Quote:
Originally Posted by spurs fan removed  artest is better that ariza. they need to sign odom for the pundits to hand them the championship right now.
it doesn't matter health will play a huge factor in the spurs chances of dethroning the lakers. with manu healthy i don't care if they have artest and odom. |
Yes health will be a big issue. Kobe is geting older too and he takes the same abuse the rest of the leagues #1 options get. He has been very durable with a few scares but nothing serious. Artest is older and less durable at his age. He was a big help to the Rocket in the playoffs but he had mediocre scoring even when Yao went down. Other younger players had to carry the scoring load.
Bynum is a constent health concern.
The key will be matchups. I believe that the Cavaliers were set to beat the lakers and Celtics but ran into a matchup probelm with Orlando. Orlando had no shot to beat the Lakers. Matchups are the key.
Speed and a good Defense could beat this Lakers team even with Odom (if a player like
Sheed comes to the Spurs). Without another significant pickup the Spurs will have a hard time defending the projecteed healthy Laker lineup. Losing Ariza will hurt angainst the Spurs with there speed but we need a C/F who can help anchor the defense, rebound and score a little, something we have missed for 5+ years.
There is definetly hope but the Spurs still need help.