HighRoller74 wrote: Bynum is a starter ^^^

Alright sorry, I was just going off of what the ESPN depth chart had everyone as.

No worries. Probably doesn't change the numbers much, as I imagine he and Odom are close in Pts.

Odom averages 10.5 so pretty much a 5 point difference.The focus though of my post was the bench points.

Emmett Brown wrote: Kobe is washed up. He is what 32 and can't even jump anymore. He can still shoot lights out, but thats it.

if kobe is washed up what does that make the rest of the league then?

So then, can we simply give the Title to the Cavs? They outscore the Lakers by nearly 10 points a game, the Artest trade was, according to at least one poster, a mistake that we can just sit back and laugh at, Kobe is washed up since the only thing he can do at his advanced age is shoot "lights out" but that's about it,the Lakers have "the best starting five but Kobe will throw those guys under the bus", which I assume would mean that Kobe would throw himself under the bus also, since I think, even with Kobe's advanced age and various infirmities that accompany his incredible age, he still has the strength to drag himself from his deathbed to start an occasional game for the Lakers. Shoot, it's a better then even guess to predict that San Antonio will eliminate the Lakers anyway so the Cavs will play someone in the finals which will be a simple matter and the Cavs will finally have that elusive first NBA Title. The Lakers just don't have any positive chemistry and we might as well just admit that all of these Cav's fans are right on the money about these predictions. First, let me say right up front that there's nothing I would rather see than the Lakers lose. I also totally believe that the possibility exists that this will happen. However, if a weak hitting infielder hits one home run a season, no one calls him slugger. I would imagine that if the Cavs have never won a single Title,we may be acting a bit prematurely in our prediction that this is going to be almost easy. Having been a Laker hater for decades let me say that I, in spite of my obvious anti-Laker prejudice, have a great deal of respect for what they have done and what they have been for a long time. The Cavs are a great team this season. I do believe that they can pull this off but it will be a difficult task because these Lakers have earned, begrudgingly, the actual title of Champion. ( And yes, I would agree that the Artest deal was not in the best interest of the Lakers), and being a Piston's fan, I can comment with some experience in the area of bringing in a very divisive player and watching Armageddon occur. Let's sit back and root like crazy and hope that this is the year that the Lakers lose and the "Good Guys" win a Title.

lol...There are other teams besides the Lakers and Cavs...just sayin

Hb31187 wrote: lol...There are other teams besides the Lakers and Cavs...just sayin

You should probably provide some proof when making a crazy claim like that. Link?

Swamp Fox wrote: So then, can we simply give the Title to the Cavs? They outscore the Lakers by nearly 10 points a game, the Artest trade was, according to at least one poster, a mistake that we can just sit back and laugh at, Kobe is washed up since the only thing he can do at his advanced age is shoot "lights out" but that's about it,the Lakers have "the best starting five but Kobe will throw those guys under the bus", which I assume would mean that Kobe would throw himself under the bus also, since I think, even with Kobe's advanced age and various infirmities that accompany his incredible age, he still has the strength to drag himself from his deathbed to start an occasional game for the Lakers. Shoot, it's a better then even guess to predict that San Antonio will eliminate the Lakers anyway so the Cavs will play someone in the finals which will be a simple matter and the Cavs will finally have that elusive first NBA Title. The Lakers just don't have any positive chemistry and we might as well just admit that all of these Cav's fans are right on the money about these predictions. First, let me say right up front that there's nothing I would rather see than the Lakers lose. I also totally believe that the possibility exists that this will happen. However, if a weak hitting infielder hits one home run a season, no one calls him slugger. I would imagine that if the Cavs have never won a single Title,we may be acting a bit prematurely in our prediction that this is going to be almost easy. Having been a Laker hater for decades let me say that I, in spite of my obvious anti-Laker prejudice, have a great deal of respect for what they have done and what they have been for a long time. The Cavs are a great team this season. I do believe that they can pull this off but it will be a difficult task because these Lakers have earned, begrudgingly, the actual title of Champion. ( And yes, I would agree that the Artest deal was not in the best interest of the Lakers), and being a Piston's fan, I can comment with some experience in the area of bringing in a very divisive player and watching Armageddon occur. Let's sit back and root like crazy and hope that this is the year that the Lakers lose and the "Good Guys" win a Title.

Lol comparing the Artest pickup with the Iverson trade is a joke and its not even close. LA still has a chance to win the title when the pistons made that trade they were done.

SQ_Crazies wrote: Agreed Keebler. That is a scary team because of all the playoff experience and more importantly success. You can't sleep on Duncan, Manu has been playing as well as anyone lately and Hill has been playing well too.

Would be an interesting match up, one I would pick the Lakers to win but wouldn't be surprised if the Spurs were able to have a chance in the end.

Kobe/DFish with 4 Titles themselves, including being in the Finals the last 2 years(winning once), and Zen with 10 Titles. Let's not discount the fact SA has very little success against the Lakers in Postseason. Again, I would EMBRACE this matchup like I did 2 years ago when I saw the same sh.....tuff.

Footwedge wrote:

Keebler wrote: For some rmason, I see the$Lakers not makifg it to the NBA Finals. Call me(crazy but I think someone is goeng to upset them before.

There is nothing crazy about your post at all. To me, I'd be very surprised to see them in the finals. If nothing else, the law of averages are against them. 3 Finals appearances in a row? I truly doubt it. There is a "hunger" factor that isn't there either.

Really looking forward to the West playoffs this year. I think there's only 8 games separating #1 from #8, whereas the Cavs are 20-something games above the 8-seed in the East.

I think the Lakers have issues, but then again, the fact that so many are questioning their toughness, team unity, etc., may give them the motivation they need to flip the switch and play better.

Ron Artest was brought in for 1 reason: Carmelo Anthony

Hes only done his job 1 game against Melo though.

One game Melo was DNP vs the Lakers. and the one artest did his job he Had 21 points but only shot 7-19 in a loss vs the lakers
The other ones Melo shot 50% or better and put up numbers