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The Boston Celtics physicality was the main thing that gave the Lakers problems. Historically, physical teams have given Phil Jackson's teams the most problems. Remember in 1992, when the Knicks took the 67-15 Bulls to 7 games?
Phil Jackson's teams have beaten teams consistently who have had more than one all star.
The Lakers have a lot of speed in their defense and they can cover quickly when they need to. That's another staple of Phil Jackson's teams is that they have quick defenders.
I never said that they don't represent a threat but if they want to dethrone the Lakers, they will have to bring not 100 percent but 150 percent.
It is not as easy as adding all of these superstars. Whoever plays the best as a team will win.
The Lakers won't have to only rely on Kobe for defense. Once again, Phil Jackson's teams win with TEAM defense.
Before we talk about how the Heat will do this and that, let us see if they will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals first.
And I never said it's as easy as adding 3 superstars. But, it has been done, and as recently as 2008, when Garnett and Allen joined Pierce. At the expense of your Lakers...
Moving on, I'm going with this logic: 34 year old Garnett and Allen, and 33 year old Pierce, with Rondo gave these Lakers all they could handle. Yes,the Celtics were physical, and that worked to a degree. But, it's not exactly as though this new heat squad are a bunch of pansies. Wade and Lebron are physical players, Bosh is no more or less physical than Gasol, Haslem is pretty physical and playoff tested, it really is about who the Heat add to compliment the new big 3.
Kobe and Gasol were better this year than in 08, and Bynum, while injured, was still a physical presence. And as I said, they just squeezed past Boston. With over the hill superstars, and a very good point guard. Thus far, and I emphasize thus far, this heat team is being constructed to neutralize the Laker's two biggest weapons: Kobe and Gasol. What better way to neutralize Kobe, who IS aging by the way, than with two star perimeter players that most consider on the same level. Bosh is better than Gasol, and Bynum.... well wake me up if he ever makes it to the finals healthy. Again, it really is about who Riley surrounds the new trio with. If he can find a defensive center, a shooting point guard( like a Mo Williams), a couple of shooters( they have Mike Miller now), possibly signing Matt Barnes( defensive specialist) and a few other players, this could be a very well crafted team. Don't think this is going to be Wade,Lebron, Bosh and 9 other scrubs. Something is brewing in Miami.
I think we can all agree that there are a lot of unknowns to how the Heat will play together etc. and that will sort itself out over a long regular season.
However, I think it's naive to try to poo poo the magnitude of the threat this team represents to other teams championship hopes.
The Lakers in particular have their 1-3 positions all starting to get to the age where they have either peaked or are in decline and they lack depth outside of their big-men.
This heat team is an enormous threat to the Lakers championship hopes over the next 2-3 years. You can bet right now that the Lakers are looking at ways to strengthen their roster even more.
[quote=Greg1977;15023203]And I never said it's as easy as adding 3 superstars. But, it has been done, and as recently as 2008, when Garnett and Allen joined Pierce. At the expense of your Lakers...
Moving on, I'm going with this logic: 34 year old Garnett and Allen, and 33 year old Pierce, with Rondo gave these Lakers all they could handle. Yes,the Celtics were physical, and that worked to a degree. But, it's not exactly as though this new heat squad are a bunch of pansies. Wade and Lebron are physical players, Bosh is no more or less physical than Gasol, Haslem is pretty physical and playoff tested, it really is about who the Heat add to compliment the new big 3.
Kobe and Gasol were better this year than in 08, and Bynum, while injured, was still a physical presence. And as I said, they just squeezed past Boston. With over the hill superstars, and a very good point guard. Thus far, and I emphasize thus far, this heat team is being constructed to neutralize the Laker's two biggest weapons: Kobe and Gasol. What better way to neutralize Kobe, who IS aging by the way, than with two star perimeter players that most consider on the same level. Bosh is better than Gasol, and Bynum.... well wake me up if he ever makes it to the finals healthy. Again, it really is about who Riley surrounds the new trio with. If he can find a defensive center, a shooting point guard( like a Mo Williams), a couple of shooters( they have Mike Miller now), possibly signing Matt Barnes( defensive specialist) and a few other players, this could be a very well crafted team. Don't think this is going to be Wade,Lebron, Bosh and 9 other scrubs. Something is brewing in Miami.[/quote]
The Lakers are more than just Kobe and Gasol, as long as they have help, they are almost unbeatable.
The only thing brewing in Miami right now are the bikini clad women.
And I never said it's as easy as adding 3 superstars. But, it has been done, and as recently as 2008, when Garnett and Allen joined Pierce. At the expense of your Lakers...
