I hate the Eastern Conference

[MikeWaters]

I've only got a few minutes here and there. But who wants to watch these boring slugfests? All the bricks.

What a contrast the Western Conference is. Fast-paced, people actually making jumpers. The beautiful game.

As far as I concerned, the Mavs vs Suns is the only championship that means anything.

[JohnnyLingo]

But there's always Wade. I could watch him play all day. No boring in him, no siree.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by JohnnyLingo

But there's always Wade. I could watch him play all day. No boring in him, no siree.

I was talking about basketball Lingo. Not man-crushes.

[bluegoose]

Man crushes aside, Wade is a lot of fun to watch. After last nights game, there should be no question as to whose team the Heat is.

I worry about his longevity in the league. Actually I don't worry about it, but I question how long his body is going to hold up. He seems to find himself airborn and seemingly out of control quite often. There were probably half a dozen times last night alone that I found myself wondering if he was going to get up and keep playing.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by bluegoose

Man crushes aside, Wade is a lot of fun to watch. After last nights game, there should be no question as to whose team the Heat is.

I worry about his longevity in the league. Actually I don't worry about it, but I question how long his body is going to hold up. He seems to find himself airborn and seemingly out of control quite often. There were probably half a dozen times last night alone that I found myself wondering if he was going to get up and keep playing.

I have thought the exact same thing about Wade a dozen times. He sure is fun to watch, though!

The Heat look pretty unstoppable right now. I don't see either Dallas or Phoenix being able to handle a steady diet of Shaq and Wade, and I don't think Detroit can come back from 3-1.

This would be the ultimate insult to Kobe, me thinks! Shaq leaves and wins a title in Miami (who has never been in real competition for a title until he arrived). The Lakers go down the crapper.

Looks like Mitch Kupchek backed the wrong horse there, doesn't it!

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by hoyacoug

This would be the ultimate insult to Kobe, me thinks! Shaq leaves and wins a title in Miami (who has never been in real competition for a title until he arrived). The Lakers go down the crapper.

Looks like Mitch Kupchek backed the wrong horse there, doesn't it!

Amen and amen. I love it.

[Fish]

I have to disagree on that one. The Lakers kept the right player of the two. Shaq has a better team around him than Kobe does… that is why the Heat are winning. After Kobe and Odom who do the Lakers have? Smush? George? Kwame? Walton?

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by Fish

I have to disagree on that one. The Lakers kept the right player of the two. Shaq has a better team around him than Kobe does… that is why the Heat are winning. After Kobe and Odom who do the Lakers have? Smush? George? Kwame? Walton?

True, but you have to ask yourself: why does LA not have any more talent around Kobe? Could it be because many in the NBA find him insufferable to play with and don't want to go to LA to be told they are second fiddle?

[Fish]

Nope... I don't think that is it. They are in the middle of some "rebuilding" years. With, or without, Shaq they were headed in that direction with the loss of Malone, Payton, Butler and Fisher. The fact they made the playoffs shows how good Kobe is... he carried an average team to the playoffs. (tough to say since I don't like Kobe)

But, I think the Lakers need to land either a quality PF or C during the offseason in order to be more competitive. Smush will be a top 10 PG next year so they should be okay there. Kwame showed some potential late in the season... if he can keep that up the Lakers will be headed in the right direction.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by Fish

Nope... I don't think that is it. They are in the middle of some "rebuilding" years. With, or without, Shaq they were headed in that direction with the loss of Malone, Payton, Butler and Fisher. The fact they made the playoffs shows how good Kobe is... he carried an average team to the playoffs. (tough to say since I don't like Kobe)

But, I think the Lakers need to land either a quality PF or C during the offseason in order to be more competitive. Smush will be a top 10 PG next year so they should be okay there. Kwame showed some potential late in the season... if he can keep that up the Lakers will be headed in the right direction.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying Kobe isn't a phenomenal talent. He remains one of the very best players in the NBA today. The question is if he can coexist on a team with other great players and if he can lift a team the way great players do. I am not convinced that he can.

Kobe seems too intent on showing everyone just how valuable he is to the team. It seems like every time he is criticized, he stops shooting and stops caring about winning in favor of proving a point. He walks away with 6 points and 2 assists. I don't get it at all.

Yes, Payton left. So did Shaq. So did Jackson for a while. Why? Each of them gave Kobe as the reason (which apparently Jackson has now retracted). I can't imagine it is easy to attract top talent to LA when the top talent in the league has already been in LA and left because of Kobe. They are left with trying to build through the draft.

What was Miami when Shaq first arrived? Certainly not much better than LA at the same time. Where is Miami now? Looking pretty good. Shaq MAY not be a better player than Kobe (though I still think he is), but he appears to be a far better teammate than Kobe, and that is why Miami is about to go to the Finals while Kobe watches from home.