Author Topic: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?  (Read 5760 times)

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Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #15 on: December 03, 2012, 03:07:26 PM »

Offline csfansince60s

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probably C's.  some things are looking better recently.  not great, but better.  Lakers still have no depth and Pau seems to have mentally checked out.

Agree.......check out these quotes from Kobe on Gasol:

""Put your big boy pants on. Just adjust," said Kobe Bryant. "You can't whine about it. I'm 34 years old. I'm running screen-and-rolls out there. Steve [Nash] is out and my [tail] is running up and down the court more than I have my entire career. You have to adjust to it. I stay after practice and work on my ball-handling, my screen and roll."

Sounds like trouble in paradise.

Also this from D'Antoni in the same RealGM article:

"We just have to be a more dynamic team," said Mike D'Antoni. "We're slow right now. Athletically, we're struggling against young teams that just run up and down."

...and as Nash and Kobe age by the day, I don't see it getting much bettter soon.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/224790/Kobe_On_Gasol_Put_Your_Big_Boy_Pants_On_Adjust

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2012, 03:09:57 PM »

Offline Kane3387

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probably C's.  some things are looking better recently.  not great, but better.  Lakers still have no depth and Pau seems to have mentally checked out.

Agree.......check out these quotes from Kobe on Gasol:

""Put your big boy pants on. Just adjust," said Kobe Bryant. "You can't whine about it. I'm 34 years old. I'm running screen-and-rolls out there. Steve [Nash] is out and my [tail] is running up and down the court more than I have my entire career. You have to adjust to it. I stay after practice and work on my ball-handling, my screen and roll."

Sounds like trouble in paradise.

Also this from D'Antoni in the same RealGM article:

"We just have to be a more dynamic team," said Mike D'Antoni. "We're slow right now. Athletically, we're struggling against young teams that just run up and down."

...and as Nash and Kobe age by the day, I don't see it getting much bettter soon.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/224790/Kobe_On_Gasol_Put_Your_Big_Boy_Pants_On_Adjust

This is the kind of thing that could make Dwight move on.


KG: "Dude.... What is up with yo shorts?!"

CBD_2016 Cavs Remaining Picks - 14.14

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2012, 03:11:05 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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I mean MIke D's offense will be built around Nash's skillset... so it stands to reason that they will be significantly better once he returns.

Their problems right now are chemistry and lack of familiarity with their new coach...

Boston's problem comes down to lack of talent.  1 star PG, a star PF, two starting SF's, and four backup shooting guards doesn't make a ton of sense.  A couple roster tweaks will fix us up real nice.  It's simply not possible to fix our roster until Dec 15th or Jan 15th at the earliest when players like Bass and Jeff Green become tradeable.

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2012, 03:29:05 PM »

Offline BballTim

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Also this from D'Antoni in the same RealGM article:

"We just have to be a more dynamic team," said Mike D'Antoni. "We're slow right now. Athletically, we're struggling against young teams that just run up and down."

...and as Nash and Kobe age by the day, I don't see it getting much bettter soon.

  When Nash comes back it's likely that Dwight will be the only player getting more than 15 minutes a game that's under 32 years old. Coaching won't fix that.

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #19 on: December 03, 2012, 03:31:41 PM »

Offline BostonNative

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of course the Lakers....I think we were  better off going for the rebuild and hoping for the best.

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #20 on: December 03, 2012, 03:34:26 PM »

Offline CelticG1

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Lakers.  They have too much talent not to turn it around.  Best big man in the game.  1st or 2nd best shooting guard in the game.  Another top 5 big man in Pau...  Both Jamison and Artest have game.  Once Nash returns that team should start to look like newage Showtime.  YOu're adding a top 5 playmaker and the #1 best shooter in the league.  Give them a month or so to adjust to the new coach.  Probably the favorite to win the West when the dust settles.

Boston will take until probably the trade deadline, but I do think we'll get it together.  At the moment we have added some solid/mediocre talent (like 4 backup shooting guards), but the pieces don't really fit yet.  Might take a couple moves.  Mid-to-late February for them.  Should play .500 ball until then.  We should hobble into the playoffs and win a round or two.

You certainly are a glass half full type of guy.....at least when it comes to any team not named the Celtics.

Oh how I wish we could bet on this so people could actually put their money where their mouth is

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #21 on: December 03, 2012, 04:24:19 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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Lakers.  They have too much talent not to turn it around.  Best big man in the game.  1st or 2nd best shooting guard in the game.  Another top 5 big man in Pau...  Both Jamison and Artest have game.  Once Nash returns that team should start to look like newage Showtime.  YOu're adding a top 5 playmaker and the #1 best shooter in the league.  Give them a month or so to adjust to the new coach.  Probably the favorite to win the West when the dust settles.

