NBA Championship: 1987 Lakers vs. 2013 Heat

[HizzleRocker]

Not Even Close

That 1987 Lakers team is maybe the most complete roster in basketball.

You have arguably the GOATS at both the 1 and 5 spot;

You have Worthy, Green, and Rambis as rebound warriors;

You have Scott and Cooper ready to nail 3's as soon as you try to double 7'2 Kareem.


The real argument is whether the Heat could have avoided a sweep or not.

 

[Shanemansj13]

We should do it.

I second that. I have Cavs

 

[trojanfan12]

That 1987 Lakers team is maybe the most complete roster in basketball.

You have arguably the GOATS at both the 1 and 5 spot;

You have Worthy, Green, and Rambis as rebound warriors;

You have Scott and Cooper ready to nail 3's as soon as you try to double 7'2 Kareem.


The real argument is whether the Heat could have avoided a sweep or not.

Worthy was no slouch on offense either!! One of the scariest sights in NBA history? Being the defender on a fast break with Magic coming at you with the ball and Worthy and Cooper on the wings!!

 

[piss-tons]

Worthy was no slouch on offense either!! One of the scariest sights in NBA history? Being the defender on a fast break with Magic coming at you with the ball and Worthy and Cooper on the wings!!

A scarier sight would be Kevin Mchale defending that fast break waiting to give someone the clothesline.

 

[SJ76]

Bulls beat both in 5 or 6.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I think the Lakers would SWEEP!!

That team was loaded. Just too much talent & balance at every position for the Heat to contend with. Kareem against the Heat's front line, LOL!!!!!!

 

[BOTSLAYER]

I think the Lakers would SWEEP!!

That team was loaded. Just too much talent & balance at every position for the Heat to contend with. Kareem against the Heat's front line, LOL!!!!!!

It would be gross, there could be an opportunity to have strength on weakness and vice versa though that could make things interesting, literally abandon all inside game for the heat:

If bird was in then played James at PG and Wade at 2 bosh at the 3 and UD at 4. That could make it the most lopsided D to O and vice versa game we have ever seen...except Magic would be ruining it with him at PG.

Now that I think about that, why don't they do that anyways?

 

[HammerDown]

I am in. Give me KAREEM!!!! or Wilt, or some RUSSELL!!!

I break from the traditional basketball wisdom that dictates building around the big man and go with Magic. Without a second's hesitation. I wish like hell I could find that video on YouTube where basically ever great basketball mind (other than Red of course) said that if they were building a basketball team, they'd start with Magic. The most respected opinion to me was Jerry West, the smartest basketball player and GM in the history of the league.

 

[HammerDown]

Worthy was no slouch on offense either!! One of the scariest sights in NBA history? Being the defender on a fast break with Magic coming at you with the ball and Worthy and Cooper on the wings!!

How many times did we see an opponent take a shot and as the ball is going up Magic, Worthy and the 2-guard are sprinting down the floor with Superman or Kareem hitting the boards and firing a baseball pass to Magic and within 2 seconds the Lakers just dunked on an astonished defender and before the crowd can even celebrate their team's score, the Lakers are already running back on defense?

It was pure drugs to me back then. For someone who loved team basketball, it was like mainlining coke. The Showtime Lakers were a basketball orgasm.

 

[tlance]

The '87 Lakers were really, really good, but let's get one thing straight right now.

You guys talk about Kareem like he was a dominant force. He was 40 years old in 1987. He averaged 17.5 points and 6.7 rebounds. He was a very good player in 1987, but a shell of his former, arguably GOAT self.

Kareem in '87 was closer in ability to Jordan with the Wizards than dominant, all-time great Kareem. Was he an important piece to the team? Absolutely. Was he the game changer some of you are making him out to be? No. He was an above average NBA center who could score and block an occasional shot (1.24 per game).

Would the '87 Lakers beat the current Heat? Probably. Would they beat the 2013 Heat from February before Wade got hurt? I'm not so sure. It would be a heck of a series.

 

[HammerDown]

The '87 Lakers were really, really good, but let's get one thing straight right now.

You guys talk about Kareem like he was a dominant force. He was 40 years old in 1987. He averaged 17.5 points and 6.7 rebounds. He was a very good player in 1987, but a shell of his former, arguably GOAT self.

Kareem in '87 was closer in ability to Jordan with the Wizards than dominant, all-time great Kareem. Was he an important piece to the team? Absolutely. Was he the game changer some of you are making him out to be? No. He was an above average NBA center who could score and block an occasional shot (1.24 per game).

Would the '87 Lakers beat the current Heat? Probably. Would they beat the 2013 Heat from February before Wade got hurt? I'm not so sure. It would be a heck of a series.

They could have started Mike Smrek at center and beat these guys. If you're trying to discount Kareem's roll on that team you're doing a poor job by admitting he was "an above average NBA center who could score and block an occasional shot." I guarantee you Magic and the rest of his teammates would give Kareem allot more credit than that.

