Saturday, August 25th, 2012 at 1:10 pm  |  103 responses

Chris Bosh: ‘Lakers Have Best Team On Paper’


During a radio appearance in Miami on Friday, Chris Bosh caught listeners off guard by saying the Lakers have the best team “on paper” right now in the League.

The NBA Champ, of course, emphasized that the heavy onus is still on the new-look Lakers to live up to expectations:

(Interview transcription via the Sun Sentinel)

It’s been two weeks since the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic, which at least has given Chris Bosh time to collect his thoughts.

“As soon as the deal happened, my brain went 100 miles an hour to another place, far away from here,” the Miami Heat forward said Friday during a radio appearance on WQAM.

And now that he has collected his thoughts, where does he view the Lakers in terms of his own championship team? His candid answer caught hosts Steve Goldstein and Adam Kuperstein a bit off guard.

“The Lakers, I think, right now, I mean on paper, they probably have the best team in the West and probably the league right now,” he said. “On paper. I’m saying on paper. But it’s a lot, a lot, it’s a long season. And the best team always isn’t the one who starts out the season as the best team. We know we’re the champs, but we have to start off from scratch. We have a lot of chemistry building to do. And we have to come out there and we have to start over. We know favorites and all that stuff really doesn’t matter.”

Bosh said the Heat have learned to deal with the type of pressure the Lakers are expected to face and “how the hype can get to you.”

Bosh pointed out how the Heat stood as championship favorites in 2010-11, only to fall in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, and how they did not have quite the same expectations and then defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in this past season’s NBA Finals.

“It’s all about who’s standing at the top in June, after the season is over, and that’s all we care about,’” he said. “So we have to build toward that again.”

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  • http://WWW.BENNY.COM BIG MONEY

    If I was 7’1 320 lbs I would be the most effective player to. The only thing Kobe needed shaq was for motivation. When shaq went to miami and started talking all that shit saying ” Kobe is going to end up like penny ” Kobe became more of a beast.

  • Diogo Novo

    we will see!

  • http://Slamonline.com Black Mamba

    They both needed each other. This debate is tiring

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Shaq’s imprint on the Laker’s 3peat was definitely larger than Kobe’s, there is no denying that.

  • http://Slamonline.com Black Mamba

    But they couldn’t have won it without both of them. Just kobe or just shaq wouldn’t get it done

  • http://slamonline.com Datkid

    the lakers kind of have the best team in the league…kind of. there are still clear weaknesses somebody could exploit.

  • http://www.nba.com son.of.dad

    There can’t be a discussion outside of saying that Chris Bosh hasn’t said anything so revolutionary that it couldn’t be agreed with. Half of the reading audience will need to read this slowly and half of that group still won’t understand. Yes on paper LA have the better Starting 5. In the immortal words of one DC. Woopty damm doo. LA probably agree and you KNOW Nash talks chemistry 1st & 2nd.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    They needed each other. Shaq needed Kobe the most in the fourth quarter. Kobe needed Shaq the most for the other three quarters. Most big men need superstar guards (except Tim Duncan which is why he’s the best player since Jordan retired, could add in Dirk Nowitzki except he was aided by LeBron losing confidence in his game that series).

  • bigA

    Wow, what happened again to this forum?
    I thought it was moving in the right direction but way to many idiotic things being said here.
    Weak commentators got to see the comment posting business like basketball.
    Put your effort into small comments if you aren’t good at posting.
    Let them main people who get it done shine. Lead the way guys. I’m still learning. Haha this is redicilous.

  • bigA

    Dear Sir,
    I am longtime Slam magazine subscribing hoophead from Germany.
    Almost daily I go to slamonline.com to check out the Basketball related news.
    Often I enjoy reading the articles and comments and I especially I like it when there are videos of basketball.
    Nevertheless I believe the site could be so much better.
    A huge problem is the commenting software. Oftentimes accounts have been hacked and there would be alot of stupid comments.
    How about making it like youtube, where you can thumb up comments?
    Maybe you could even make some money by connecting the page to Google Plus or something like it.
    I believe the page has the potential to be great.
    It could become the “love the game” internet page showing deep and elaborate basketball insights. You already have some commentators who have the potential to contribute to that.

    Thank you for your consideration,
    all the best

  • http://slamonline.com The Philosopher

    LONG… LIVE… THE KING.

  • yc

    yes agree with bigA.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Slamreader

    Chris Bosh has one of the weirdest heads on paper.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Redd

    I think Kobe was the winner of circumstance. Imagine if Shaq ended up with AI? It’d have been dominance then also. Kobe needed Shaq, period.

  • http://www.newyorkshockexchange.com Shock Exchange

    ^^ A de facto co-sign for the Shock Exchange

  • http://www.slamonline.com Redd

    Na don’t co-sign me. You are an egotistical, lifeless loser. But, I’m now doubting if I know much about basketball anymore..this sucks.