Moving on, I'm going with this logic: 34 year old Garnett and Allen, and 33 year old Pierce, with Rondo gave these Lakers all they could handle. Yes,the Celtics were physical, and that worked to a degree. But, it's not exactly as though this new heat squad are a bunch of pansies. Wade and Lebron are physical players, Bosh is no more or less physical than Gasol, Haslem is pretty physical and playoff tested, it really is about who the Heat add to compliment the new big 3.
Kobe and Gasol were better this year than in 08, and Bynum, while injured, was still a physical presence. And as I said, they just squeezed past Boston. With over the hill superstars, and a very good point guard. Thus far, and I emphasize thus far, this heat team is being constructed to neutralize the Laker's two biggest weapons: Kobe and Gasol. What better way to neutralize Kobe, who IS aging by the way, than with two star perimeter players that most consider on the same level. Bosh is better than Gasol, and Bynum.... well wake me up if he ever makes it to the finals healthy. Again, it really is about who Riley surrounds the new trio with. If he can find a defensive center, a shooting point guard( like a Mo Williams), a couple of shooters( they have Mike Miller now), possibly signing Matt Barnes( defensive specialist) and a few other players, this could be a very well crafted team. Don't think this is going to be Wade,Lebron, Bosh and 9 other scrubs. Something is brewing in Miami.[/quote]
The Lakers are more than just Kobe and Gasol, as long as they have help, they are almost unbeatable.
The only thing brewing in Miami right now are the bikini clad women.
I have a feeling you could put Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, and Larry Bird on one team,and you'd still say advantage Lakers. This new trio will be the most talented trio in the league. The right role players, and the Lakers will have their hands full 3-peating. That's all I'll say, obviously you think the Lakers are invulnerable so trying to debate with you is pointless.
Chicago will pose a bigger threat than Orlando, I think. Unless Dwight Howard turns into Hakeem Olajuwan offensively or they add another good player, they're only a year older next season, not better. Both Lebron and Wade are playoff tested, with Wade being a finals MVP. It's not like they're a bunch of playoff noobs. Bosh will be new to any deep playoff runs, but since he's the third option, he won't have the pressure like in Toronto to be 'the guy'.
So far, the Heat roster looks like this:
Wade
Lebron
Bosh
Haslem
Mike Miller
Z. Illgauskas
Juwan Howard
I have a feeling you could put Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, and Larry Bird on one team,and you'd still say advantage Lakers. This new trio will be the most talented trio in the league. The right role players, and the Lakers will have their hands full 3-peating. That's all I'll say, obviously you think the Lakers are invulnerable so trying to debate with you is pointless.
Wade, Lebron and Bosh are not comparable to Jordan, Magic or Bird.
There have been many teams that had just as much talent as the Heat and still did not win it. Lets see how well they play defense first man.
Remember Run TMC? Hardaway, Richmond and Mullins? I think they were more talented than Wade, Lebron and Bosh and they never even reached the NBA Finals.
Yes, the Heat will pose as a challenge but Phil has dealt with Bigger fish. Remember the 1991-92 Blazers and the 1992-93 Suns? Both of those teams had more talent than the Heat.
I do not doubt that the Heat will be very explosive and exciting to watch. They will score lots of points but in this league, defense always wins and the past couple of seasons, the Lakers have been pretty much the overall best defensive team in the NBA.
Let me say it again, the LAKERS have been the best overall defensive team in the league for the past couple of seasons.
We're all exciting about the Heat but so far the Lakers have every possible advantage until the Heat can prove it in the playoffs.
Everyone was so excited about the Cavs the past 2 seasons, as they posted the best regular season record 2 seasons in a row, yet they did not even reach the NBA Finals.
Remember the 1994-95 Orlando Magic team? That team was loaded with talent.
The Celtics and the Magic still have the experience advantage over the Heat.
The question is, can the Heat play championship defense? Because I know they won't really have a hard time scoring points.
Wade, Lebron and Bosh are not comparable to Jordan, Magic or Bird.
There have been many teams that had just as much talent as the Heat and still did not win it. Lets see how well they play defense first man.
Remember Run TMC? Hardaway, Richmond and Mullins? I think they were more talented than Wade, Lebron and Bosh and they never even reached the NBA Finals.
Yes, the Heat will pose as a challenge but Phil has dealt with Bigger fish. Remember the 1991-92 Blazers and the 1992-93 Suns? Both of those teams had more talent than the Heat.
I do not doubt that the Heat will be very explosive and exciting to watch. They will score lots of points but in this league, defense always wins and the past couple of seasons, the Lakers have been pretty much the overall best defensive team in the NBA.