 

[HammerDown]

Bulls beat both in 5 or 6.

Who Magic and Kareem?

 

[piss-tons]

How many times did we see an opponent take a shot and as the ball is going up Magic, Worthy and the 2-guard are sprinting down the floor with Superman or Kareem hitting the boards and firing a baseball pass to Magic and within 2 seconds the Lakers just dunked on an astonished defender and before the crowd can even celebrate their team's score, the Lakers are already running back on defense?

It was pure drugs to me back then. For someone who loved team basketball, it was like mainlining coke. The Showtime Lakers were a basketball orgasm.

You should have seen the 60 Celtics. Russell was able to rebound the ball and throw the outlet to Cousy/KC Jones/Siegfried whoever the pg was in one motion to start the greatest fast break in NBA history.

 

[HammerDown]

You should have seen the 60 Celtics. Russell was able to rebound the ball and throw the outlet to Cousy/KC Jones/Siegfried whoever the pg was in one motion to start the greatest fast break in NBA history.

My Dad is a life-long basketball purist and Boston Celtics fanatic and even he wouldn't agree with that statement. But I'm not discounting what they did at that time. Bill Walton at UCLA and early at Portland could go up for a rebound and kick an outlet to a man at half-court before he hit the ground. That sure is exciting to watch.

 

[tlance]

They could have started Mike Smrek at center and beat these guys. If you're trying to discount Kareem's roll on that team you're doing a poor job by admitting he was "an above average NBA center who could score and block an occasional shot." I guarantee you Magic and the rest of his teammates would give Kareem allot more credit than that.

The '87 Lakers were great because of their chemistry and the fact that they had pieces that fit together perfectly. I am not trying to discount Kareem's role, but there were more than a couple people who suggested that this team was unbeatable because they had two GOAT's at their position.

I am merely pointing out that is a seriously flawed argument because Kareem was far past his prime. The same people who are holding up '87 Kareem like he was in '77 are not making the same concessions for Wade who is clearly not right.

The '87 Lakers are absolutely in the conversation for one of the greatest teams of all time. The Heat aren't there yet, but they could be close if they were 100%.

Unfortunately, we may never see it because Wade looks like he is fading fast. If he were playing at 2011 level along with the current version of LeBron and the rest of the role players they have put together, then we would absolutely have a real debate. Right now though, not so much.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

This Heat team has looked like shit for the vast majority of the playoffs. Even at their best it more then likely wouldn"t have been near enough to beat that Laker team more then maybe once or twice IMO.

As far as the abortion comment, watch how quickly you just potentially turned what should be a few page thread (because there is no sane argument to argue with the OP) into maybe 25 pages of bullshit because you didn't consider the feelings of the pro lifers here

I don't approve of abortion and it really is wrong, but it's not murder since the fetus is not yet a breathing human being. That being said - that was a pretty sick comment to make about a human being who has done nothing wrong except for not making basketball decisions that you approved of.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

The '87 Lakers were great because of their chemistry and the fact that they had pieces that fit together perfectly. I am not trying to discount Kareem's role, but there were more than a couple people who suggested that this team was unbeatable because they had two GOAT's at their position.

I am merely pointing out that is a seriously flawed argument because Kareem was far past his prime. The same people who are holding up '87 Kareem like he was in '77 are not making the same concessions for Wade who is clearly not right.

The '87 Lakers are absolutely in the conversation for one of the greatest teams of all time. The Heat aren't there yet, but they could be close if they were 100%.

Unfortunately, we may never see it because Wade looks like he is fading fast. If he were playing at 2011 level along with the current version of LeBron and the rest of the role players they have put together, then we would absolutely have a real debate. Right now though, not so much.

Here's the thing about Kareem when it comes to facing this Heat team. Even at 40 he's twice the player anyone on the Heat's front line is.

 

[HammerDown]

The '87 Lakers are absolutely in the conversation for one of the greatest teams of all time. The Heat aren't there yet, but they could be close if they were 100%.

The Heat wouldn't make it past the Knicks in the '95 Eastern Conference.

 

[tlance]

The Heat wouldn't make it past the Knicks in the '95 Eastern Conference.

LOL. You guys are just haters. I am not a Heat fan, but I can appreciate a good team when I see one. This team is really good as is and again, they aren't close to 100%. Without Wade they are good, but not great. With him, they are special.

You probably agree with Sman that the Lakers would be in the Finals now if Kobe hadn't gotten hurt.

 

[tlance]

Here's the thing about Kareem when it comes to facing this Heat team. Even at 40 he's twice the player anyone on the Heat's front line is.

I don't necessarily agree with that, but even if it were true that wouldn't automatically make the Lakers better. Magic is the one who creates problems for the Heat more so than Kareem.

I have never said that the Heat are better, just that you guys are seriously underestimating them because of Wade's poor play. When healthy, this team's speed and athleticism is unlike anything the '87 Lakers ever saw.