The west 4-8th seeds rosters comparison with the Lakers

[Car54]

Boozer, Carlos PF
24 Bryant, Kobe SG
5 Clarkson, Jordan PG
32 Davis, Ed PF
7 Henry, Xavier SF
27 Hill, Jordan PF
11 Johnson, Wesley SF
4 Kelly, Ryan PF
7 Lin, Jeremy PG
10 Nash, Steve PG
30 Randle, Julius PF
50 Sacre, Robert C
0 Young, Nick SF
If Kobe is healthy we're making the playoffs so who's most likely getting knocked out of the top 8th?

Houston

Adrien, Jeff SF
1 Ariza, Trevor SG
2 Beverley, Patrick PG
1 Canaan, Isaiah PG
0 Capela, Clint C
33 Covington, Robert SF
30 Daniels, Troy SG
15 Dorsey, Joey PF
32 Garcia, Francisco SG
33 Gee, Alonzo SF
0 Gentile, Alessandro SG
5 Hamilton, Jordan SF
13 Harden, James SG
24 Hopson, Scotty SG
12 Howard, Dwight C
13 Johnson, Nick SG
6 Jones, Terrence PF
20 Motiejunas, Donatas PF
21 Powell, Josh PF
31 Smith, Ish PG

Blazers

12 Aldridge, LaMarcus PF
5 Barton, Will SG
88 Batum, Nicolas SF
0 Blake, Steve PG
18 Claver, Victor PF
23 Crabbe, Allen SG
19 Freeland, Joel C
0 Kaman, Chris C
11 Leonard, Meyers C
0 Lillard, Damian PG
42 Lopez, Robin C
2 Matthews, Wesley SG
3 McCollum, C.J. SG
41 Robinson, Thomas PF
17 Watson, Earl PG
1 Wright, Dorell
Golden State

12 Bogut, Andrew C
55 Crawford, Jordan SG
30 Curry, Stephen PG
31 Ezeli, Festus C
23 Green, Draymond SF
9 Iguodala, Andre SF
1 Kuzmic, Ognjen C
10 Lee, David PF
14 Livingston, Shaun PG
8 Nedovic, Nemanja PG
7 O'Neal, Jermaine C
4 Rush, Brandon SG
5 Speights, Marreese PF
Harrison Barnes SF
11 Thompson, Klay SG

Grizz

Adams, Jordan SG
9 Allen, Tony SG
12 Calathes, Nick SG
25 Carter, Vince SG
11 Conley, Mike PG
22 Franklin, Jamaal SG
33 Gasol, Marc C
41 Koufos, Kosta C
5 Lee, Courtney SG
30 Leuer, Jon PF
20 Pondexter, Quincy SF
21 Prince, Tayshaun SF
50 Randolph, Zach PF
5 Stokes, Jarnell PF
19 Udrih, Beno PG

Dallas

Aminu, Al-Farouq SF
6 Chandler, Tyson C
9 Crowder, Jae SF
11 Ellis, Monta SG
2 Felton, Raymond PG
17 Griffin, Eric SF
20 Harris, Devin PG
5 James, Bernard C
24 Jefferson, Richard SF
44 Johnson, Ivan PF
14 Nelson, Jameer PG
41 Nowitzki, Dirk PF
25 Parsons, Chandler SF
0 Preldzic, Emir F
0 Smith, Greg
_________________
Coach Vogel, Kidd, Hollins
Max slot : Kawhi

[Reflexx]

Houston. Their bench is non-existent.

[Harlemlakerfan]

Either the no defense playing Warriors or the overrated Rockets or the poo poo platter Mavs. All of those teams can be overtaken for a playoff spot.

[Car54]

[epak]

The unknown is always health.
I say Lakers and Pelicans squeak in and Memphis and Houston squeak out.


1. Thunder
2. Spurs
3. Blazers
4. Mavs
5. Clippers (I think the injury bug might hit)
6. Lakers
7. Warriors
8. Pelicans

Out:
Rockets (injuries)
Grizzlies (injuries)
Jazz
Kings
Wolves
Nuggets
Suns

[Reflexx]

I'd like to see the Rockets fully commit yo Dwight as a back to the basket post playing center. The results will be glorious.