Let me say it again, the LAKERS have been the best overall defensive team in the league for the past couple of seasons.
We're all exciting about the Heat but so far the Lakers have every possible advantage until the Heat can prove it in the playoffs.
Everyone was so excited about the Cavs the past 2 seasons, as they posted the best regular season record 2 seasons in a row, yet they did not even reach the NBA Finals.
Remember the 1994-95 Orlando Magic team? That team was loaded with talent.
The Celtics and the Magic still have the experience advantage over the Heat.
The question is, can the Heat play championship defense? Because I know they won't really have a hard time scoring points.
Wade and Lebron are two all time great players. Bosh is one of the 5 best power forwards today. It's not about how they stack up to Jordan, Bird, etc. I called out those names only to say you're so hung up on the Lakers, that you refuse to take any team as a serious threat. It's about how they compare to their competition today. The Heat have 3 top ten players. That's a hell of a nucleus to start with. I won't even get into your comparison with Tim Hardaway, Mullin, and Richmond. That's ridiculous. There isn't a single player in that Run DMC unit, that is better than any individual player in this new Heat trio.
What relevance does what Phil dealt with, in terms of the Blazers and Suns back in the 90's, have to do with today? That's irrelevant. He doesn't have that Chicago Bulls team now, so again, that's not even a point to be made. In fact, your points about past team's talent levels really serve no purpose to what is happening right now. Yes, some very talented teams HAVEN'T won. But there are some talented teams that DO win. You fail to realize that Wade IS a champion and finals MVP. Lebron has been to the finals. These guys have either been to the mountaintop, or very near it. You act as though they're inexperienced, baby faced rookies. These are 8 year veterans we're talking here.
That Cavs team is in no way, going to be better than this Heat team. If Lebron James can will that team to 60+ win seasons without a real star sidekick, what do you think he'll be able to accomplish with two bonafide superstars alongside him? Do you recall Lebron taking an overachieving Cavs team to the finals back in 2007? He has WAYYYY more to work with now. Let's use a bit of logical reasoning here.
You're putting the cart before the horse. This team is still being built, there are more signings to take place. Yes there are questions surrounding who will be on the roster, but these three instantly form the most talented trio in the league. That's a hell of a starting point. I'm not ready to crown them champs either, but anyone who says this team isn't a finals contender, or that the Lakers will dominate them, is delusional.
Wade and Lebron are two all time great players. Bosh is one of the 5 best power forwards today. It's not about how they stack up to Jordan, Bird, etc. I called out those names only to say you're so hung up on the Lakers, that you refuse to take any team as a serious threat. It's about how they compare to their competition today. The Heat have 3 top ten players. That's a hell of a nucleus to start with. I won't even get into your comparison with Tim Hardaway, Mullin, and Richmond. That's ridiculous. There isn't a single player in that Run DMC unit, that is better than any individual player in this new Heat trio.
What relevance does what Phil dealt with, in terms of the Blazers and Suns back in the 90's, have to do with today? That's irrelevant. He doesn't have that Chicago Bulls team now, so again, that's not even a point to be made. In fact, your points about past team's talent levels really serve no purpose to what is happening right now. Yes, some very talented teams HAVEN'T won. But there are some talented teams that DO win. You fail to realize that Wade IS a champion and finals MVP. Lebron has been to the finals. These guys have either been to the mountaintop, or very near it. You act as though they're inexperienced, baby faced rookies. These are 8 year veterans we're talking here.
That Cavs team is in no way, going to be better than this Heat team. If Lebron James can will that team to 60+ win seasons without a real star sidekick, what do you think he'll be able to accomplish with two bonafide superstars alongside him? Do you recall Lebron taking an overachieving Cavs team to the finals back in 2007? He has WAYYYY more to work with now. Let's use a bit of logical reasoning here.
You're putting the cart before the horse. This team is still being built, there are more signings to take place. Yes there are questions surrounding who will be on the roster, but these three instantly form the most talented trio in the league. That's a hell of a starting point. I'm not ready to crown them champs either, but anyone who says this team isn't a finals contender, or that the Lakers will dominate them, is delusional.
All good points. I think that the anti-Lebron fever is distorting the reality of what is he capable of doing in Miami this season, esp given the fact that Wade and Bosh are team members. I also find it strange when people [including many sports commentators] say that the Heat will not be ready for playoff status this coming year. How many teams each year go though a fair amount of personnel changes yet reach conference playoffs? How long did it take for the Celtics to attain playoff ability after KG joined Pierce and Allen?
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