But prior to this year, that squad has been relatively healthy. I think they're as good as GSW and Spurs. I do however have certain questions about Durant and how his injury will affect him. So Kyle Anderson was the MVP in the Summer League. The Spurs haven't lost any of their depth.
They lost Westbrook IIRC they year when they lost to Memphis. Also Ibaka was out in the Finals against the Spurs the year after. But anytime that team was healthy, they managed to reach the Finals. They did replace Brooks.
They have no quality c though which hurts and ibaka can't score on the block as well as he can mid range. If they had a guy they could play 1 in and make ibaka a stretch they could be deadly
the rockets getting lawson for scraps was huge. dude has his problems but if he can get that sorted, its a huge upgrade. you go from a pg rotation of beverly/terry/prigioni to lawson/beverley/terry Anyone who saw how the team fell apart when harden sat should know how badly they needed a 2nd creator and lawson is among the best at creating for himself and others And now news that Lawson made his last yr on his contract non-guaranteed. wow. absolutely no risk involved in this move.
Yeah, I feel like all the second-tier "almost there" contenders in the West all made a step up. We'll see how that plays out for each team, though.
I know this has been the topic of conversation for far too long, but.. here are two articles written by Blake and DJ, regarding his decision and what happened at DJ's house.. http://www.theplayerstribune.com/blake-griffin-deandre-jordan-story/ http://www.theplayerstribune.com/deandre-jordan-clippers-mavs-free-agency/
Did y'all see this? I would have asked Shaq if he's sure he makes the team. http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/pos...ys-scottie-pippen-instagram-pippen-fires-back
That's hilarious! I don't think there's any bad blood between those two to be honest, this seems just like some good old trash talking to me. Either way, I think Shaq makes it. Does Wilt count as a Laker?
Well if we look at their career acomplishments, there's no way Shaq is on that team. However, if we just look at the time each of this players spent just with the Lakers, Shaq does have a case.
It's a tough call - Shaq was so devastatingly unstoppable for a while on offense but he couldn't hit free throws and it doesn't seem like he really got the most of his abilities. He was also part of a massive choke job in the Finals. Most think Kareem was a better player. What's interesting is - when have the Lakers had a premier power forward? I looked at a top 5 list and they had Gasol number 1 - didn't he play center for them most of the time? After that - guys like AC Green and Odom? Good players but not all timers.
Isn't Kareem in that picture at center? Anyway that leaves it with him and Wilt and from what I heard, Wilt wasn't that good while with the Lakers. I think Gasol is closer than most realize.
I mean if that's the case with Wilt, you could also count Malone and the rest of the stars that finished their career as a Laker, making the list even harder to decide.
Cuban on DeAndre: "Makeup sex is always the best sex but after it's over you stare at that same face and realize the problems are the same."
I am always inclined to include Wilt as a Lakers legend purely by the fact that he brought us the first title to LA (not counting Minn). His stats were not great because of injuries and having to share the offense with West and Baylor. later on, though, Wilt was more focused on defense and had actually had the best point percentage. Shaq, part of threepeat, finals MVP, definitely among the greats. One could argue if he was GOAT Lakers center, but that is a different discussion. Bynum on paper was center, that mutha******** was always ******* injured, which Pau had to take over that. I hate to say this and wish there was another real PF number 1, but I Pau is the best PF in Lakers history. Personally I love Horry.