Chris Bosh:"Lakers Have The Best Team...On Paper"

[Crown&Coke]

I'd like to see the Heat try LeBron-Wade pick and rolls against the Lakers with Bosh as the 5 and at the weakside elbow and shooters in the weak and strong side corners. That could be very hard, if not impossible, for the Lakers to stop.

I would just switch those pick and rolls. Now nobody gotta rotate. Both are beasts, so the Lakers are going to have 2 good defenders on them either way

they get beat going to the rim then let it be. better that then giving up wide open corner 3's or a free rim run to Bosh

[ZenMaster]

please don't give your notes to Spo, please

I don't remember Miami letting Bosh check Dwight in the regular season. But in all reality, pulling Dwight away from the paint on defense really neutralizes whatever advantage he creates on that end of the floor. He does no good out 16 feet and beyond.

Bosh can go out and shoot his 17 footers until he gets into foul trouble guarding Howard on the other end where Howard will be going nowhere but the rim.

[LamarOdom]

My favorite non-Laker player.

What up man where you been?

[TheAesirsFinest]

I would just switch those pick and rolls. Now nobody gotta rotate. Both are beasts, so the Lakers are going to have 2 good defenders on them either way

they get beat going to the rim then let it be. better that then giving up wide open corner 3's or a free rim run to Bosh

That would definitely be the easiest, most clear-cut way to defend that. I think those would be pretty decent mis-matches for the Heat though: Kobe on LeBron (take him to the post), MWP on Wade (try to drive by). In addition to that, bad switches, poor communication, etc. could happen.

Agreed. Even though the usual principle is to avoid opponents shooting near the basket, if the Lakers weren't consistently giving up lay-ups, then that's a lot less they have to worry about. Kobe and MWP are still both fine defenders too.

[Rubio2Gasol]

Kobe and Lebron in the post....Kobe dropped some weight but at the same time, I'm not sure that's a mismatch.

I think you want to beat Kobe with Lateral quickness now, because he can be pesky if you let him get too close.And weight isn't what the post defense is necessarily about , it's about core and base strength, and Kobe still has some of that.

It's not the same mismatch as on Durant at least.

MWP-Wade.

Who knows? MWP still has the quickest hands in the league though.

Mike Brown might actually be useful for once in his life.

[TheAesirsFinest]

Kobe and Lebron in the post....Kobe dropped some weight but at the same time, I'm not sure that's a mismatch.

I think you want to beat Kobe with Lateral quickness now, because he can be pesky if you let him get too close.And weight isn't what the post defense is necessarily about , it's about core and base strength, and Kobe still has some of that.

It's not the same mismatch as on Durant at least.

MWP-Wade.

Who knows? MWP still has the quickest hands in the league though.

Mike Brown might actually be useful for once in his life.

Pretty crazy how I can't even fully disagree with you on that first statement. Old man Kobe still got it.

However, Kobe's too smart (and now light) of a defender imo for LeBron to consistently blow by. I think taking him to the post and using a nice combination of a spin or post move in general and strength to overpower him would be the most effective method. That relies on LeBron's mindset though.

Yeah, I remember MWP making some huge steals / forcing TOs with his hands last year.

[swi7ch]

OKC > LAL

but

MIA > OKC

but

LAL > MIA

[G-Funk]

OKC > LAL

but

MIA > OKC

but

LAL > MIA

This is how I see it but it's closer

[ShaqAttack3234]

The Lakers now have star power plus a stacked team. On paper, they look like the most talented Laker team since the '97-'98 Lakers, if not since Magic's first retirement.

But there are potential problems.

First, there's age, Kobe is 34, Nash will turn 39 in February,Artest will turn 33 in November and Jamison is 36. I'm not sure that a skilled player like Gasol has lost anything at 32, but he's getting up there for an NBA player too. But Dwight will only be 27 in December, and most players seem to peak at 27 or 28.

But based on last season, all of these players seemed to have something left in the tank, now it's just a matter of how well they fit together. That's another question mark because excluding the Olympics, Howard, Nash and Jamison have not played with each other or with any of the Lakers' key players.

Some of the players clearly won't be in a position to be their most effective.

Nash is one of them. Remember what happened in 2009 when Terry Porter tried to make the Suns more of a defensive-minded half court team with Shaq as the focal point which took the ball out of Nash's hands more. And this was primarily a 34 year old Nash turning 35, who still had most of his ability as evidenced by him leading the Suns to the finals the very next season.

With Howard and Gasol getting touches in the post as well as Kobe handling the ball a lot in Mike Brown's offense which involves very little running, a 39 year old Nash does not have much of a chance to have an all-star season.

But worst case, Nash will provide a proven ball handler who can get them into their offense, make some plays and give them a great shooter, which they were clearly lacking. I'm sure we'll see some great stuff between Nash and Howard too. And while Nash will be 39, John Stockton was an effective starting point guard until he was 41, and he had a phenomenal season in 2002 at 39. I think they're fairly similar except Nash has more creativity as a scorer and has been more willing and capable of taking over a game, and he's a better shooter, while Stockton was a better defensive player.

So Nash can be an effective player, but I don't see him playing as well as he did last year with the Suns or being an all-star. And his defense will be a problem, but with a good defensive coach and the league's best defensive player patrolling the paint, this problem should be minimized.

