I didn't know the 05-06 Heat had Kobe Bryant? Wow!! They really ARE underachieving then.
Team Comparison: 03-04 Lakers vs 05-06 Heat
I think these two teams have great similarities:
- Both looked great on paper;
- Gary and Shaq on both;
- The 2 best SG's in the league;
- Seasoned veterans and former all-stars in Malone, Walker and Alonzo;
Who do you tink is the better team (listing only players with +10mpg)?
2003-2004 Los Angeles Lakers:
PG- Gary Payton/Derek Fisher;
SG- Kobe Bryant/Kareem Rush;
SF- Devean George/Bryon Russell/Luke Walton;
PF- Karl Malone/Slava Medvedenko;
C- Shaquille O'Neal/Horace Grant
2005-2006 Miami Heat:
PG- Jason Williams/Gary Payton;
SG- Dwyane Wade/Derek Anderson;
SF- James Posey/Jason Kapono/Shandon Anderson;
PF- Udonis Haslem/Antoine Walker;
C- Shaquille O'Neal/Alonzo Mouring
- Both looked great on paper;
- Gary and Shaq on both;
- The 2 best SG's in the league;
- Seasoned veterans and former all-stars in Malone, Walker and Alonzo;
Who do you tink is the better team (listing only players with +10mpg)?
2003-2004 Los Angeles Lakers:
PG- Gary Payton/Derek Fisher;
SG- Kobe Bryant/Kareem Rush;
SF- Devean George/Bryon Russell/Luke Walton;
PF- Karl Malone/Slava Medvedenko;
C- Shaquille O'Neal/Horace Grant
2005-2006 Miami Heat:
PG- Jason Williams/Gary Payton;
SG- Dwyane Wade/Derek Anderson;
SF- James Posey/Jason Kapono/Shandon Anderson;
PF- Udonis Haslem/Antoine Walker;
C- Shaquille O'Neal/Alonzo Mouring
1 - 20 of 28 Posts
I think he meant that Wade and Kobe are the 2 best SGs in the league. Not Wade is the best SG in the league.magic_bryant said:I didn't know the 05-06 Heat had Kobe Bryant? Wow!! They really ARE underachieving then.
Anyway, I think the Heat are a little bit better because of Zo's DPOY play off the bench and Posey is much better than Devean George. Haslem brings what Malone brought, but maybe with fresher legs and more energy. I think Wade = Kobe as Wade is playing on the same level as Kobe was in 03-04. But the big difference is Shaq's decline. But still, I think the overall depth of the Heat is a little bit better than the Lakers.
'05-06 Heat, deeper bench. Only problem is the 05-06 Pistons are better than the 03-04 Pistons IMO. :biggrin:
Karl Malone. if the Lakers had had Karl Malone in the finals, healthy, they would have won the title. He was their glue guy. When he left the chemistry problems took over. But Malone was amazing that year. Just ask Tim Duncan.
There is really no one like that on the Heat roster. And plus that Shaq from that team was better than this Shaq. And Kobe and Wade was about a toss-up. With Wade probably being a better teammate, but Kobe having more talent.
There is really no one like that on the Heat roster. And plus that Shaq from that team was better than this Shaq. And Kobe and Wade was about a toss-up. With Wade probably being a better teammate, but Kobe having more talent.
I agree with almost everything you just said except that I think the Lakers would have still lost to the Pistons.futuristxen said:Karl Malone. if the Lakers had had Karl Malone in the finals, healthy, they would have won the title. He was their glue guy. When he left the chemistry problems took over. But Malone was amazing that year. Just ask Tim Duncan.
There is really no one like that on the Heat roster. And plus that Shaq from that team was better than this Shaq. And Kobe and Wade was about a toss-up. With Wade probably being a better teammate, but Kobe having more talent.
The Heat's bench is a lot better...
sounds all about right to me...futuristxen said:Karl Malone. if the Lakers had had Karl Malone in the finals, healthy, they would have won the title. He was their glue guy. When he left the chemistry problems took over. But Malone was amazing that year. Just ask Tim Duncan.
