The first signs of a dynasty are when the opposition gives up the game mentally... After the Spurs loss, Avery Johnson and Sean Elliot basically said "hey, we can't beat them at there best" Now Larry Brown has joined the club it seems with this quote..."When you have Kobe and Shaq and other people make contributions, I don't care what you do, you're not gonna beat them." So what happens now? Do we just mark down the next five years as Laker championships?? I thought the Bulls championships were amongst the most boring of all time...because everyone (apart from the Knicks...whose attitude I LOVED) accepted the Bulls would win... What happens now? The only thing I see stopping LA is the new zone rules...Shaq can be double teamed off the ball, thus preventing those easy baskets he gets... I just hope we don't have to go through another period of acceptance...the Bulls dynasty was bad enough. ------------------ [This message has been edited by ScreamingRocketJet (edited June 14, 2001).]
U know those petty fouls Shaq says they don't call . . .. they will be called in the new zone rule NBA. I think Guards will be fouling out against the lakers when they back down. I think the ROCKETS have something to say about any dynasties. . . . We broke up the Laker strong hold in the 80s [wish we could have gotten a championship out of it] We broke up the bulls in the 90s The 00s ain't gonna be no different Rocket River ------------------
Good point Rocket River. Time to beat the Lakers and knock them on their collective.... ------------------ humble, but hungry.
I wouldn't mind an inevitable dynasty...... as long as it's The Rockets. ------------------ I have seen much of the rest of the web. It is brutal and cruel and dark. CC.net is the light.
The zone isn't going to effected the Lakers as much as you think becuase the Lakers have so many good shooters, and they have a perimeter players who can take over the game in Kobe Bryant, and they have slashers, all the ingredients needed to crush a zone. ------------------ "I'm not here to protect my reputation, I'm here to make my reputation! Mama Barkley didn't raise no chumps!" - Charles Barkley
"We broke up the bulls in the 90s" RR- I think the Bulls (specifically MJ playing baseball) broke up their own dynasty. Nothing the Rockets did dethroned them. Maybe the Magic & the Knicks could have a case but not us.
I love the Rockets as much as the next person, but let's make the playoffs before we start talking about dethroning the Lakers. The zone will hurt Shaq and the Lakers. Only time will tell how much it hurts them. ------------------ the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be.
There are (at least) two other factors besides the zone affecting the Faker$ dynasty. 1) The Lakers have only 7 players under contract for 2001-2002. If Horry and Foster both take their player options, the Lakers are only about $3.0m under the Luxury Tax. Signing Grant, Harper or Lue will easily push them over. In other words, they have NO wiggle room money wise and are pretty much locked in to the same team next season. Horry is their only tradeable commodity. (Owner Jerry Buss has publicly stated he does not want to pay the tax). 2) The Lakers are going to get really old really fast. And they can't do much about it as Kobe and Shaq make about $33m between them (ie.. 33m of the projected 42m cap.) And Jerry West's retirement left a gapping managerial hole (IMO). Back to backs don't make a dynasty! ------------------ Raef to Rocks in '01-'02! [This message has been edited by GATER (edited June 15, 2001).]
Good points, Gater. Doesn't look like Horry would opt out, and I am not sure why Foster would either. Lue could be gone. I read an interview of his a day or so ago, and he was being coy about coming back. Grant will be gone. Something's gonna have to give if they avoid the luxury tax. ------------------
You'd better keep talking about that dynasty, because it is going to be a LONG, LONG, LONG time before the Bulls even reach the .500 mark. I'm guessing you could start talking playoffs in 2010. Perhaps by 2018, the Bulls could be on their way to a title. The Rockets, of course, will have passed them in total championships by then, but that's beside the point... ------------------ Protrolls.com! Soon to be ProPorn.com!
g-branded - care to tell us who the Laker players might be? Yes, how stupid of me... Harper would look great in a Bulls uni again! Harper for Fizer....why didn't I think of that. Here's a few others that work - Brian Shaw for Crawford..and how about Rick Fox for Ron Artest? Why didn't I think of that - trading for smaller contracts. Great work gb! ------------------ GATER
Branded, if you had said they would sign veteran free agents who would play for the vet minimum, I would have agreed with you. You know, guys like Patrick Ewing, who wants a shot at a ring. Patrick as a power forward/reserve center at 22 mpg is a possibility. I'm sure there are others, even including the round mound of rebound himself. ------------------
I don't think age is going to bother the Lakers. Didn't the pieces around the Bulls age and end up leaving? All they did was pop another piece in there and keep rolling, and that is all the Lakers have to do. Just draft some good players, pick up some good role players, and destroy the West for the next 4 or 5 years. ------------------ "I'm not here to protect my reputation, I'm here to make my reputation! Mama Barkley didn't raise no chumps!" - Charles Barkley
Bingo---arguably, our second three-peat unit was stronger than our first one. They'll nab players like Richmond who are hunting a ring and a place in history for playing with Shaq... ------------------
Fizer is already better than any PF on that team. I'm telling you now...if you acquire him you won't miss cwebb too much in the future if you should fail to sign him. He's gonna be a bigtime scorer simply because he can shoot and drive, and he's gonna live at the free throw with that wide body. Ron Artest is Rick Fox without a jumpshot... ------------------ [This message has been edited by gettinbranded (edited June 15, 2001).]
