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Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 60. (Read 912265 times)

legendary
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September 23, 2024, 10:26:46 AM
Jayson Tatum said something about the Finals.
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Just like Tatum, I thought it would be the Denver Nuggets too. I never expected that much from Kyrie and Luka of the Mavs that year because I thought they were still building their chemistry. That was really a surprising end on the Western Conference side.
Well, this year will be more surprising, I see the Timberwolves going back strong in the WCF, maybe against the Mavs again or the Nuggets. Eastern Conference could become unpredictable and I see the Knicks being on the top if healthy. 76ers should not be underestimated too after acquiring PG13, as long as he and Embiid stay healthy it will be a scary duo, plus Maxey of course.
I have doubts that the Celtics could make a back-to-back championship.
Many of us expected the same thing, and I think it's pretty normal that we think that way knowing that they're the defending champions at that time.

TBH, that Finals Match-up would be much better than that of Dallas-Boston. No disrespect to the Mavericks because they're a strong team, but it would be a better series in my opinion if it's Denver-Boston. It is what is, and the Nuggets can contend again this season and get that 2nd title... or are they a title contender right now? Why and why not? As for the contenders for the West, I see the Timberwolves as well to compete, but let's not forget the Thunder that just got an upgrade with the acquisition of Hartenstein and Caruso. I will not be surprised if the Thunder will win a title in the next 3-5 years with their current roster or at least the core players intact.

As for the East, Knicks might be the "dark horse" of the East but I'm thinking of who will be their Center if Mitchell Robinson will get injured. They don't have a back-up big because they let Hartenstein walk away, and because of this, I see the Sixers as the top contender in the East aside from the Celtics. Bucks? Nah, just forget about them they're pretty shit in defense and you can't win a title if you're that bad on defense. Will the Celtics make a back-to-back? TBH, they can. I mean the roster's almost the same, and their role players stayed which is a good thing. If there's one hindrance to them, it's injuries, but I think they can do it. Smiley
hero member
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September 23, 2024, 08:40:27 AM
I believe if wasn't for Kawhi Leonard injuries he would have been able to keep his streak .

True, they managed to build a solid team with PG, Westbrook, and other key role players. I think the real issue lies with the Clippers management. Even before Kawhi was signed/traded to the Raptors, he was already injury-prone. But coach Nick Nurse did an excellent job managing his minutes, using load management effectively. It paid off, as Kawhi was incredibly consistent during the playoffs. And if you think about it, the Raptors' roster back then wasn’t as stacked compared to the Clippers’ roster when Leonard was traded.

But now that PG 13 is out on Clippers then they really need the service of Kawhi since the gap to fill by PG's departure is so big and they need to fill up those contributions he bring to his team. So don't know what will be the adjustment done by Clippers in this situation since if they only trust Harden to lead their team then I think nothing will happen on them. So Kawhi need to be healthy and play more games since they might fall short this season if they still keep doing that load management thing in their team. Kawhi is important piece for their team but his prone to injuries is really a huge problem for Clippers.

Let see how Clippers will handle this situation or they still do the load management thing and see if they can able to reach far in this season.

I think Leonard performs better without too many superstars around him. As for Harden, his production has definitely dropped, but if Leonard gets injured again, Harden will have no choice but to step up. However, in that case, the Clippers might struggle to even make the playoffs.

A healthy Leonard is a real threat, and who knows, maybe next season the Clippers could finally win their first franchise championship. The downside is that Leonard isn't getting any younger, and the injuries he’s facing now are definitely a worrying sign for the future.
legendary
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September 23, 2024, 08:20:04 AM
I believe if wasn't for Kawhi Leonard injuries he would have been able to keep his streak .

True, they managed to build a solid team with PG, Westbrook, and other key role players. I think the real issue lies with the Clippers management. Even before Kawhi was signed/traded to the Raptors, he was already injury-prone. But coach Nick Nurse did an excellent job managing his minutes, using load management effectively. It paid off, as Kawhi was incredibly consistent during the playoffs. And if you think about it, the Raptors' roster back then wasn’t as stacked compared to the Clippers’ roster when Leonard was traded.

