The Depth Charts:
Los Angeles Lakers
Point Guard
Derek Fisher (!)
Jordan Farmar
Shooting Guard
Kobe Bryant (!!!)
Sasha Vujacic
Coby Karl (?)
Small Forward
Lamar Odom
Luke Walton
Ira Newble
Trevor Ariza
Power Forward
Vladimir Radmanovic
Ronny Turiaf
Center
Pau Gasol (!)
DJ Mbenga
Andrew Bynum (out)
Chris Mihm (?)
The Boston Celtics
Point Guard
Rajon Rondo (!)
Sam Cassell
Gabe Pruitt (out)
Shooting Guard
Ray Allen (!)
Eddie House
Tony Allen (out)
Small Forward
Paul Pierce (!!)
James Posey
Power Forward
Kevin Garnett (!!!)
Leon Powe
Brian Scalabrine
P.J. Brown
Center
Kendrick Perkins
Glen Davis
Scot Pollard (out)
Notes:
Boston had the best defense in almost every category during the regular season.
LA has the best scorer in the NBA and he is capable of winning at least one game on his own.
Paul Pierce is at his statistical best against the Lakers.
Pau Gasol has great range and speed, but horrible defense.
Lamar Odom cannot guard Kevin Garnett.
Vladi Radmanovic has great range and speed but cannot guard Paul Pierce.
The respective bench players are a weird matchup. There's bad matchups all over the place depending on the lineup the coaches go with.
Phil Jackson is a great coach.
Doc Rivers is a coach.
The Morris Wildcard: Can Kendrick Perkins outscore Pau Gasol? Probably not. But he will cause a rebounding nightmare for LA's bigmen? Yup. With Leon Powe and Glen Davis providing 12 fouls to give and P.J. Brown's veteran leadership, it might be a 4 guys versus 1 Gasol deal. That's a poison pill for either team and I don't like to guess which strategy will succeed.
The Least Interesting Matchup: Kobe versus anyone. Kobe will score 40 a night. Kobe will put up a decent defense on the inferior Ray Allen. Fun to watch for LA fans, but not fun to analyze. No drama.
The Skinny: Quit your job, stay up late, hide the women and the children and take the phone off the hook. This is the best championship matchup in any sport during the last two decades. This is like one of those hypothetical games people make up all the time. This is that 'what if' game that drunk guys in bars argue about except it's actually going to happen. If you have a pulse and can understand English, you will see a series that will give you chills, sweats, the runs and a headache. It's like a fun version of the flu. You cannot miss it. I don't care what time you have to go to bed. TIVO it or suck it up.
Prediction: Anyone who claims to know who will win is either stupid or works for ESPN (which values stupid above all other qualities in their on air personalities). Throw out the Vegas stuff. It could go 4, 5, 6, or 7 games and either team could win it in a sweep or a game seven miracle. This series has no solid logic, the teams have no history since LA aquired Pau Gasol, and it's LA Boston, a rivalry so intense and unpredictable (especially with the 2-3-2 format) that even the creators of LOST are backing away in fear. David Lynch must be directing.
Opinion: It has to go seven games or several thousand people will end up jumping off of their nearest high rise. Boston makes a better story if they win. The nation (outside of New England and any sane woman who hates aquitted rapists) wants LA to win because of the Boston Triangle (Sox, Patriots, Celtics). God has granted my final sports wish. I will finally know if He beat up his people for kicks, or is a kind and loving God. Go Celtics.
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4 comments:
Gasol is going to cause a lot of problems w/his passing and rebounding smarts. Also, watch out for Turiaf off the bench, he's instant energy. Walton has some skills, too.
Cassell and Brown will hurt the Lakers, as will the big three.
Too close to call.
Gasol is a Wuss. Perkins will bang him all around, and he will quit. Pierce will defend Kobe, he always does a decent job at that.
Celtics in six.
LA point guards?
LA big men?
Radmanovic scares me a bit. He's an auto three.
Kobe is Kobe.
BUT, Celtics are bigger, stronger, better defenders, better team players and haver a hella bench and Doc DOES play the matchups.
Phil Jackson? Meet Mr. Pierce. He's the guy that would have been your MJ. Kobe is just a scorer. A great great great scorer.
I wouldn't hate too much on Gasol. He played a good series against Duncan, the best big man in the league, and came out of the West.
Also, I wouldn't limit Kobe to just scoring. W/the addition of Gasol, you can see how good of a passer he is and he's rededicated himself to team D.
But the Celts have a deep bench and that is going to be a huge problem for the Lakers. We'll just have to see.
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