Boston will take until probably the trade deadline, but I do think we'll get it together.  At the moment we have added some solid/mediocre talent (like 4 backup shooting guards), but the pieces don't really fit yet.  Might take a couple moves.  Mid-to-late February for them.  Should play .500 ball until then.  We should hobble into the playoffs and win a round or two.

You certainly are a glass half full type of guy.....at least when it comes to any team not named the Celtics.

Oh how I wish we could bet on this so people could actually put their money where their mouth is
I think my glass is plenty full... I just said we'd maybe win a round or two.  At the present, we'd limp into the playoffs with the 8th seed and get trounced in round 1 by Miami.  The fact that I see us making some trades and moving up in the standings enough to match up with an Atlanta or Milwaukee is pretty positive.

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #22 on: December 03, 2012, 04:38:04 PM »

Offline JSD

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D'Antoni was the worst possible coach for this Laker team because he's all about transition and fast paced offense.

They need to run a half court set through Dwight Howard to be successful. Their pieces are not being used correctly.
The only color that matters is GREEN

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #23 on: December 03, 2012, 05:48:59 PM »

Offline GreenFaith1819

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I believe BOS is already on the upswing.

Steve Blake will be out for another 6-8 weeks now, Kobe is calling out Pau in public, and with every loss I'm sure Dwight is unhappy.

Last night's loss to ORL couldn't have helped, either.

If they trade Pau, which is probably their main option, that chops down the twin towers, which I like. And DH will not get as many good looks without one of the best passing big men in the game in Pau. And unless LA fleeces another team (possible, given their history), they won't get anyone back that can truly help them.

I'd LOVE to see Pau in HOU somehow..with Asik, Harden and Lin. That'd be a dangerous team. I'd love for him to spend his last few years as a centerpiece and WITH a fabled big man as coach in McHale.

For BOS, we get AB back soon, Jeff Green is showing signs consistent play, and at least we are stable in the coaching area.

I'm waiting patiently for LA to implode...either that will happen, or they will get it together but still lose to either MEM or OKC in the playoffs.

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #24 on: December 03, 2012, 06:00:28 PM »

Offline Who

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The Lakers will be more up and down during the regular season than Celtics due to the lack of depth on their roster. When 1-2 of their reliable contributors struggle, they are sink fast and often.

So I don't know who gets right first but LA is going to have multiple bad streaks in the regular season this year. They are just too top-heavy + those top heavy stars do not complement one another well enough. So this question of LA turning it around is going to get asked another 4-6 times before the playoffs come around.

When Boston get their act together, they'll have a much smoother ride to the playoffs. Better built for the regular season due to their superior depth with pieces that fit alongside one another.

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #25 on: December 03, 2012, 06:09:36 PM »

Offline Interceptor

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Hard to weigh in on this at all until Nash is back. They just have way too many options with Nash/Kobe/Gasol/Howard on the floor at the same time. These games they have now, just seem like playing in the sandbox.

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #26 on: December 03, 2012, 06:42:20 PM »

Offline alajet

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In all likelihood, both teams may end up failing to turn it around first.

Lakers screwed it up the moment they traded away Bynum. He was complementing Gasol a whole lot better (the difference is like earth and moon), and now, they will be forced to trade Gasol away, too, only to find zero chemistry throughout the middle of the season.

Celtics are waiting for Bradley to be the Messiah, and if he can't be him, we are looking at a total mess with a really weak bench (now, don't jump on me because I called the bench weak, because it really is. Having scorers like Terry and Green off the bench is very nice, but we are like Jekyll and Hide, with KG on and off the court).

Yeah, I vote for neither.

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #27 on: December 03, 2012, 06:44:19 PM »

Offline ScottHow

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Tough to say, but I think the Celtics have the mindset to pull it off, but lack the elite talent.

I think LA has the elite talent, but lacks the mindset.

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #28 on: December 03, 2012, 06:59:00 PM »

Offline cman88

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honestly, I think the C's have already started to turn it around...since Rondo's suspension, the team has played better defense and Green/Lee have started to find themselves offensively.

if the C's win by 1 or even 2 against milwaukee we are talking today about how Green/Lee have finally emerged and the defense is improving

Re: Who turns it around first? Lakers or Celtics?
« Reply #29 on: December 03, 2012, 07:05:05 PM »

Online Neurotic Guy

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I can't get too excited yet about how up and down the Lakers look, though comments on this thread give me hope.  I fear that they will become unbeatable.  I am praying that it falls apart, but can't allow myself to believe it will really happen.  Thanks to those for cogent explanations for why the Lakers will continue to struggle.

Who -- I couldn't tell by your comments if you are implying that despite an up/down regular season you think things will be different for the Lakers with tight rotations and increased halfcourt play in the playoffs.