225 replies to this topic

[daco_inc]

Link to article

LOS ANGELES – Pau Gasol’s shot caromed off the rim, and, suddenly, Andrew Bynum was pushing past Tim Duncan, snatching the ball out of the air and forcibly flushing it back for an emphatic dunk, a show of aggression that brought a smile to the face of every member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

“When he plays that way,” Lakers guard Derek Fisher said, referring to Bynum’s third-quarter slam, “it makes us almost impossible to beat.”

The San Antonio Spurs have reason to wonder the same, as does the rest of the Western Conference. The Lakers took the court Sunday afternoon with a healthy roster for the first time in a month, with their young franchise center playing better than he has all season, and, well, isn’t this exactly what everyone feared?

The Lakers beat the Spurs 99-85, dismissing their closest challenger in the West so thoroughly that San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich didn’t even bother to summon either Duncan or Tony Parker from the bench in the fourth quarter. Kobe Bryant and Bynum also spent the game’s final 12 minutes relaxing on the sideline, the former having gone for 22 points, the latter totaling 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in an efficient 24 minutes of work.

[lyk13]

Bump for a great article. I read it on Yahoo firsthand though.

[West Coast]

This is exactly what LD2K and I have been saying. With Bynum playing at this high level, it just gives us a new option to our already dangerous high scoring offense.

[fido]

Now Bynum's shown he pull off a strong game against a quality post.

Next step - consistency.

If Andrew gets even the slightest bit consistent with these kinds of games, then yeah things get real tough for other teams all over the NBA.

[GCMD]

Fear?


True fear will come from holding teams to 85 or less.

[Grandpa Herman]

This is exactly what LD2K and I have been saying. With Bynum playing at this high level, it just gives us a new option to our already dangerous high scoring offense.

But isn't that obvious?

Consistent rebounding and a defensive presence, meaning when guards not picking on him when they drive to the rim, is what we need from him more than anything if we care about being even better.

[West Coast]

Oh yeah most definitely, his defensive presence is something that we need more than his offense. But if he is able to wear down the other team's big man by going right at him and making them work on the defensive side, we will be able to dominate the inside and outside more easily.

[kobynum]

Fear?


True fear will come from holding teams to 85 or less.

not untilwe stop averaging over 97 a game, asking the team to beat teams on average by 13 is disrespecting every other player in this league, who all want to win and who are have a great deal of talent and pride

[GCMD]

not untilwe stop averaging over 97 a game, asking the team to beat teams on average by 13 is disrespecting every other player in this league, who all want to win and who are have a great deal of talent and pride

Give up 100 ppg and I'm not exactly sure you can strike real fear in any good team.

Any good defensive team will hold the Lakers under their average...will the Lakers do the same?


Lakers give up 98.76 ppg. How many teams AVERAGE 98.76+ ppg? 12 (not counting the Lakers). That means the majority of the league gets their avg or more against us. Where do the Lakers rank in opp ppg? 14th.


Defense is definitely not our strong suit.

[Scott P]

Give up 100 ppg and I'm not exactly sure you can strike real fear in any good team.

Any good defensive team will hold the Lakers under their average...will the Lakers do the same?


Lakers give up 98.76 ppg. How many teams AVERAGE 98.76+ ppg? 12 (not counting the Lakers). That means the majority of the league gets their avg or more against us. Where do the Lakers rank in opp ppg? 14th.


Defense is definitely not our strong suit.

Yeah, and we only beat the Spurs by 14. And we only have the best record in the lead. And we only have the fastest tempo in the league allowing more scoring opportunities. You Faker fans are satisfied unless we win every game 120 to 85.

[GCMD]

Slow your roll, Scott P. You don't know who/what you're talking about.

Best to just walk away from this one.

[Maddocks]

going to be a blood bath in here....

[Imadogg]

Great article, let's not get too cocky, but I really think fully healthy we have the best team in the league for sure.

Slow your roll, Scott P.

You meant to say "Know your role, Jabroni"

[last stand 2.0]

lets slow down and not get ahead of ourselves

its still only january no reason to get too high or too low

[Scott P]

Slow your roll, Scott P. You don't know who/what you're talking about.

Best to just walk away from this one.

Lol. Okay tough guy. Laker season ticket holder for 20 years. You?

[Savory Griddles]

Lol. Okay tough guy. Laker season ticket holder for 20 years. You?

He has a superiority complex when discussing anything Laker related. That's the equivalent of 20 years of season ticket holding, right?

[Scott P]

He has a superiority complex when discussing anything Laker related. That's the equivalent of 20 years of season ticket holding, right?

His arrogance is staggering. He does have game, just not as much as he thinks.

[West Coast]

Everyone settle down and discuss the topic, not the posters.

[phifedogg76]

Yeah, and we only beat the Spurs by 14. And we only have the best record in the lead. And we only have the fastest tempo in the league allowing more scoring opportunities. You Faker fans are satisfied unless we win every game 120 to 85.

so what, we had the 3rd best record in the league last year, we DO NOT have the fastest tempo in the league (i dont know where you got that from but im pretty sure GS and NY run more than us amongst others) beat the spurs 4 games to 1 last year in the conference finals ... and then we got wrecked by the celtics .... i dont know how you can call someone a "faker" fan when all theyre asking for is better defense when we are giving up 98 points a game

[Scott P]

so what, we had the 3rd best record in the league last year, we DO NOT have the fastest tempo in the league (i dont know where you got that from but im pretty sure GS and NY run more than us amongst others) beat the spurs 4 games to 1 last year in the conference finals ... and then we got wrecked by the celtics .... i dont know how you can call someone a "faker" fan when all theyre asking for is better defense when we are giving up 98 points a game

Waaa. My team's not perfect. Waaaa. Pau's soft. Waaa. Kobe shoots too much. Waaa, Bynum only got one rebound. Waaa, we didn't win the NBA finals in a year when nobody thought we'd be competitive. Waaa. Waaa.