  • http://www.newyorkshockexchange.com Shock Exchange

    ^^ Actually, with your comments, you were co-signing the Shock Exchange. You should prolly look up the word “de facto” in the dictionary.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Shaq needed Kobe also. And he especially needed D-Wade as he was becoming more and more human after the years of dominance in LA. Both he and Kobe were winners of circumstance. Who knew Kobe would turn into what he turned into? Imagine if Kobe had only become a solid starting two guard instead of the 2nd best two guard to ever play.

  • http://www.newyorkshockexchange.com Shock Exchange

    ^^ People need to stop joking around post more serious comments so this site can reach its potential.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Redd

    Na Shock not whatsoever my idiotic fellow commentator, I wasn’t I was simply stating the obvious. Just so happens you felt compelled to troll for sake of your pathetic life which bares no meaning but to act like you’re the half witted breed of Skip Bayless. Wade and Kobe both needed Shaq. Shaq could’ve gone to any team with a pure scoring superstar and gotten a ring.

  • http://Slamonline.com Black Mamba

    Put Kobe with iverson and that would be dominant as well

  • http://www.slamonline.com nbk

    I doubt it

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    No, Kobe and Iverson wouldn’t work. Two ball stoppers.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    more and more I find myself coming just for the articles… and then leaving before I have to scroll down and lose my mind.

  • Rainman

    TThats like melo and A.I on the nuggets. How good was that team again?

  • http://www.xvideos.com nbk troll

    Lakers prob win the chip this year and next PERIOD. if lebron can somehow stop them he will give himself a big lift in the better than MJ debate. Other pg’s will abuse nash but that’s why d12 is for. Give nash the ball and let pau setup the pick and roll and go ahead and get the rings sized.

  • http://Slamonline.com Black Mamba

    They could alternate on possessions. But that goes back to the chemistry thing

  • http://www.xvideos.com nbk troll

    Also why everybody gettin @ the shock exchange?? I think he is WAAAAY off base with his views on kobe, but he seems like a cool dude. Atleast he isn’t a pu$$y ( black mamba), or a know it all nerd ( nbk), or a weirdo perv like me (anybody ever click my name?)……. Whatever happened to eboy???

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Kobe was never too fond of sharing with Shaq. I highly doubt he would have enjoyed sharing possessions with a guy who was used to shooting more than even he did.

  • http://slamonline BossTerry

    Popeye Jones jr= Charlie Villanoava.

  • http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=tablet-android-verizon&tbo=d&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=the+goonies+sloth&oq=the+goonies+sloth&aq=f&aqi=g5g-S4&aql=&gs_ LakeShow

    This is an eclectic bunch.

  • Drig

    @SExchange……So having Bynum/Pau along with KB makes LAL the best team for the last few years and Kobe was the reason they didn’t win the last few titles? So, the lack of a bench doesn’t matter. Or the fact that Bynum’s and Pau’s games clash too much which was why Phil went with Odom-Pau at the end of games even when Bynum was healthy ( which was by far the most effective front court lineup since Kobe could enter the paint near the elbow ).

  • http://Slamonline.com Black Mamba

    The guy that called me a perv also goes by the name “nbk troll”. My self esteem just went up.

  • BallsDeep

    @NBKtroll. U got me. How do i get a link with my name? Not that I would do what u did!

  • ctk

    Lakers pieces dont fit together …Nash/Howard play fast …Kobe/Gasol prefer halfcourt ball…if Kobe didnt so called give Bynum enuff touches n he better on O than Howard what makes everybody think he gon pass it to D12…If Gasol was use wrong last yr how can u change it this yr(he needs to be playin Center)…what happen when EVERYBODY leaves Artest open from 3s n he miss the first 3 …Do u sub him for Jamison? …who is a worst defender than Nash on the perimeter ..u cant play Eubanks at all …Still no backup guards worth nothing at either spot ..they still cant guard ones n elite wings aka Westbrook/Durant…Buss gon favor D12 KNOWIN he needs him after Kobe gon…WE ALL KNOW KOBE WONT BE FEELIN THAT …what paper is everybody lookin at?

  • Conor

    Nash’s addition is perhaps the move that will yield the most profound results upon the team entire. His ability to orchestrate the offence while the other, professional basketball players adjust to their roles on the team will be nothing short of masterclass basketball. Even if the pieces didn’t fit – which they do – Nash turns the rag-tag into threats, so what will he do with an arsenal of Bryant, Gasol, Howard, Meeks, and the other wing athletes the Lakers have (Ebanks, Clark, Morris) with the paint players & Jordan Hill cleaning up the scraps. Their offence, as composed by Nash, will be fine.
    .
    Defensively, the Lakers had Westbrook limited to such an extent that O.K.C. needed Durant to dominate flawlessly in the fourth for them to even come back in two of the five games (games which Bryant cost them, offensively, because he was trying to be the facilitator AND the finisher, but lacked the stamina to sustain it). Nash is a bad defender, yes, but Ramon Sessions was a human pylon who may as well not have existed on the court. Those issues may be rectified by the Howard addition (an active, accomplished, & ever-engaged variation of Andrew Bynum).
    .
    Think of it like this, the Lakers acquired their offensive and defensive flagships this summer in Nash and Howard, respectively. Nash will ensure that any team runs smoothly, let alone one with three other Hall of Fame-quality players & reliable role players. Howard has M.W.P. and Kobe to impede the perimeter opponents now instead of Turkoglu and J.J. Reddick. And if they are the flagships, then Bryant and Gasol are their fleets, which isn’t the worst a catalyst could wish for.