But now that PG 13 is out on Clippers then they really need the service of Kawhi since the gap to fill by PG's departure is so big and they need to fill up those contributions he bring to his team. So don't know what will be the adjustment done by Clippers in this situation since if they only trust Harden to lead their team then I think nothing will happen on them. So Kawhi need to be healthy and play more games since they might fall short this season if they still keep doing that load management thing in their team. Kawhi is important piece for their team but his prone to injuries is really a huge problem for Clippers.

Let see how Clippers will handle this situation or they still do the load management thing and see if they can able to reach far in this season.
legendary
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September 23, 2024, 08:11:02 AM

That's right, Clippers shoulder him and gave him huge contracts but until know he's not bringing anything for the franchise as he keeps resting because of his injury.

They can't force him as there's doctors recommendations and if he needs to rest then he should be resting, like you mentioned he's level of being a star is fading and it's the name that gives clippers some revenue those who still buying his collectibles but NBA wise as a franchise player there's no conversions after he's being acquired.

The Clippers have no identity anymore, that's also a problem. If you build around a boring personality like Kawhi and then he doesn't even play it's hard to form anything.
In the past the Clips had some sort of identity, even when they were the "never win Clippers". After that is was "lob city", which was the definitely the high point of the franchise with player like CP3, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. But now, who actually cares about the Clippers anymore, nobody. They got a shiny new arena, live in a shiny city but there is nothing interesting about them now!  Roll Eyes




Sad true, way back even they keep failing themselves losing both from Warriors and Spurs but they've got something that fans really wanting to support them, I was one of those who loves seeing CP3 throwing that high ball either with DeAndre or Blake and you'll be enjoying how they played in the air or how they manage to catch and dunks the ball.

It was pandemic season if I remember it right when Clippers was upset by the young Nuggets after they led 3-1 or something like that, it was anticipated that it might be a battle of LA's in the west but Nuggets bounce back and snatch that West finals slot from the Clippers, then the rest was all about Kawhi's injuries..
hero member
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September 23, 2024, 07:51:04 AM
I believe if wasn't for Kawhi Leonard injuries he would have been able to keep his streak .

True, they managed to build a solid team with PG, Westbrook, and other key role players. I think the real issue lies with the Clippers management. Even before Kawhi was signed/traded to the Raptors, he was already injury-prone. But coach Nick Nurse did an excellent job managing his minutes, using load management effectively. It paid off, as Kawhi was incredibly consistent during the playoffs. And if you think about it, the Raptors' roster back then wasn’t as stacked compared to the Clippers’ roster when Leonard was traded.
sr. member
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September 23, 2024, 06:48:50 AM
Kawhi Leonard getting injured (or more like pg13 with him) then surely he would have been better player, but as of right now we know that ever since his Spurs last year, he has been injured way too frequently and been doing terrible. I think it's clear that he is too injury prone and that is why no team wants to take that risk, Clippers pays him so much just to recover most of the time.

I think Kawhi Leonard isn't a superstar like many think he is, sure when he played he won, but that was just two good seasons from him, aside from that he never played that great and I think it's clear that even with all that much talent, when you are missing most of the season, you are not a threat to anyone and teams write off Clippers before the season starts, even if Kawhi starts the season healthy, they bet that he will get injured again anyway.

Well the injuries has cause him alot , especially his knee injury which made him to miss some season . During the year 2015-2016 he was among the all-time 75 best player, one thing about athletes injuries is one of their greatest enemy which can easily end their career or reduce the growth in their career.

I believe if wasn't for Kawhi Leonard injuries he would have been able to keep his streak .
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September 23, 2024, 06:02:34 AM

That's right, Clippers shoulder him and gave him huge contracts but until know he's not bringing anything for the franchise as he keeps resting because of his injury.

They can't force him as there's doctors recommendations and if he needs to rest then he should be resting, like you mentioned he's level of being a star is fading and it's the name that gives clippers some revenue those who still buying his collectibles but NBA wise as a franchise player there's no conversions after he's being acquired.

