I wouldn't be so quick to crown them 2013 Champs just yet, even with the addition of Howard I don't have them getting by OKC.
First of all Howard's injured and due to miss roughly 2 months of the regular season, that'll give the Thunder plenty of time to get ahead in the standings.
2nd of all I just don't think they'll match up well with OKC, Westbrook will kill Nash and who's gonna stop Durant?
On the good side (for LA) the addition of Howard will force OKC to play Perkins a lot and that's not a good thing for them.
We're just talking the West, what about Miami should they get through?
Ok Howard should be fine in the post both offensively and defensively but who's gonna cover Wade, Lebron and Bosh, an older Kobe, World Peace and Jamison?
It's nice that they added Howard so he can be the centerpiece of the team in the future, but as constructed as they are now (and older as well) I don't see them challenging a younger, more athletic and definitely hungrier OKC team.
throughout his career everyone has Killed Nash. the factor tho is can they stop Nash. Westbrook can drop 40 points but that comes at a price cuz he doesn't get others involved. Nash can shoot the 3 ball and get everyone involved. people thought Nash and Amare had a good pick and roll game, Nash and Howard is gonna be something special. I'm not crowning the Lakers champs yet but they sure do have a good chance.
Kobe being Kobe, Gasol mostly posting up, Nash and Howard with the pick and roll, if Gasol aint posting then Howard gets a few turns, double team Kobe, Gasol, or Howard and u pay the price, and Nash continue to get his 10 points and 10 assist a game.
at first i wasn't a fan of trading Bynum to get Howard but since they got Nash and still won't get Odom back this works out fine. the biggest problem for the Lakers last year besides bench scoring was that with Bynum and Gasol there wasn't enough movement and none of the bugs on the bench was able to offset that problem. Now when Odom was there he was a perfect fit to keep Bynum and Gasol in the paint. now with Howard Gasol can have more room in the paint to work. Howard will be giving a lot of picks and crashing the boards a lot while also get some touches in the post. but he won't be stationary like how Bynum and Gasol were last year. Nash will open the floor a lot with his shooting and passing. the pick and roll is gonna be deadly since he has Howard and Gasol to work with. this team is more balanced and mobile than last year. now we'll see if they can pull it off.
never count out the old guys. back in the day Jordan, Pippen and Rodman pulled it off as old men even tho they couldn't guard the young guys like Penny, Grant Hill, Shaq etc. Shaq and Penny killed the Bulls the way Durant and Westbrook killed the Lakers. Bulls won because it was only just Shaq and Penny who were able to do anything. helps that the Bulls had Jordan, Pippen, Harper, and Rodman who were good defenders even tho they were older. at first you can score easily on them, then u get tired cuz they won't stop defending. Kobe and World Peace already do that already but now they're have Howard to clean up boards and run the break.
this is gonna be another good season.
