The MIA Heat Show Thread

[DaKCMan AP]

LA will be dethroned. The LAC Lake Show will be dead. So it's time to create a thread to follow the new dynasty.

Going on tour starting this October.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by ARROW2

Utah and OK? NOBODY is stopping the LAKESHOW from 3 peating, let alone somebody from the West...Bell and Jefferson?

Yeah, Utah and OKC. Jefferson is a legit 6'10" that brings 20 & 10 that fits Sloan's system to a "T."

Just got better on D with Ratliff and Barnes....

And got substantially worse from an offensive perspective with those guys. Ratliff isn't going to give much on either end at this point in his career. He's not even a block a game guy anymore and has never been a scorer. Barnes is nothing more than an average rebounder at the 3 spot, and not much else. That's not an improvement.

and don't sleep on Blake....Bench just got better and deeper....Got two sleeper rookies to boot.....

Pinning your hopes on depth on Ratliff, Barnes, Blake and two "sleeper" rookies? Jesus...

The Lakers depth is pretty much dog shit. And with Kobe and Fisher having a shit ton of miles on their bodies, Bynum constantly brokedick and who knows what with Artest, that ain't much to rely upon.

Bynum at 100% makes it unfair to everybody...

Bynum will never be 100%. He's scheduled for ligament repair in his knee for the second time in three years and has only played a full season once in five years. The dude is broke, has no fire and plays soft. He was completely ineffective in the playoffs this year, injury notwithstanding, and has never really been a factor in terms of the Lakers success in the regular season or playoffs. The guy is a non-factor.

you already know how the Black Mamba rolls...

Yep. I remember those classic first round playoff exits after Shaq left and before Gasol arrived.

You better pray to whatever thing you find holy that Gasol stays healthy. If he goes down, the Lakers are ****ed. Add to that that nearly every team in the West has brought in length - Jefferson to Utah, Turkoglu and Warrick to Phoenix, Aldrich to OKC, Chandler to Dallas, a healthy Griffin in LAC, etc. It seems that every team in the Western conference loaded up on length to combat the Lakers. The Lakers front court is going to take a pounding nearly every night this next season.

[Miles]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Yeah, Utah and OKC. Jefferson is a legit 6'10" that brings 20 & 10 that fits Sloan's system to a "T."



And got substantially worse from an offensive perspective with those guys. Ratliff isn't going to give much on either end at this point in his career. He's not even a block a game guy anymore and has never been a scorer. Barnes is nothing more than an average rebounder at the 3 spot, and not much else. That's not an improvement.

Pinning your hopes on depth on Ratliff, Barnes, Blake and two "sleeper" rookies? Jesus....

I am a very anti Lakers fan but they did improve there bench with those moves. Blake is likely better than Fisher at this point. Barnes is now a very good defensive player. What exactly did they lose? Ratliff is garbage and old but who did they lose in their rotation that he weakens the team?

[kcxiv]

lol. Ratliff is barely going to play at all. It goes, Bynum/Gasol then if they get into foul trouble Theo Ratliff. He's taking DJ Mbenga's spot. Did any one really see Mbenga play? Only in mop up duty.

Ratliff is 3rd in the rotation. He's still a good pick up to pick up some fouls if they need too, or give Bynum and Gasol a breather for 3 min.

Gasol was out last year for a little bit and the Lakers were FINE!. you know who was his back up? Lamar Odom, you know who was 3rd in the rotation? Josh Powell. This year we got a rookie that can certainly do what Powell does in Caracter (spelling).

[Param]

Originally Posted by kcxiv

Not butthurt at all. Its the fact that for me as a Laker fan i would love to face them in the finals.

Yes, it would be an exciting series.

[Param]

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

However, there's nothing butthurt about calling out the Heat fans who have basically crowned their ass already.

As long as there's no season ending injuries to 1 of the big 3, the Heat should be there in the finals and win.

[Param]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

The Lakers depth is pretty much dog shit. And with Kobe and Fisher having a shit ton of miles on their bodies, Bynum constantly brokedick and who knows what with Artest, that ain't much to rely upon.

I agree with this.

[DaKCMan AP]

At an age when Jordan was shooting down Georgetown in the NCAA Final, James came into the league with the most noise heard from Cleveland since Don King's last filibuster. With consistently middling help, he made the Cavaliers relevant, a regular-season winner and, in 2007, shot them into the NBA Finals. That they got swept matters not. James lifted that team as far as it could go while being mainly a scorer, much less multidimensional a player than he desires.

Contrast that with Jordan. Memories of the Michael and The Jordanaires era have dissipated as the reason that was such a perfect nickname.

But what if someone else came out of that 1987 draft with Scottie Pippen? What if the Bulls couldn't get a Horace Grant or a John Paxson? What if, after seven seasons, instead of lifting the NBA championship trophy for the first time, Jordan looked around and saw a team good enough to win 50 regular=season games but not the 16 playoff games necessary for a championship?