The Clippers have no identity anymore, that's also a problem. If you build around a boring personality like Kawhi and then he doesn't even play it's hard to form anything.
In the past the Clips had some sort of identity, even when they were the "never win Clippers". After that is was "lob city", which was the definitely the high point of the franchise with player like CP3, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. But now, who actually cares about the Clippers anymore, nobody. They got a shiny new arena, live in a shiny city but there is nothing interesting about them now!  Roll Eyes



legendary
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September 23, 2024, 05:47:13 AM
Kawhi Leonard getting injured (or more like pg13 with him) then surely he would have been better player, but as of right now we know that ever since his Spurs last year, he has been injured way too frequently and been doing terrible. I think it's clear that he is too injury prone and that is why no team wants to take that risk, Clippers pays him so much just to recover most of the time.

I think Kawhi Leonard isn't a superstar like many think he is, sure when he played he won, but that was just two good seasons from him, aside from that he never played that great and I think it's clear that even with all that much talent, when you are missing most of the season, you are not a threat to anyone and teams write off Clippers before the season starts, even if Kawhi starts the season healthy, they bet that he will get injured again anyway.
He was once a superstar but after all, that faded away.

He's got a nice stint with Spurs and Raptors but being with the Clippers seems like the team has caught a falling knife.

So his contract with the Clippers will be up to 2026-2027, that's a nice paycheck without having much to play at all.  Grin

That's right, Clippers shoulder him and gave him huge contracts but until know he's not bringing anything for the franchise as he keeps resting because of his injury.

They can't force him as there's doctors recommendations and if he needs to rest then he should be resting, like you mentioned he's level of being a star is fading and it's the name that gives clippers some revenue those who still buying his collectibles but NBA wise as a franchise player there's no conversions after he's being acquired.
legendary
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September 22, 2024, 06:47:46 PM
Jayson Tatum said something about the Finals.

Celtics' Jayson Tatum says Nuggets matched up best with 2024 champions
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-jayson-tatum-says-nuggets-matched-up-best-with-2024-champions/

Quote
"People always ask me, when did you guys know you were going to win a championship?" Tatum said. "When Minnesota beat Denver, I felt like Denver was the only team that they matched up best with us. I thought that we were going to play Denver in the Finals and it was going to be a good one.

"But when we were in Dallas and we went up, 3-0, oh my God. Nobody has ever come back from 0-3, so I remember getting back to the locker room and I remember saying, I don't know what game it's going to be, but we're going to win the championship. That was a weird feeling. I wasn't able to sleep that night and I remember the morning of Game 4 we had shootaround, and I had never been in the position that if we win tonight, we're champions. We were at shootaround and everybody was trying to act normal. I couldn't take a nap. We lost by like 30. We wanted to win so bad. We were so anxious and so tight. But I knew when we were coming back home for Game 5, we were going to win."

Just like Tatum, I thought it would be the Denver Nuggets too. I never expected that much from Kyrie and Luka of the Mavs that year because I thought they were still building their chemistry. That was really a surprising end on the Western Conference side.
Well, this year will be more surprising, I see the Timberwolves going back strong in the WCF, maybe against the Mavs again or the Nuggets. Eastern Conference could become unpredictable and I see the Knicks being on the top if healthy. 76ers should not be underestimated too after acquiring PG13, as long as he and Embiid stay healthy it will be a scary duo, plus Maxey of course.
I have doubts that the Celtics could make a back-to-back championship.
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September 22, 2024, 05:45:58 PM
Kawhi Leonard getting injured (or more like pg13 with him) then surely he would have been better player, but as of right now we know that ever since his Spurs last year, he has been injured way too frequently and been doing terrible. I think it's clear that he is too injury prone and that is why no team wants to take that risk, Clippers pays him so much just to recover most of the time.

I think Kawhi Leonard isn't a superstar like many think he is, sure when he played he won, but that was just two good seasons from him, aside from that he never played that great and I think it's clear that even with all that much talent, when you are missing most of the season, you are not a threat to anyone and teams write off Clippers before the season starts, even if Kawhi starts the season healthy, they bet that he will get injured again anyway.
He was once a superstar but after all, that faded away.

He's got a nice stint with Spurs and Raptors but being with the Clippers seems like the team has caught a falling knife.

