I will admit right off the bat, I AM a Mavs fan but after today I think it's the last time LA is going to be "The team to beat" in the Western Conference, and I have a couple reasons why. 1. When your a good team, you win with class and you lose with class, the new Lakers proved tonight that they can't lose with class, they can sure as hell win, but when there getting there ass handed too them they can't take it, idk if you watched the game, but Lamar Odom who normally I have respect for had a totally unnecessary foul that got him kicked out of a game which even tho they were losing they could of actually used him for the full 4 quarters, then you have Bynum, wow talk about class act, knocking the shit out of a barely 6' PG, wow that is UNCALLED for, and add Ron Artest to the mix and this Lakers Team has no class, and despite what people say class is something you need to have to win championships 2. I'm not saying Kobe isn't dominant, he's still top 5 players of today, BUT he's turning 33 next season and how many years can he keep doing what he's been doing? He's been in the league almsot 15 fuckin years! no matter what 15 year under your belt is going to lead to wear and tear, don't get me wrong He's going to be great, and he's going to be retiring a great player, but he can't single handedly carry a team like he used to as you saw during this playoff season, and as you can tell he has a real class teammates(NOT) 3. One of the best coaches of all time is retiring this year, and that is Phil Jackson, you can tell he wasen't in the game during the series and he's retiring like Brett Favre... Disgraced, not b/c of his actions but the actions of his players, how do you replace the best coach of all time tho? who will they hire to replace someone with 12 rings and over 30 years of coaching under his belt, and a player who won a championship and played in the NBA for 13 years, thats OVER 40 YEARS experience gone, it may of done the Lakers well to play for him, but there's no way the next coach can fill those shoes and judging from the respect his players showed him this season(or at least towards the end in the playoffs) the next coach has his hands full trying to get this team to respect him That's my reasoning and don't go and talk shit about the Mavs, I realize there fuckin older than the Lakers, and this might be the last year they have a real shot too, but no one cares about the mavs, we weren't the dynasty LA was, I could also write a something about the end of SA dynasty too, but I chose to concentrate on the Lakers, don't get me wrong they'll still make the playoffs, they'll still be a top 5 team in the Western Conference,but there days at the top is over. I would love to hear someone try to debate this, to sum it up THE LAKERS DYNASTY IS DONE SON!!!!!!!!
Nah, cause they're going to get Dwight Howard next season, and D-Fish will retire so that a younger and BETTER PG can run the offense, plus I doubt they'll continue with the Triangle, so that should add a couple more years onto Kobe's run. The Lakers will win at least one more ring before Kobe hangs it up.
i say its over for em. OKC is going to become too good and the heat are going to become too good. at some point its going to be better o build a team around lebron/durant instead of kobe and i think that time is now. no need to compare him to jordan. there was an air jordan era and a kobe bryant era (phil jackson masterminding both!), they are both that tough imo
I do think the dynasty is ending, but if they land Dwight, they'll be contenders for 3-5 years. If not, they'll make some personnel moves this summer that will delay the inevitable, but at the end of the day Kobe is past his prime, and the supporting cast is not enough to win them championships.
Seeing as they didn't win a title this season, it's only going to get worse for them. If you want Dwight you better gut your team.
lol no. Bynum + fillers and taking on either Gilbert's or Turkeyglue's awful contract will be enough.
I'm from Phoenix, and as a Suns fan and I just want to say that the whole Turkoglu thing doesn't work out that well... dont even try it. He plays like crap unless he's in Orlando.
Yeah, I'd take Gilbert at this point. But I won't trip if we end up with Turk, it's Dwight fucking Howard we're talking about here. Plus Hedo is not a terrible piece to have off the bench...
The Lakers are still a great organization. They'll slow down for a few seasons, but the Lakers wont fall to the bottom any time soon, they'll go more to the middle and work their way back up. I'm not a Lakers fan either, so I'm not just being optimistic. It's a team that will continue to attract talent.
He's also washed up. People rip Bynum for the injuries, but he's a monster when he's on the court. Gilbert's been noticeably affected by having like 3 major knee surgeries on the same knee. He's not half the player he was, and even if he was, I wouldn't want him. He is and always will be a black hole offensively.