The other player whose game will be limited is Gasol. We saw this year when Mike Brown's offense resulted in Gasol being wasted on the perimeter. Even though Gasol was clearly the better offensive option than Bynum, Brown made Bynum the 2nd option. There are still arguments for Gasol deserving to be the 2nd option over Howard, but this won't happen. I see Gasol being used in a similar way to last year. That's why I think it's worth exploring trade options, potentially one that could bring in a younger player who complements Howard better and can be part of their future with Howard. That's important because they clearly want to Make Howard their future, and not many of these players will be around much longer. Granted, the mismatches Dwight and Gasol provide may be too great to pass up, and having 2 elite 7 footers is something no other team has, but it is sad seeing Pau wasted and they will need to rebuild around Dwight if they expect him to stay.

Jamison is older, but his unorthodox game and tweener skill set at 6'9" should still make him a capable scorer. He'll obviously be in a limited role off the bench, but I see no reason why he can't be an asset as a scorer off the bench. And I think he could be a good fit with Howard since his shooting range will make him a nice stretch 4 next to Dwight much like Lewis and Anderson in Orlando.

Artest showed some offensive ability when Kobe was out last year, but for the most part he's been an offensive liability the last year, maybe 2 years and he's not the defender he was. But he can still be decent as a defender. I do think they'd be better with a shooter at the 3 since Nash and Antawn Jamison will really be their only 3 point shooters with Kobe's percentage dropping the last 3 years from 33 to 32 and 30% due to probably his finger injuries and his legs going.

And there's the question of who is "the man?" There are legitimate arguments for either Kobe or Dwight as the 1st option, but Kobe will still probably remain the first option for at least this season. Since it became his team after '04, he's established a lot of status with the franchise. Then again, with a young star like Dwight at 27 who they're trying to keep vs a 34 year old star in his last years, this may change. Howard has actually been the better player between the 2, imo, the last 2 seasons, but the more effective offensive option is the question.

If Kobe can play at the level he did this past season when I think he was still a top 5 player, then this can be a really rare team. I would like to see some adjustments to his game from last season such as not holding the ball or dribbling as much to work his shot, and focusing on his deadly mid-range and forgetting about 3s since he doesn't seem to be a good 3 point shooter anymore. But is incredible skill set still allows him to get his shot whenever he wants inside the 3 point line. Even though he doesn't drive to the basket, he still manages to draw legit fouls, primarily on jump shots because his pump fake is so good and defenders guard him so tight.

Dwight's defense with a good defensive coach should guarantee the Lakers are an elite defensive team despite not having great defensive personnel around Dwight. His offense made great strides in the 2010-2011 season when he was consistent all season, looked more fluid with his back to the basket as well as with his footwork, spin move, and left-handed and right-handed jump hook as well as a mid-range bank shot he made at a decent rate allowing him to average 23 ppg on 59% with numerous games of around 40 and few low scoring games. He wasn't quite as sharp or consistent last year and he didn't really attempt those bank shots, but his skills and ability seemed to be the same as '11. The one concern is that his FT% had been consistently at 59-60% the last 6 seasons before dropping to 49% last year. But the improvements I saw last year were definitely passing out of double teams as well as keeping more of his blocked shots in play. And he also learned how to stay out of foul trouble more and stay on the court longer once Gortat was traded. So he's really maturing as a player(if not a person), and if he combines his 2011 scoring with his 2012 passing, or even improves on those things, he can be in the discussion for best player in the game.

But at 27, Dwight's best years maybe ahead of him, I've given up hope on him being the 65-70% free throw shooter I thought he could and back to his usual 59-60% seems to be the best case scenario now.

I have little doubt the Lakers will contend, but Mike Brown is a concern. How will he balance this talent or handle the egos? As it is, he proved incapable of leading the team and putting in a competent offense. Outside of his offense, he proved to me he's suited to be no more than an assistant coach when he said he'd defer to Kobe because Kobe has won titles. That's unacceptable for a coach, they have to be the boss on the team. Due to Brown being unwilling to criticize Kobe as well as his mediocre offense that relies on his superstar to carry the team just like in Cleveland, I saw more of Kobe's bad habits than in years. I don't know if it was just Brown or Kobe losing a lot of athleticism, but I saw him dribbling too much and holding the ball a lot more. That's not really a winning style. Beyond that, Brown proved to be incapable of making adjustments when Orlando upset his Cavs team. He didn't make any adjustments as far as his lineup despite Lewis feasting on Clevelands 4s, or to how they defended Howard when he absolutely destroyed them.

Then again, I've never considered Spoelstra to be a good coach and Miami won a title so maybe in certain situations you can get by with a mediocre coach.

It will be interesting, given the adjustments, this certainly won't be a team that approaches 70 wins, and may not even win 60, but they have the ability to contend for a championship and another franchise player to take over for Kobe soon.

[Graviton]

He's the 2nd smartest guy on that Heat team behind Battier and easily the least douchiest of the big 3. I can't wait to see him light up Dwight like he always did in his Raptor days.

Yep, he is my favorite player on the Heat. Knows how to perfectly express his thoughs and never bullshits. His goofy antics are hilarious as well. He is so underappreciated in Lebron's/Wade's shadow. He is their key player, without him Wade/Bron don't get those easy driving lanes or the important rebounds.

[dbugz]

On paper? Ehh I guess, but having only one player younger than 30 in their starting lineup isn't going to help later down the stretch.

overrated statement.

KG and the Boston Celtics says hello.

[Qwyjibo]

He's right.

The Lakers are the most talented team in the league right now, IMO. That's when everyone is healthy, of course. Despite that, I still think Miami should be the favourites to win the title since they should have a MUCH easier path through the East. I have a hard time thinking of a scenario where they don't make it out of the East into the Finals. I can't say the same for the Lakers despite them having the most talent.

[alleykat]

it's the truth tho.....how it plays out we will see...but i can't help and be excited for this season

bosh has always been a standup dude....