So his contract with the Clippers will be up to 2026-2027, that's a nice paycheck without having much to play at all.  Grin
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September 22, 2024, 01:52:20 PM
I'm not a Kawhi fan at all. He won a title in Toronto with the Raptors , but he to comes off as a diva. I don't like the way he avoids the media, I don't like that he sits out whenever possible, and the fact that he is injured a ton it seems. Would rather see teams spend money on a star that embraces the media and fans and gives people their moneys worth.



Exactly. I have the exact same opinion of him. If he had the "mamba mentality" he could have had such a great career with the talent he has but somehow he pisses his prime away.
He doesn't even sit on the bench to support his teammates when being hurt, that says a lot about a player. You are getting paid millions and can watch free games court side, that's heaven if you ask me.
legendary
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September 22, 2024, 01:42:43 PM
Kawhi Leonard getting injured (or more like pg13 with him) then surely he would have been better player, but as of right now we know that ever since his Spurs last year, he has been injured way too frequently and been doing terrible. I think it's clear that he is too injury prone and that is why no team wants to take that risk, Clippers pays him so much just to recover most of the time.

I think Kawhi Leonard isn't a superstar like many think he is, sure when he played he won, but that was just two good seasons from him, aside from that he never played that great and I think it's clear that even with all that much talent, when you are missing most of the season, you are not a threat to anyone and teams write off Clippers before the season starts, even if Kawhi starts the season healthy, they bet that he will get injured again anyway.
I'm not a Kawhi fan at all. He won a title in Toronto with the Raptors , but he to comes off as a diva. I don't like the way he avoids the media, I don't like that he sits out whenever possible, and the fact that he is injured a ton it seems. Would rather see teams spend money on a star that embraces the media and fans and gives people their moneys worth.

legendary
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September 22, 2024, 12:53:53 PM
Kawhi Leonard getting injured (or more like pg13 with him) then surely he would have been better player, but as of right now we know that ever since his Spurs last year, he has been injured way too frequently and been doing terrible. I think it's clear that he is too injury prone and that is why no team wants to take that risk, Clippers pays him so much just to recover most of the time.

I think Kawhi Leonard isn't a superstar like many think he is, sure when he played he won, but that was just two good seasons from him, aside from that he never played that great and I think it's clear that even with all that much talent, when you are missing most of the season, you are not a threat to anyone and teams write off Clippers before the season starts, even if Kawhi starts the season healthy, they bet that he will get injured again anyway.
legendary
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September 22, 2024, 12:24:48 PM
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Holy crap! It's going to be a mess on the Nuggets defensive end without him. He is one of the best defenders for backcourt players and he has that shooting capability too.
Now they need to figure out something on the rest of their bench like Julian Strawther and Trey Alexander. I mean, they cannot just play offense because they didn't really win the championship back then with offense, it's mostly KCP and Bruce Brown doing the job to defend backcourt players that resulted in steals and turnovers.
It think that should change the outright of Nuggets winning the cup. x11.00 is too low.

And that's why the got Westbrook, because KCP has move out of the Nuggets, same as the previous year when they were the champions. And with that, it surely did messed  up the backcourt defense as they don't have the two in their lineup.

Although we don't know what's the role of Westbrook, there could be experimental days wherein he could be in the first five, starting lineup or could be coming off the bench as they don't have the luxury of KCP to play at least to help bring down the ball and then play defense.
They got Westbrook, and they got... they got... none. They don't have any additions to their team aside from him. I mean there's no big name that's been added to the team. What's even worse is they signed a player named Zeke Nnaji a 4-year $32M contract. For a player that only played 5 MPG last season, that's for me the worst contract that's ever given to a bench player. What did the Nuggets' GM came to his mind and gave this player a contract that huge?

They lose KCP, and Westbrook can't fill that hole, and not even Braun. KCP is an excellent 3-point shooter, thing that both Braun and Westbrook aren't good at, and if IIRC, KCP is shooting at around the 39% or even more at three-point line which is now very high. Westbrook for most of the season will be the back-up PG for Murray. There might be some times where WB will be their starting PG while Murray will move to Shooting Guard. Whatever the case is, the bench players of the Nuggets must step-up big time if they want to win a title again. Their starting 5 alone can't do most of the work.
legendary
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September 22, 2024, 11:58:11 AM
We don't know yet if they would messed up on the current roster they get from free agency, but one thing is for sure that Nuggets still competitive. Westbrook still a quality player and for sure they see that and this is the reason why Nuggets got convince to sign him on their team.