  • Conor

    All that to say: get busy ballin’ or get busy dyin’.

  • http://www.xvideos.com nbk troll

    @balls deep just throw the web address in the “website” text box, in the comment section…

  • http://www.newyorkshockexchange.com Shock Exchange

    @Drig Yes. The Lakers have had the best team in the L four the past four years. Yet they haven’t taken the cake for each of the past for years. Which means (i) you should place the blame on the guy dominating the ball and taking most of the shots (Horry Jr) or (ii) you can’t blame Horry Jr because after all, he’s not the 2nd greatest SG in the L and nowhere close to MJ … he’s simply a volume shooter whose been the beneficiary of circumstance. Pick one Drig, as the theme from Jeopardy plays ad infinitum …

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    First there was shutupallenp, and then there was nbk_troll…SMH…couldn’t of happened to a better d-bag… lmaooooooooooo!

  • http://www.newyorkshockexchange.com Shock Exchange

    Lakers fans continually speak with forked tongue. One day Horry Jr is on MJ’s level. The next day, despite having “exceptionally more talent than the rest of the L,” the Lakers need to get rid of Odom, then Pau needs to stop playing soft, then Bynum needs maturity, then they need a bench, then they need D12. Once they get D12, they need “chemistry”, then they need to get rid of Brown and bring Phil back … For being the second coming of MJ, this guy sure is “needy.”

  • Drig

    So you’re telling me the Bulls weren’t more talented overall than their peers??? Keeping aside the fact that I never asked for MikeB to be fired, tell me how many titles MJ won without Phil??? They needed a bench. And that was obvious. If you even watch basketball and Lakers games, you’d see that the starting lineup, even with Fisher and Bynum instead of Nash and Howard, could hang on with OKC/Heat/Spurs but the bench differential was crazy. The Odom thing doesn’t make any sense. SMART Laker fans realized that Pau was forced to curtail his game for Bynum’s growth ( since both their styles don’t mesh together ) and when they meant he should stop being hard, it means that they want Pau to hustle more on a game to game basis which is a problem for him. Also, tell me how the Celts were inferior to LAL in ’08 or ’10 please. In ’09 you have a point about us being the best team. Even in ’11, tell me how an injured Kobe Lakers were better than OKC / Heat ( who both lost to Dallas ). And explain to me how the ’12 Lakers were better than the Heat/OKC/Spurs/Celts when a common theme of all 4 years is that LAL had a deficiency at the PG spot and no bench production. You’re an idiot basically.

  • Drig

    BTW, MJ was pretty needy as well since he needed Pippen, Rodman, Kerr and the ilk. Esp. if you consider that teaming up was unheard of back then and right now, due to some coincidence, aside from the Lakers, the L has two teams that has 2 superstars each, an all-star, decent enough interior defenders and a bench in OKC and Heat. TELL ME HOW MANY TEAMS THAT JORDAN FACED HAD SUCH competition before mouthing off about how MJ would’ve won even with a broken ass team in ’12 with a major coaching change. Definitely not the Pacers, the Suns, the Magic, the Jazz or the rest of the L…..And the Bulls had 2 superstars ( in Pippen and Rodman ), an all-star and solid interior D AND a bench……Yup, I’m convinced you’re not just sipping but gulping down barrels of the haterade……

  • http://www.newyorkshockexchange.com Shock Exchange

    When the Shock did not co-sign for you, you got your female swag on and got emotional like everybody else … As the theme from Jeopardy plays ad infinitum

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    The Horry Jr thing lets me know when people aren’t serious and don’t really have any idea about what they’re talking about when it comes to basketball. Shouldn’t be taken seriously at all.

  • Drig

    Damn, I missed the memo about Shock Exchange being a troll on all matters pertaining to the Lakers atleast…

  • http://Slamonline.com Black Mamba

    Shock Exchange how stupid are you? A top ten and some may say top five player of all time is a volume shooter? How the hell were the Lakers the best team the past two years? And Horry Jr is beyond stupid. By that logic Lebron is Varajao jr, wade is shaq jr Melo is jr smith JR and Durant is… I dunno Westbrook JR? What a clown

  • LA Huey

    “i hate how in the nba, u pretty much know whos gonna be in the finals, but in football, nd baseball everything is up for grabs” Word? Besides Jason Terry, who had the Mavericks even MAKING the 2011 Finals?

  • SeanMagicJuan

    Kobe and Iverson would be absolutely hilarious, just remarkable displays of outrageous shot selectionmoments in EVERY game.

  • http://www.slamonline.com nbk

    Kobe #1 most clutch

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