more ppg as well.

Lakers need to work on their D.

Lakers 4th toughest strength of schedule in the league.
Lakers 3rd highest scoring differential in the league.

Lakers second to Boston in most 20 point wins (11 to 12)


ddogg likey

Means we've played tougher teams so far than the others. LAL is .517 SOS and the Suns are .480 SOS. If we play the exact same schedule (not sure if that is the case, but probably) then the SOS wouldn't even out until the end of the year.

What it also says is that either the Lakers schedule will ease up, or the Suns' will get tougher, or a combo of both. For example, we've already played Boston and Detroit twice, while you haven't played either yet.

Dude, they have had the hardest schedule in the league, have the top record in the division and top three in the west, and have simply been DESTROYING teams, bad and good. They dropped a whopper on New Orleans on the road last week.

Without Bynum, they will falter quite a bit, but this is a deep, talented team.

There is a reason they are ranked high in Hollinger's stupid stats...tough schedule and sick margins of victory.

They are NOT worse than their record shows. They are exactly what their record shows.

 

[Covert Rain]

No, for quite some time they had a top 5 difficulty schedule, which is what kept them high up in Hollinger's rankings. Their SOS is only now coming down because they are hitting the easier segment.

Only part of Hollingers ranking factor in SOS. Again, can you show me anything that showed that their strength of schedule was anywhere near the top half at the start of the season?

I know their strength of schedule isn't very tough right now but I could of sworn when I looked at the Pacific at the start of the season the Lakers were in the middle to lower middle of the pack.

Take your word? A Laker fan? Come on Donald.

 

[D-Dogg]

Only part of Hollingers ranking factor in SOS. Again, can you show me anything that showed that their strength of schedule was anywhere near the top half at the start of the season?

I know their strength of schedule isn't very tough right now but I could of sworn when I looked at the Pacific at the start of the season the Lakers were in the middle to lower middle of the pack.

Take your word? A Laker fan? Come on Donald.

Dec 16th they were the toughest. It's in the posts.

It was not middle or lower middle. Never was.

 

[Covert Rain]

Dec 16th they were the toughest. It's in the posts.

It was not middle or lower middle. Never was.

Sure....and Phil Jackson truly believes since writing his book that Shaq was actually the catalyst for breaking up the Lakers instead of Kobe.