[Harlemlakerfan]

[yinoma2001]

[Car54]

[ice_cold]

[ice_cold]

[Car54]

[ronnyjeremy]

Those rosters are in a totally different universe that the Lakers.

[epak]

[Car54]

[bccat]

Last year's magic number to get into 8th spot was about 50 wins.

To take a very rough guess using Wins Above Replacement (WAR):
Houston losing Parson (7.57), Asik(3.26), & Lin(3.19) may drop from 52 to 41 wins. (I'm over-simplifying things and a bit of wishful thinking. lol)

The rest of the playoff teams from last year should remain as competitive and win similar numbers of games and keep their playoff spots this year.

Phoenix adding Isaiac (7.17) makes their guard situation chaotic, so they'll be luck it Isaiac can contribute half the WAR, or 3 more from 48 to 51 wins.

Let's hope our Lakers can double our wins and beat out Phoenix for the final playoff spot.

In Scott we trust.

[HobKobLin]

Lakers compare most favorably with Houston by position, and that's not taking HOU's weak bench into consideration:

Lin > Bev
Kobe > Harden (my opinion)
Young = Ariza
Boozer > T. Jones (assuming he starts)
Hill < Dwight

[epak]

I think our assumptions are predicated on Kobe Bryant being 100%. If he's not, then of course we're not making the playoffs in the west. And IMHO, if we have Bean on the court, we're making the playoffs!

How quickly we forget how good Kobe was/is. And he's coming off a year's rest. If he's 100%, the only thing I'd worry about is a little bit of rust. But he should get over that fairly quickly.

We've improved in every starting position, except Center since we lost Gasol. But let's face it. This is NOT the Gasol of 08-09. He's no longer a #2. He's a #3. Losing him hurts our offense, but our defense will probably be improved without him.

Our PG improved. Our SG improved. Our SF is essentially the same. Our PF improved. If people are down on the Lakers because Kobe may not be 100%, then that's a valid reason. Our fans seems to have 4 views:

1. We suck because we didn't get Lebron/Melo/Bosh. Fans had this delusional Mega Team in mind, and since we didn't get it, we must suck.
2. We suck for not paying 2nd tier players max money.
3. We suck because Kobe is old and will be injured again. Nash is old and will be injured again. Our players are all scrubs.
4. We suck even with a healthy Kobe.

It's nice to talk to #3s because there's logic in their view. #2s can make a logical case. Numbers 1 and 4, a little bit more difficult to engage in a convo with.

[HobKobLin]

Compared to Dallas:

Lin > Felton
Kobe > Monta
Young = or maybe slightly < Parsons (very overrated)
Boozer < Dirk
Hill < Tyson (not sure on this one - haven't seen Tyson play in awhile)

Luckily, basketball isn't played on paper - how well all these teams gel with their new additions + health issues will be huge factors as well as matchups in terms of playing styles.

[Atticus]

Love the optimism in this thread! IMO there is no way we make the playoffs, but if no one gets hurt and if we play defense, I can see us hovering around that 8-10 range for a while before falling off.

Pretty much guaranteed at the top you have: Spurs, OKC, Clips, in some order.

Dallas was a 50 win 8 seed that took the champs to 7 games, plus they added Parsons (huge upgrade over Marion) and Chandler (much better defensive anchor than Dalembert). They also have a top 5 coach in the game. I expect them to be over 50 wins this season, definitely in the playoffs.

GSW, Houston and Portland play no D, but have tremendous talent and enough firepower to be in the top 8.

That's 7 teams already -- the 8-12 teams will be: Memphis, Denver, Phoenix, us, NO, in some order. The bottom 3 should be: Sac, Minny (assuming they trade Love), Utah.

For that 8 spot, keep in mind that Denver is quite improved -- Gallo, Nate, McGee all missed extended time last season plus they added Afflalo and 2 top-20 picks this year. They can legitimately play 3 deep at every position. Memphis is always a tough team as well. I just don't see us passing either of those teams. 10th seed would be an accomplishment with this roster.

[jjww28]

Rockets has 6+ million unguaranteed Contracts on their roster, and TPE MLE BAE available, maybe they will pull sth. out.

[Rivershow]

[Atticus]

[yinoma2001]

[epak]

We'll see how it goes.
27/5/6 his last full season.

Again, the premise is if 100%. I'd he's not, all bets are off and we get a nice draft pick anyway.