Advantage: Lakers.There's a little something that has come to light through the NBA's first month, and even though the season is a long one, it's tough to see it changing by June.
The Lakers' path to the Finals will be a lot less treacherous than whichever team they end up playing for the title. And it might become one of the biggest reasons they end up repeating.
The Denver Nuggets are growing, no doubt, but they didn't add in the offseason so much as they tinkered and it's still largely the same team L.A. took care of in six games in the Western Conference finals a year ago.
The Spurs figured to climb back to the Lakers' level with the acquisition of Richard Jefferson. He may help some, but it's apparent the Spurs are going to have a heck of a time overcoming age, let alone L.A.
The Mavericks? They're off to a nice, little start but they don't have enough and everyone knows it. Ditto for the Suns. Until further notice, the Blazers aren't in the discussion.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference it's going to be a battle royal just to get the Finals, and chances are the last team standing is going to be battered and bruised and in no condition to take on a Lakers' team certain to be at their peak.
In terms of overall depth, the Eastern Conference still might not be where the West is, but it does seem true that three of the league's four elite teams reside in the East: Orlando, Boston and Cleveland.
Whichever team emerges it will have had to endure a grueling series with at least one of those other teams and perhaps two. Point is, the Lakers don't have a legitimate challenger like that and certainly not two.
It's not dissimilar to the way it was for a stretch back in the 1980s, when the Lakers waltzed into eight NBA Finals in 10 years at least in some part by taking care of good but not great opponents.
Over in the Eastern Conference the Celtics, Sixers, Bucks and later Pistons were busy pounding each other year after year and arriving at the NBA Finals banged-up and nearly spent.
It's tough to argue that the Lakers' clear path in the conference playoffs didn't give them an advantage come Finals time back then.
And the Lakers are likely to have the same advantage this year. Sure, they may end up enduring a tricky series against the Nuggets or maybe even another team. But they're not going to have to go through the same ringer, the same kind of brutal series or two that the Magic, Celtics or Cavaliers are going to have to go through.
That's sure to give the Lakers an edge in June.
More Steinmetz on Twitter: @matt_steinmetz
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Didn't the Celtics have to go through at least two 7 game series two years ago, before reaching the finals and beating a Lakers team that had a much easier path?
you mean an injured laker team (no ariza, no bynum, that's 2 of the starters on the championship team, c'mon man)......
Well, I think they got through the West without Ariza and Bynum anyway right? My point was that having an "easier" path to the Finals compared to a "harder" path doesn't guarantee anything.
Celtics had an easy path when they won the championship. They just made it look hard by going to 7 games against relatively weak opponents. That year, the Lakers played teams with better records in the first two rounds than did the Celtics.
Last year, again, the Lakers played a better team in the first round than did the top three Eastern Conference teams. And actually, the number one seed (Cleveland) had an easier opponent in the second round (or at least an opponent with a poorer record) than did the Lakers.
Finally, an argument can be made that whatever team that emerges from the Eastern Conference, by virtue of the tougher competition, will be better for it.
Of course, this is all relatively hypothetical, as I do not share your view about the weaker West. Denver has had another year to improve their chemistry between Billups, Carmelo and the others, and both Dallas and San Antonio added a lot of new pieces during the off season. And the west also has perhaps the top four point guards in Paul, Nash, Parker, and Deron Williams.
Lakers all the way babyyyyy@!
@Max_In_Missouri
you're an idiot.
Well, I do like the Lakers' chances, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. First of all, let's talk about Injury and its impacts. We all saw how the Lakers just immediately went back into Kobe Mode after Gasol went out. For a championship team that wants to repeat, that's just flat out not getting it done. If Andrew Bynum is truly as dominate as ppl hyped him up to be, then Kobe shouldn't have to play over 40 mins a game and drop over 30 shots. Lamar and the rest of the gang should've put more work into helping Kobe and ultimately the Lakers to win games.
Secondly, I wouldn't look lightly any teams after the failed experiment of the "F 4 " Lakers against the underdog Pistons. Let's not forget how the Nuggets and the Blazers are emerging as the new Western powers. Sure, they are young, they have weaknesses, but so does the Lakers--that mainly goes toward the Lakers bench. They are not producing as well as they should. Sure, they can be flashy, Shannon Brown can dunk over guys, but that's about all the high lights from Lakers bench that we are gonna see. It sounds like I am being extremely harsh on the Lakers, but that's what a championship team bench needs to produce--at the very least, you can't give up a 20 + points lead going into the 4th quarter.
When you have Pau Gasol, Kobe, and Andrew Bynum playing well- nobody is going to be able to beat them in a series. Add Artest, Odom, and upcoming Shannon Brown with the Zen Master coaching and they are in a good position to repeat.
It's only a matter of time before Bynum goes down again.That guy will never stay healthy for long.Odom can be terrific at times,but the rest of that bench is not very strong.Lakers will have their hands full if they make it back to the Finals.
mrhammerstein....YOU ARE THE IDIOT!
Lakers all the way babyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!
Ahahahahahaha!
The Lakers are clearly the best team so far. Things could change in the future...I highly doubt it though. We proved that we can keep going strong without a couple of our starters. I mean come on, 130-97?! That was amazing.
Lakers are my boys
I gotta agree with carryon81
mrhammerstein, you are truly the biggest douche on this site. Take pride in that.
Oh my beloved ones!! Lakers are team of the decade once again. 10 titles since 1970. Boston only has 4 since 1970. 1970 is the benchmark because there were only 8 teams in the league when Boston won those championships. Let's face it, how many of those players prior to 1970 could play today? They were short and slow with the exceptions of Russell, Baylor, Chamberlin, Robertson, Jones, and West.
cmtrashman: It's rather difficult to prove rape when the alledge victim had semen from other men in her private parts. Or maybe you're angry because Kobe didn't try to get busy with you.
funny how people see that the lakers are clearly strong enough to repeat, so they all make up excuses to discredit what the lakers are doing.
both conferences have strong teams. the team that wins in the finals is the best team, period. so these little arguments about the lakers having the easier path can stop. they dont chose their opponents, they just beat them
Bynum looks like a retard.
This article is gross and dripping with bias. Switch out "Lakers" for "Cavaliers" and "Kobe" for "LeBron" and you've got ESPN's NBA pre-season preview article.
I'll be laughing when the Clippers get Blake Griffin back, go on a big run, and get to the Finals instead.
i,m a cavs fan but i dont see anybody beating a healthy celtics team.