QUOTE]Defense wins championships. The Lakers don't play defense. Until that gets resolved, the Celtics are still the better team. Counting on an 18-19 yearold kid coming back from a season-ending injury to be the difference between a championship and a 39-point blowout seems like wishful thinking. This Lakers team would have lost to Cleveland, Detroit or Boston in the Finals because all three of those teams play excellent defense. New Orleans also would have been a tough match-up for L.A in the Western Conference Finals. San Antonio might also have one final run in them in 2009. For whatever reason, the Spurs excel in odd-numbered years: championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007.[/quote]
Andrew Bynum is 20-years old and was playing like an all-star before he got injured. Even 75% of Bynum is better than Kendrick Perkins and most other centers in this league.
The Spurs are old. They would need to add one more significant player to be a contender. Robert Horry is going to retire, Brent Barry and Bruce Bowen should retire. Michael Finley, Kurt Thomas, damn, these guys are old.
I would agree that the Hornets are a threat.
The only player on the Lakers roster that will decline next year is Derek Fisher. The only other player on the Lakers roster that is 30 or older is Kobe Bryant and I wouldn't expect a decline in his ability for at least 3 years.
The Celtics on the other hand, are an old team. Next year Ray Allen will be 33, Kevin Garnett 32, Paul Pierce 31.
James Posey is 31 and I doubt the Celtics have the money to re-sign him this Summer.
Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown are not returning. I don't see Rajon Rondo improving his horrid outside shooting... The only player I see on the Celtics significantly improving is Glen Davis. in short, the Celtics are likely to be worse next year, the Lakers are likely to be better next year.
The Lakers also have more trade chips.
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Do you see how he scowls at his teammates in the open floor? He yells at anybody who doesn't catch one of his bad passes. Don't take it from me, read Phil Jackson's book. Don't you think Jackson would be in the best position to comment about his own player? Kobe is one of the most hated players in the league - hated by his own team. He forced Shaq out of L.A, tried to force Bynum out of L.A, then tried to get himself out of L.A when he couldn't win anything alone. Only Memphis' gift of Pau Gasol quieted Kobe and don't be surprised if that changes too.
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Big deal. Michael Jordan as well threatened to retire and be traded when he didn't get his way in Chicago. Remember when the Bulls were thinking about trading Scottie Pippen for Tracy McGrady?
BTW, Kobe didn't force Shaq out of LA. If you have noticed, Shaq has played on 4 teams, burning bridges with the Lakers and Heat. Shaq was traded out of LA because he was old and overweight. The reason why Kobe was blamed is because Kobe is hated by the media, while Shaq is generally loved.
Besides, the Lakers got Caron Butler and Lamar Odom for Shaq. That was a good deal even though the Lakers gave up on Butler too soon.