Maybe if their record decline and they cannot advance on Playoffs then with that people would really agree that deciding to add Westbrook and leading go og KCP and the other valuable piece really create a trouble on their team

Westbrook had a great ability to create chances on the court and make a lot of assists per game. That ability would be very useful for the Nuggets. However, I just now noticed that Westbrook's stats from last season were the worst of his career. With that in mind, I doubt he will be of much use to the Nuggets, as there is a chance that his performance this upcoming season could be even worse.
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September 22, 2024, 06:08:06 AM

Yeah, that's the reason. They still have KCP and they have Peyton Watson who played great defense last year too. I think the Nuggets' goal is to focus more on defense because they don't have any problem with their offense. Jokic can always find an open man once he handles the ball either outside or in post-up.
Still, it's not a perfect bench, they will pay a lot if they want it to be better. The key here is to avoid injuries and I think Coach Malone will use WB the same way he used Bruce Brown in their championship stint.

No they don't  Tongue . KCP signed with Orlando over 2 months ago, haha. It was yet another hard blow to the Nuggets because he was a solid player for them, even if he "just" scored 10ppg.
They didn't really sign anybody worth mentioning this offseason, and yes I regard RW as not mentionable in this part of his career. As strong as the west is looking right now they will have a tough time to get to the top 6 in my opinion. A great player like Jokic can't carry a team by himself. Sure if Murray is finally finding back his old self they will have a chance but he is like a lottery at the moment.


What?! I think I missed that news.

Holy crap! It's going to be a mess on the Nuggets defensive end without him. He is one of the best defenders for backcourt players and he has that shooting capability too.
Now they need to figure out something on the rest of their bench like Julian Strawther and Trey Alexander. I mean, they cannot just play offense because they didn't really win the championship back then with offense, it's mostly KCP and Bruce Brown doing the job to defend backcourt players that resulted in steals and turnovers.
It think that should change the outright of Nuggets winning the cup. x11.00 is too low.

And that's why the got Westbrook, because KCP has move out of the Nuggets, same as the previous year when they were the champions. And with that, it surely did messed  up the backcourt defense as they don't have the two in their lineup.

Although we don't know what's the role of Westbrook, there could be experimental days wherein he could be in the first five, starting lineup or could be coming off the bench as they don't have the luxury of KCP to play at least to help bring down the ball and then play defense.

We don't know yet if they would messed up on the current roster they get from free agency, but one thing is for sure that Nuggets still competitive. Westbrook still a quality player and for sure they see that and this is the reason why Nuggets got convince to sign him on their team.

Maybe if their record decline and they cannot advance on Playoffs then with that people would really agree that deciding to add Westbrook and leading go og KCP and the other valuable piece really create a trouble on their team
legendary
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September 22, 2024, 01:59:08 AM

Yeah, that's the reason. They still have KCP and they have Peyton Watson who played great defense last year too. I think the Nuggets' goal is to focus more on defense because they don't have any problem with their offense. Jokic can always find an open man once he handles the ball either outside or in post-up.
Still, it's not a perfect bench, they will pay a lot if they want it to be better. The key here is to avoid injuries and I think Coach Malone will use WB the same way he used Bruce Brown in their championship stint.

No they don't  Tongue . KCP signed with Orlando over 2 months ago, haha. It was yet another hard blow to the Nuggets because he was a solid player for them, even if he "just" scored 10ppg.
They didn't really sign anybody worth mentioning this offseason, and yes I regard RW as not mentionable in this part of his career. As strong as the west is looking right now they will have a tough time to get to the top 6 in my opinion. A great player like Jokic can't carry a team by himself. Sure if Murray is finally finding back his old self they will have a chance but he is like a lottery at the moment.


What?! I think I missed that news.