There is really no one like that on the Heat roster. And plus that Shaq from that team was better than this Shaq. And Kobe and Wade was about a toss-up. With Wade probably being a better teammate, but Kobe having more talent.
the main advantages of the Lakers were...
1. Karl Malone
2. Shaq was a better Shaq
3. the way Kobe played the last half of the season and in the playoffs (not finals!)
And Kevin Garnettfuturistxen said:Just ask Tim Duncan.
The Lakers were the better team IMHO. Kobe was better than Wade is right now (But Wade will be the better player in the end) and Shaq was more dominant (scary thought, eh?). The Glove was younger. Malone is better than Haslim. In a winner-takes-all game, LAL would win.
Lakers were feared more, which is the main difference in my opinion. Shaq and Kobe, at the time, were the most feared players in the league still, even after the Spurs beat them the year before. Behind Shaq and Kobe, the Lakers had won three titles, and had overcome huge leads at times to get there. Opponents knew that, and from what I saw, a lot of times opposing teams didn't believe themselves that they could beat a Shaq and Kobe Lakers team.
The Heat don't have that kind of mental advantage, nobody fears the Heat any more than any of the other few contenders.
As far as the actual team, I think it's pretty close. Karl Malone was a monster for the Lakers that year, but I don't think he did anything that Alonzo Mourning isn't doing. Shaq has kept declining though, which might be the biggest difference in the actual talent of the teams.
The Heat don't have that kind of mental advantage, nobody fears the Heat any more than any of the other few contenders.
As far as the actual team, I think it's pretty close. Karl Malone was a monster for the Lakers that year, but I don't think he did anything that Alonzo Mourning isn't doing. Shaq has kept declining though, which might be the biggest difference in the actual talent of the teams.
i'd take the heat.
simply on depth, if the same thing happened to the heat this year as happened to the lakers in the finals and a starter got injured, they would be able to cover the void a lot better.
it also gives them an opportunity to change the flow of a game depending on what line up they put on the court
simply on depth, if the same thing happened to the heat this year as happened to the lakers in the finals and a starter got injured, they would be able to cover the void a lot better.
it also gives them an opportunity to change the flow of a game depending on what line up they put on the court
Tough call, alot of different things balance out.
Shaq, younger back then, better than he is now. Same thing with GP, but GP wasn't doing very well back then- some LA paper called him "Mittens" i/o Glove.
Jason Williams, quietly putting together solid stats- but which combo is better, JWill/GP+2 or GP/DFish? Hard to call.
The Heat have better PF/C bench, but Lakers PF/C are better:
Shaq/Malone/Grant/Slava VS Shaq/Haslem/Mourning/Walker
Very hard to call, but in the end I'd give it to the Heat. Chemistry isn't so much an issue, and the Heat are a little deeper.
Shaq, younger back then, better than he is now. Same thing with GP, but GP wasn't doing very well back then- some LA paper called him "Mittens" i/o Glove.
Jason Williams, quietly putting together solid stats- but which combo is better, JWill/GP+2 or GP/DFish? Hard to call.
The Heat have better PF/C bench, but Lakers PF/C are better:
Shaq/Malone/Grant/Slava VS Shaq/Haslem/Mourning/Walker
Very hard to call, but in the end I'd give it to the Heat. Chemistry isn't so much an issue, and the Heat are a little deeper.
I'll take the Heat.
The Heat frontcourt is deeper and has better all-around skills. Shaq has slightly declined and Malone was better than Haslem, but Zo and Toine provide huge defensive and offensive versatility, and Malone was injured in the playoffs.
The wings are about a wash. Kobe/Wade is close enough, and Posey/Andersons/Kapono is not much of a difference from George/Rush/Walton
The PG position is fairly close as well. JWill's having about as good a regular season as Payton did, and an old Payton is, in my opinion, somewhat of an upgrade over Fisher, though I guess that's arguable.
In short, I think the frontcourt depth of the Heat give them an advantage, though it's by no means huge.
