Best team in the West?

by DRJ1 on May 5, 2009 10:15 PM EDT

Conventional wisdom says the Lakers are the cream of the West. They're not. They have an excellent bunch of individual players, but they lack:
- Intensity and character: Kobe, DFish, Ariza are good. Pau is a bit soft, depending on the game. The rest are softer still. Especially Bynum. (I would advise them to trade Bynum for a good defense-minded veteran center, while they can still get a good deal.)
- Cohesion/chemistry: Plenty of that on offense. Little on defense. Which leads to...
- Defense: The Lakers' huge Achilles heel. (a) They don't have it, (b) they too easily succumb when facing it.

Denver on the other hand has it all: intensity, character, cohesion, and a very strong defense. And they have one of the best PGs in the game, a super-high character guy to see them through the rough spots.

Both teams have a major superstar. Kobe may be a bit higher up than Melo, but they're in the same neighborhood. And Melo has much better support from his team. As for their benches: man for man, you would think LA has the edge. But they don't. Denver's bench is better motivated, and performing much better.

I think Denver will come out of the West. If they do, a Denver v. Cleveland Finals would be a very close contest. Denver has the better PG, but Cleveland has the better superstar. Both have the character, chemistry, defense and intensity to win. I give Cleveland the advantage, but it's far from a done deal.

And btw: neither team could beat a healthy, motivated Celtics team. If only.

Be respectful and keep it clean. Thanks.

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Go Denver!

Love it. I would love to see the Nuggets come out of the west. Wouldn’t it be great to see Chauncey have another great trip to the Finals? Always liked him, even during his long stint with Detroit.

Yeah, and as you pointed out: in a perfect world, the C’s will/would be there sending them back home as runners up. Sigh.

by Thruthelookingglass on May 5, 2009 10:33 PM EDT reply actions

Here's the teams ranked by defence

http://www.knickerblogger.net/stats/2009/d_de.htm

The Lakers are the 6th best defence in the league, the Nuggets are placed 8th.

The Lakers may lose, but they’re the best team in the West – and since Manu and T-Mac injuries, by a comfortable margin.

by cordobes on May 5, 2009 10:37 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Thanks for saving me the four seconds, cordobes

-sw

The best of the 2008-09 Boston Celtics is still yet to come. Believe.

by Steve Weinman on May 5, 2009 11:50 PM EDT up reply actions

That's the thing about the playoffs

They don’t follow the regular season’s script. Lakers have gotten worse, Nuggets better, and then much better. Bynum has disappeared. Kobe’s having problems. Meanwhile, multiple guys have stepped up in Denver. No… you cannot just quote the reg season stats and think that’s that. If that were valid, you wouldn’t need the post-season.

by DRJ1 on May 6, 2009 12:25 AM EDT up reply actions

The point isn't so much "that's that"

as it is that your assessment of the Lakers’ defense might not be that fair.

Certainly, I’d still think season-long stats are at least as applicable as what the two teams did in the one series they played so far, considering that it’s such a small sample size and that Denver played a team that completely quit on itself and its coach while the Lakers didn’t.

The Nuggets have improved greatly and are dangerous – but for the second straight year, the Lakers have a highly-ranked defense, and there’s more to be said for that than you’ve allowed here.

-sw

The best of the 2008-09 Boston Celtics is still yet to come. Believe.

by Steve Weinman on May 6, 2009 12:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Well..

…the good thing about this little argument, as opposed to most, is that we will soon see. :)

(Btw… weren’t they ranks like #19 in D last year? Not sure… Anyway, they were better when Bynum was on his game for a few moments there this seasons, but he has deteriorated and so have they.)

by DRJ1 on May 6, 2009 1:21 AM EDT up reply actions

They were fifth in defensive efficiency in 2007-08

-sw

The best of the 2008-09 Boston Celtics is still yet to come. Believe.

by Steve Weinman on May 6, 2009 1:38 AM EDT up reply actions

5th is surprising

…Lotta good it did em.
I am not a Laker hater. I would have liked to see them get to the Finals. But, I believe their history is about to repeat itself… great season, big post-season letdown…. only worse this year. Denver is on the upward slope, peaking. LA’s on the other side, sliding. (Which is why the reg season stats don’t mean much now.) Poor Kobe. His only chance will be if they trade Bynum for a great defensive presence in the middle, somebody that can lead the team’s D. Could happen. I think Phil’s sick of the kid.

by DRJ1 on May 6, 2009 5:22 AM EDT up reply actions

"Lotta good it did em"

Well, they pounded through the Western Conference playoffs and went to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the team that was not only the best in the NBA all season along but also had one of the four defenses better than the Lakers’ (the top-ranked defense, in fact).

There are 30 teams in the league. Twenty-nine of them go home without winning the NBA title every year. The Lakers were one of the last two playing, and their defense was a decent portion of the reason why. There’s more to be said for that than the wave-of-the-hand you allotted with that first phrase.

-sw

The best of the 2008-09 Boston Celtics is still yet to come. Believe.

by Steve Weinman on May 6, 2009 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions