NBA Playoff Chat

[Mantra]

lol there's way too many variables too make a prediction for a three-peat already...i think injury is the elephant in the room.

and i dont understand the rationale of it being an epic loss. they made it a game 7 and lost it by basically a quarter to a team considered to be the consensus favorite.
boston wasn't even supposed to make it past cleveland.

on the artest thing you have to live with that. when a player(kobe) can score 40 % of a teams points in a game, you'd think the idea was to have to make the other guys come up big. its safe to say he faced significantly less defensive pressure. but hey he made his shots so more power to him. i dont think the c's would trade the job they did on kobe to stop artest even with the loss.

[Mantra]

arent the champs always the favorites for the next year?

[Mantra]

and rondo signed a 5 year contract in september of last year

[Moniker]

Mantra don't waste you're time. That guy doesn't know anything about basketball lol.

How does LA not have age concerns like the Celtics too? Fisher could easily retire in the offseason, and even if he comes back next season the fatigue will be apparent. Not to mention the health and age of Kobe too. People forget he's almost 32. In basketball it's remarkable for a guy to play like he did in his prime past much longer than that. Not too many dudes over 35-ish in the league. Infact, 4 of 5 starters are past or about 30. Gasol (29) Artest (30) and Fisher (35)... that's an old fucking squad in the NBA. Even Odom's 30. You better HOPE they can try to 3-peat because after next year? They ain't doing shit unless they rearrange the roster.

[Clee]

okc is winning it next year, no argument.

[Moniker]

I could maybe agree with that. They'll def be in the top 5 out West.

[◄Patʁone►]

Yes, dont argue with me.. Lakers are old and has-beens..
although they just won a championship 5 days ago..

Lakers might be old, but not Boston old.
And LA has always been a contender, they completely rebuilt around Kobe in 2 years? 06/07?
Kobe being 32 does not mean shit, 32 and still at the front of the race for MVP?
thats pretty damn good, being old and still being in comparisons to Lebron and Durant
Fisher does need to retire, he's getting fatigued alot more than he did in the past.
but this is the thing, they are the Lakers.
They just kind of make shit happen..
Yankees have Steinbrenner, Cowboys have Jerry Jones and the Lakers have..
Jerry Buss... live with it... LA has the biggest and deepest fanbase NBA-wise.
When Kobe is gone, they will find his replacement within 3 years..
then more back2backs and 3peats will come..

Hard to swallow? Magic retired in 96.. Kobe threw on a Lakers uni in... 1996..

[Mantra]

still injury has to be a concern...

and age effects everyone man, i can't recall ever hearing more about kobe being injured than i did this season. you have to think that playing on that constant high level he does probably has taken even more of a toll on his body than the game would on other comparable players of his same age. not disputing that he still plays at an incredibly high level, just saying...not hating or any other bs like that.



i dont buy the re-build thing though, kobe is the heart and soul of that team. i dont see them just "replacing" a player of that caliber. gasol, fisher, artest etc etc... blah blah blah. Kobe isthe lakers. i dont see them having any of those last five rings without him, even with shaq.

[Clee]

See the thing about the Lakers is Phil will be gone soon, either to another team for more money and/or a better immediate lineup, or he could retire soon, he's won 11 championships and will be 65 years old this year, he won't be around much longer.

As far as Kobe, he's only 31, he still has a few elite level years left in him, but he will start slowing down, vertical will decrease, won't be as agile, and will start to show signs of playing 82+ games a year since he was 18.

[Malek]

Someone tell me how Kobe was MVP when Artest basically saved the team from a loss to PHX and had more to give, cause Kobe was ALWAYS being held and couldnt make shots when people were triple and double teaming him.