Originally posted by LA9erFan:Originally posted by andes14:Originally posted by LA9erFan:
2001 Lakers are #1 and it's not even close.
-15-1 throughout the playoffs (best in NBA history).
-Swept the Portland in the 1st Round by an average margin of 14.6ppg.
-Swept the Kings in the 2nd Round by an average of 9.3ppg.
-Swept the Spurs in Conference Finals by an average of 22.3ppg.
-Lost one game in the Finals and had a +6.8ppg differential in that series.
That squad played the other three best teams of that era (Jailblazers, Webber's Kings, Duncan/Robinson Spurs) and swept each of them by LARGE margins.
5th?
You have a fair point about '01 Lakers. I do disagree about '10 C's vs. '10 Lakers. I also have '06 Mavs ahead of '06 Heat even though they lost. I still think they were a better team. Considering the Celtics almost won game 7 even without Perkins, I think it's fair to say he would have put them over the top and Gasol would not have gotten 18 boards with KP's presence. The Garnett/Perkins frontcourt is paramout to stopping LAL as KG is more than capable of slowing down Odom/Gasol and Perkins more than capable of slowing down Gasol/Bynum. Without Perkins, you have matchups like Garnett on Bynum, heavy mins of Baby on Gasol, etc. Also, the '10 Lakers were a Pau Gasol tip-in from a game 7 in the first round. The Suns were one of the weaker teams in recent memory to make the conference finals and yet they were a Ron Artest tip-in on a Kobe airball from going home up 3-2. I just think they were very fortunate to win the title that year and even the LAL squad from the prior year was significantly better.
Bynum was hobbling around on a torn meniscus for that entire series and could barely walk. If Boston gets to play the "what if" game with Perkins being healthy for 1 3/4 games...do I get to play the "what if" game with Bynum being healthy for the entire series?
It's incredible how overrated Kendrick Perkins has become.
As for the bolded, that game was tied. If Artest doesn't get the tip in, the game goes to overtime.
I think if Perkins had an injury, but an injury that still allowed him to play (a la Bynum's situation), that still would have helped out as it wouldn't have thrown the matchups all askew. Also, I think there's a difference in that Perkins' injury was just a freak, sudden injury that anyone could have suffered. Bynum's knee situation is just a part of who he is and how his body is structured. His knee will always be an issue and you have to just take that into account as far as how you evaluate him as a basketball player. It wasn't like a freak thing from an unfortunate accident that will get to 100% over time like with Perkins. And I don't necessarily agree that he is overrated. Top 3-5 interior defenders and very good rebounders SHOULD be rated highly.
And yes, the game was tied, you're right, but Phoenix had a stranglehold on the momentum from the end of regulation and I think the odds are certainly that they would have won in overtime, though that is obviously speculation on my part.