To take a small statistical look:
Heat
offense: 111.4 pts/100 posessions, defense: 105.9
difference: 5.5 pts/100 posessions
Lakers
offense: 105.2, defense: 101.5
difference: 3.7 pts/100 posessions
The Heat frontcourt is deeper and has better all-around skills. Shaq has slightly declined and Malone was better than Haslem, but Zo and Toine provide huge defensive and offensive versatility, and Malone was injured in the playoffs.
The wings are about a wash. Kobe/Wade is close enough, and Posey/Andersons/Kapono is not much of a difference from George/Rush/Walton
The PG position is fairly close as well. JWill's having about as good a regular season as Payton did, and an old Payton is, in my opinion, somewhat of an upgrade over Fisher, though I guess that's arguable.
In short, I think the frontcourt depth of the Heat give them an advantage, though it's by no means huge.
To take a small statistical look:
Heat
offense: 111.4 pts/100 posessions, defense: 105.9
difference: 5.5 pts/100 posessions
Lakers
offense: 105.2, defense: 101.5
difference: 3.7 pts/100 posessions
Lakers, and reasonably easier too. Shaq was much more of a force two years ago, so positional analysis would go like this:
Payton = Williams
Bryant = Wade
George < Posey (just, based on Poseys play this year)
Malone > Haslem (by quite a bit)
Shaq 04 > Shaq 06
I think the Lakers would have too much down low for the Heat. Bryant would basically cancel Wade out.
Remember, the Lakers beat the Spurs and a very strong Timberwolves side in the playoffs. I still believe Malone's injury cost them the championship, plus their imploding relationships.
Payton = Williams
Bryant = Wade
George < Posey (just, based on Poseys play this year)
Malone > Haslem (by quite a bit)
Shaq 04 > Shaq 06
I think the Lakers would have too much down low for the Heat. Bryant would basically cancel Wade out.
Remember, the Lakers beat the Spurs and a very strong Timberwolves side in the playoffs. I still believe Malone's injury cost them the championship, plus their imploding relationships.
Laker bench < heat bench (by quite a bit)edabomb said:Lakers, and reasonably easier too. Shaq was much more of a force two years ago, so positional analysis would go like this:
Payton = Williams
Bryant = Wade
George < Posey (just, based on Poseys play this year)
Malone > Haslem (by quite a bit)
Shaq 04 > Shaq 06
This Heat team isn't having the problems that many expected them to have. Unlike with that Lakers side, chemistry isn't much of an issue, which is cruicial in the playoffs. Posey has been solid and Williams and Walker are playing with surprising control and restraint. The '04 Lakers had Malone, but Haslem isn't bad at all, and Zo is one of the greatest backup centers of all time. Shaq is worse, but I get the feeling that he's waiting till the playoffs. And Wade is just the right shooting guard for this team.
Wade is amazing this year, and Kobe was amazing in 04. I see the Heat complementary players as better. The thing that matters most though is that shaq isnt the same shaq of 2 years ago due to age. And the big man matters most when it comes to sucess in the playoffs.
if shaq progresses toward the playoffs, showing increase in play like he has throughout the second half of the season, I think the Heat could have more sucess than that 04 Lakers team, but if not will meet the same fate (losing to Pistons)
if shaq progresses toward the playoffs, showing increase in play like he has throughout the second half of the season, I think the Heat could have more sucess than that 04 Lakers team, but if not will meet the same fate (losing to Pistons)
04 lakers have old, injured malone. with healthy malone they could beat pistons.
06 heat have old, injury prone shaq. with healthy shaq they could beat pistons
Go NeTs
06 heat have old, injury prone shaq. with healthy shaq they could beat pistons
Go NeTs
1 - 20 of 28 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Professional and College Basketball Forums
A forum community dedicated to Competitive Basketball players and enthusiasts. Talk about everything from the NBA to college basketball to even everything but basketball. It's all here!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Top Contributors this Month
View All
AlienAiden
54 Replies
Bill Russell
39 Replies
Bingo v2.0
37 Replies
Recommended Communities
