Quote:
Originally Posted by dalakhani
That would put them as one of the four best teams in basketball which is about right in my opinion. I realize that OKC beat them in that series but its not like it wasn't competitive. If Nash was in there this year over Sessions, could that not have made the difference? Maybe not but i don't think one could answer that definitively considering how close the games were.
Nash averaged 10.6 assists last year passing the ball to a bunch of stiffs. What does that total look like when Kobe, bynum and Gasol are taking those shots? How much does it help Kobe if he has a two time MVP getting him easy looks? How much does it help the lakers spacing when you have a credible shooter spotting up from three point range? How much does it help Gasol and bynum when they have one of the best pick and roll point guards in history to work with instead of watching kobe jack up another 20 ft fade?
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Where they rank isnt really pertinent because in LA it is win or bust. Nash is not the MVP player he was. Watching a PHX game the last 2 years and seeing him laying prone on the sidelines makes you remember that he has a lot of miles on that body. The spacing issue is not going away because Nash is not a guy who get doubled. Teams play him straight up just as most play Kobe straight up and live or die with him taking bad shots. The thing that may be an issue with LA is Bynum is strictly a low post guy and Kobe is an isolation player, neither of which plays to Nash's strengths. Of course he is such a dynamic playmaker that he can make it work but Brown should probably seperate Nash and Kobe's minutes and let Nash dictate the offense when Kobe is on the bench because I still don't see Kobe allowing the offense not being run through him most of the time.
Defensively how do they match up to OKC? Still major issues there.