Holy crap! It's going to be a mess on the Nuggets defensive end without him. He is one of the best defenders for backcourt players and he has that shooting capability too.
Now they need to figure out something on the rest of their bench like Julian Strawther and Trey Alexander. I mean, they cannot just play offense because they didn't really win the championship back then with offense, it's mostly KCP and Bruce Brown doing the job to defend backcourt players that resulted in steals and turnovers.
It think that should change the outright of Nuggets winning the cup. x11.00 is too low.

And that's why the got Westbrook, because KCP has move out of the Nuggets, same as the previous year when they were the champions. And with that, it surely did messed  up the backcourt defense as they don't have the two in their lineup.

Although we don't know what's the role of Westbrook, there could be experimental days wherein he could be in the first five, starting lineup or could be coming off the bench as they don't have the luxury of KCP to play at least to help bring down the ball and then play defense.
legendary
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September 22, 2024, 01:19:10 AM

Yeah, that's the reason. They still have KCP and they have Peyton Watson who played great defense last year too. I think the Nuggets' goal is to focus more on defense because they don't have any problem with their offense. Jokic can always find an open man once he handles the ball either outside or in post-up.
Still, it's not a perfect bench, they will pay a lot if they want it to be better. The key here is to avoid injuries and I think Coach Malone will use WB the same way he used Bruce Brown in their championship stint.

No they don't  Tongue . KCP signed with Orlando over 2 months ago, haha. It was yet another hard blow to the Nuggets because he was a solid player for them, even if he "just" scored 10ppg.
They didn't really sign anybody worth mentioning this offseason, and yes I regard RW as not mentionable in this part of his career. As strong as the west is looking right now they will have a tough time to get to the top 6 in my opinion. A great player like Jokic can't carry a team by himself. Sure if Murray is finally finding back his old self they will have a chance but he is like a lottery at the moment.


What?! I think I missed that news.

Holy crap! It's going to be a mess on the Nuggets defensive end without him. He is one of the best defenders for backcourt players and he has that shooting capability too.
Now they need to figure out something on the rest of their bench like Julian Strawther and Trey Alexander. I mean, they cannot just play offense because they didn't really win the championship back then with offense, it's mostly KCP and Bruce Brown doing the job to defend backcourt players that resulted in steals and turnovers.
It think that should change the outright of Nuggets winning the cup. x11.00 is too low.
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September 21, 2024, 04:36:32 PM
Denver always looked like they are a bit laid back team and that would be something that will get them to do fine and I think it will be a good thing for them because they know how to play like that but adding Westbrook will ignite some fire under them and he can make the team play with more passion and if denver played like this right now with no westbrook and no fire then I think it would make sense that they would be even better if we are seeing them do better as well.
Westbrook can play any role. But on this transfer that he had done, the call will still depend on Jokic but the good thing here is, it won't just be outside for their current players like Jamal and MPJ. They've got some stronger wings inside the court and have some outside shots as well.
Inside the paint wise, there's Jokic, Gordon and even Westbrook. I think they're still a balanced team and have a better roster this time that can also reach the playoffs and even both NBA finals and conference finals.
legendary
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September 21, 2024, 04:09:49 PM
And we also forget that the Lakers as the inaugural In-Season Tournament, defeating the Indiana Pacers. So they really started very strong in the first half of the regular season as they are in the top 4 or 5 consistent.
That was a huge success for them, and I thought they were a legitimate contender for the NBA Finals, but they fell short. The Lakers had a dominant win with a final score of 123-109... definitely a statement game. But after that, things seemed to change, I can't quite figure it out. Maybe the Pacers just weren’t strong enough since they didn’t make it to the NBA Finals either.

The real problem with the Lakers is their outside shooting, they don't have a consistent shooter, which makes them too unpredictable.

But after that, it seems that it was a curse winning the first tournament, as after that, they suffered loses already and we really can't pinpoint what is the reason for that. They struggled, barely survived as 8th seed, won the play-in, but lost to the Nuggets.

They were just unlucky to face the Nuggets, especially since the season before, they got swept by them.

I think people put too much stake on the "in season tournament".  They ate just singular regular season games.  Anyone can win a single game against another opponent.  The reason why the best teams rise to the top in the real playoffs is because you can lose a game, but over an entire series the real better team usually comes out on top.  Lakers were never going to compete in the west for real.with that squad.
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