June 27, 200917 yr If Shaq stays healthy, they'll be in strong position. Two things... I'm not sure how good Orlando will be with Carter and no Turkoglu...I don't think they'll be as good. The bad matchups and poor coaching destroyed Cleveland in that series. Cleveland got destroyed with the pick-and-roll. Carter isn't the playmaker that Turkoglu is, so that helps the Cavs with this matchup. With the changes both teams have made, the matchup disadvantage isn't as bad. Second, if they can avoid Orlando altogether, the Cavs probably match up better with the rest of the conference. We keep comparing everything to Orlando, but 1) they're not going to be the same team as last year, and 2) the Cavs may not even play them in the playoffs. Shaq helps, but the actual upgrade isn't equal to the hype. Agree 100%. Boston, when healthy, is the team to beat until proven otherwise or they blow the team up. I think the Cavs matchup well with them though I don't think the Magic do. I am not sold on Shaq working in Cleveland. THe Suns experiment went bad with Shaq I hope the same doesn't happen in Clev. Shaq was just not a Phoenix kind of guy. They run, Nash penetrates, Amare fills the lane. Shaq just can't play that style. Cleveland, stupidly IMO, plays at a snail pace. They should have been building their team to play more up tempo which suits LBJ but they didn't, they tried to be the Spurs. What they don't realize is that the Spurs have had a HOF in the post since 1987 in either Robinson or Duncan or for a few years both. I don't really buy the argument that VC doesn't add just as much as Hedo. Shaq is going to clog the lane for Lebron while he is in there making it a bit more difficult to drive for him. With Big Z be played outside more than inside so Lebron had free reign to go anywhere he wanted. I'm still not sure how I would feel about this if I was a Cavs fan. I hope LBJ realizes this. This could speed up his growth as a player. Kobe played with a Shaq who got even more touches, and look at what happened. He became one of the most creative scorers to ever play the game. If LeBron can add a little bit of the mid-range shot creating that Jordan and Kobe have, I feel that he will be the most unstoppable scorer that has ever played on the wing.
June 28, 200917 yr It will be interesting to see how Shaq helps the Cavs, but if Kevin Garnett is healthy and Rondo continues to improve, I think they are the best team in the East.
June 29, 200917 yr Shaq and Lebron games over people. Cavs are 2010 NBA Champs no question about it. There are no guarantees in sports. Going into this season a lot were ready to hand over the title to the Celtics. You never know what might happen in a season.
June 29, 200917 yr I still don't think they are better than the Magic now and healthy Celtics team, let alone the Lakers.
June 29, 200917 yr I still don't think they are better than the Magic now and healthy Celtics team, let alone the Lakers. Heck, I'm not sure the Lakers are better than a healthy Celtics team. :lol: I'd love to see LA keep Odom and Ariza and the Celts stay healthy so we could see a rematch in 2010. I think it would be a highly competitive series that would live up to the hype. Of course, I'm still not sure how good a "healthy" Lakers team might actually be. Bynum always shows a lot of progress and promise and then he's never around for the post-season. I'd like to see him start the season healthy and stay that way through the post-season. There's no doubt the Lakers would stand a better chance against Boston with a healthy and un-rusty Andrew Bynum and the current version of Trevor Ariza, neither of which they had against Boston.
June 29, 200917 yr If Bynum can stay healthy for a whole year. Look out. He was averaging around 20 and 12 last year before he got hurt and never looked the same since. Hopefully we can see more of that after an off season where he can get back into shape and polish his game up.
June 29, 200917 yr If Bynum can stay healthy for a whole year. Look out. He was averaging around 20 and 12 last year before he got hurt and never looked the same since. Hopefully we can see more of that after an off season where he can get back into shape and polish his game up. Although I'll get killed for this, I have thought for a while that Bynum could grow into possibly the best Big man in the league. Howard is obviously more physically gifted I just think that Bynum has a better feel for the game offensively. Injuries and work ethic will no doubt come into play though. Remember, he is still just a kid (21).
June 29, 200917 yr They both have pretty good teachers and Howard will probably be better in the long run but I think Bynum can get close to Howard's level if he keeps trying hard and working on his game. He doesn't have to be as good as Howard for the Lakers, they have some buy named Kobe Bryant who is pretty decent.
June 29, 200917 yr They both have pretty good teachers and Howard will probably be better in the long run but I think Bynum can get close to Howard's level if he keeps trying hard and working on his game. He doesn't have to be as good as Howard for the Lakers, they have some buy named Kobe Bryant who is pretty decent. Kobe won't be there forever though:ylsuper:
June 29, 200917 yr They both have pretty good teachers and Howard will probably be better in the long run but I think Bynum can get close to Howard's level if he keeps trying hard and working on his game. He doesn't have to be as good as Howard for the Lakers, they have some buy named Kobe Bryant who is pretty decent. By the time Bynum comes anywhere close to being mentioned in the same breath as Howard, Kobe will be gone.
June 29, 200917 yr Although I'll get killed for this, I have thought for a while that Bynum could grow into possibly the best Big man in the league. Howard is obviously more physically gifted I just think that Bynum has a better feel for the game offensively. Injuries and work ethic will no doubt come into play though. Remember, he is still just a kid (21). They both have pretty good teachers and Howard will probably be better in the long run but I think Bynum can get close to Howard's level if he keeps trying hard and working on his game. He doesn't have to be as good as Howard for the Lakers, they have some buy named Kobe Bryant who is pretty decent. Agreed that Bynum could be better than Dwight. Sometimes he displays a soft touch around the basket, but other times he makes his move and nonchalantly tosses the ball around the rim, less like a shot and more like a prayer. If he can follow through and finish, I don't see any reason why Dwight would be better, except possibly his superhuman athletic ability.
June 29, 200917 yr By the time Bynum comes anywhere close to being mentioned in the same breath as Howard, Kobe will be gone. He was doing it already last year before he got hurt. Here are his stats in the 5 games before he got hurt last year. 5 Games 131 Points 26.2 PPG 69 Rebounds 13.8 RPG 16 Blocks 3.2 BPG This is what Howard averaged last year... 2008-09 STATS PPG RPG BPG 20.6 13.8 2.9 Granted that is a small sample size for Bynum but he was obviously starting to get it and understand what was going on. Who knows how good he would be right now without 2 knee injuries. He might be the best Center in the game if he didn't get hurt.
June 29, 200917 yr He was doing it already last year before he got hurt. Here are his stats in the 5 games before he got hurt last year. 5 Games 131 Points 26.2 PPG 69 Rebounds 13.8 RPG 16 Blocks 3.2 BPG This is what Howard averaged last year... 2008-09 STATS PPG RPG BPG 20.6 13.8 2.9 Granted that is a small sample size for Bynum but he was obviously starting to get it and understand what was going on. Who knows how good he would be right now without 2 knee injuries. He might be the best Center in the game if he didn't get hurt. I have to agree.
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