Now, what if he was a free agent that summer and so was David Robinson or Patrick Ewing or a healthy fellow Tar Heel, Brad Daugherty? And what if Barkley called that 1991 spring and said the Sixers had salary-cap space for Jordan and a star center?

Consider: We're supposed to believe a guy who used to bribe baggage handlers to secure a victory at the First Bag Luggage Carousel Game and cheat at card games involving a teammate's mother would pass up the chance for an unfair advantage on the rest of the NBA? Out of sheer ego? Especially when the alternative looks like so much more of the same?

Come on, man.

Magic got drafted onto a team with the era's dominant center, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and a supporting cast of guys who would be stars on other teams.

After the Lakers went 2 for 3 on championships to start Magic's career, they drafted James Worthy, another future Hall of Famer.

Meanwhile, after a Bird-led 32-victory turnaround his rookie season, Boston snookered Golden State out of Robert Parrish and a first-round pick it used for Kevin McHale. When the Celtics needed a backup center, they wrung the last good years out of Bill Walton's knees.

So, of course, Magic never thought about playing with Bird. After seven seasons, each stood as the entrenched leader of a team that started three layup Hall of Famers and claimed three NBA titles. Their bond began in competition, to be soldered later by friendship and discovery of commonality. And each liked embodying his end of the NBA's most storied rivalry, Lakers vs. Celtics.

Give James even a portion of that and he still would be in Cleveland. Show me a Hall of Famer on Cleveland during James' seven seasons there other than the fading Shaq Granddaddy. Heck, show me a Michael Cooper, a Dennis Johnson or a Norm Nixon.

Only Barkley, among the aforementioned Hall of Famers criticizing James, ever left his initial NBA home. It should be noted he had perhaps his finest season and led Phoenix to the NBA Finals. Jordan and Johnson never even had to consider playing anywhere else.

James still might not fill their Converses or Air Jordans as a player. But they never had to walk in his.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/2...#ixzz0uo2v6qD0

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/2...#ixzz0uo2v6qD0

Stupid article. Nothing will ever change the fact that lebron quit on his team and ran for shelter to Wade's team. He can get rings and get paid but he will never get the respect he could have. Wouldn't bother me a bit if the punk blew an ACL over the summer.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by vailpass

Stupid article. Nothing will ever change the fact that lebron quit on his team and ran for shelter to Wade's team. He can get rings and get paid but he will never get the respect he could have. Wouldn't bother me a bit if the punk blew an ACL over the summer.

WTF?

This James to wherever has been a main topic of discussion for the past two years, where everyone seemed pretty certain that he'd be in NYC regardless.

The guy was a free agent, had every right to go wherever he wanted to go, and he did so. End of story. The guy played in Cleveland for seven years. Some guys would love to have seven year NBA careers. He got them to the Finals. They brought in Shaq for another title run, but it didn't happen. Shaq didn't have much left in the tank at this point and he wanted to try for a ring. BFG. If there was a Gasol level signing in Cleveland as well as a good coaching hire, I'm sure that he'd probably still be there. (Even Kobe with Jackson coaching him, couldn't get out of the first round without another stud on the team, i.e., Gasol & Shaq.)

I remember when Boozer did the same thing. The Cav fans were in an uproar about that one as well.

I don't hear anyone bitching about Bosh giving up on his team, or any other free agent who is in another uniform this year.

The media, and subsequently, the public's focus on James is utterly ridiculous.

[The Bad Guy]

Originally Posted by Param

I agree with this.

Of course you do.

Blake, Barnes, Odom, Caracter and either Brown or Sasha provide plenty of depth.

I wouldn't expect you to understand that though. You have your head so far up your own ass, I'm surprised you could even type that last post.

[The Bad Guy]

What a complete bullshit article. Magic, Michael and Larry made players around them BETTER. I'm still trying to find one guy that LeBron ever made better in Cleveland.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

Of course you do.

Blake, Barnes, Odom, Caracter and either Brown or Sasha provide plenty of depth.

I wouldn't expect you to understand that though. You have your head so far up your own ass, I'm surprised you could even type that last post.

The Lakers suck dude that's why they're the back to back NBA champions and have been in the finals 3 straight years. They're ****ed dude, anyone can see that.

[kcxiv]

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

Of course you do.

Blake, Barnes, Odom, Caracter and either Brown or Sasha provide plenty of depth.

I wouldn't expect you to understand that though. You have your head so far up your own ass, I'm surprised you could even type that last post.

There are so many people on this forum that try to post in this thread that have absolutely no idea about NBA basketball that think they do. Lakers with no depth? They have one of the deepest teams in the NBA. If they arent 1, they are top 3 for sure.

[-King-]

[Param]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

The guy was a free agent, had every right to go wherever he wanted to go, and he did so. End of story.

Agree.

Lebron did not demand a trade with years left on his contract. He was a free agent. And like lots of free agents, he left for another team.