cured
05-30-2008, 08:36 PM
It is officially ON.
Los Angeles Lakers - 57-25 regular season, 12-3 playoffs, #1 seed in the Western Conference
vs.
Boston Celtics - 66-12 regular season, 12-8 playoffs, #1 seed in the Eastern Conference
Regular season meetings: Boston bloodied the Lakers in 2 games in the regular season, holding Kobe Bryant to 15-for-46 shooting in the 2 games. Both games were played with Andrew Bynum on the roster for LA, who went down with an injury in January, prompting the Lakers to trade a lot of their dead weight to Memphis for center Pau Gasol.
The Lakers, with Gasol, went on a hot streak and won the top seed in the toughest western conference in history while the Celtics bludgeoned their way through the eastern conference and seemed poised to run roughshod through the playoffs. A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum, though, and while the Lakers swept Denver, conquered a very good Utah team, and dethroned the defending champions, the Celtics were taken to seven games by the lowly Atlanta Hawks, seven more by the one-man-show Cleveland Cavaliers, and 6 tough games against a defensive-minded Detroit Pistons team.
The matchups favor Boston in this series, so I'll run through those:
Kobe vs. Pierce
Fisher vs. Rondo
Radmonovic/Vujacic vs. Allen
Odom vs. Garnett
Gasol vs. Perkins
Think that's how they'll line up?
First, Kobe and Pierce. Both guys are physical and can bump their way to the basket if they need to. Kobe is the better defender but in the 2 games played during the season, it was Kobe who was struggling from the floor. Will the same happen this time around? The Black Mamba is a different player in the playoffs.
Fisher vs. Rondo: Fish will probably do a pretty good job keeping Rondo out of the lane and chip in with some shots here and there. Rondo will probably be pretty up and down, more down than up. Fisher lives for the big shots while Rondo is usually the cog that gets the wheels turning but isn't afriad to take big shots.
Radmonovic/Vujacic vs. Allen is all incumbent on if Allen's jumpshot decides to show up or not. Radmonovic has picked up his play and I don't expect either Laker to put too much defensive pressure on Allen in terms of going to the basket but this is something the Celtics will probably try to do to get Ray going if his shot isn't going. Vujacic has got to be the pest he was to Ginobili for this to work.
Odom vs. Garnett will be the big key matchup. Garnett is obviously going to get more points but Odom is going to have to match him rebound for rebound. Can Odom stay out of foul trouble, though? I don't like Gasol on Garnett because Garnett has a good outside shot and can take Gasol to the bucket if he plays him too high.
Gasol vs. Perkins will be an interesting one to watch because it was offensive rebounding that gave the Lakers real problems in the series against Utah and it was something the Spurs didn't really have the personnel to do. Perkins had a monster first half in game 5 and then had a meek second half. Will he be consistent all the way through? Will Gasol get challenged around the rim as San Antonio successfully did against him? Will Gasol's overall field goal percentage pick up or will we have these 3-10 type of games from him?
Bench:
Lakers - Sasha Vujacic brings instant offense and pesky defense but poor penetration. Jordan Farmar has had an up-and-down playoffs but showed some real signs against San Antonio. It should also be noted that he was the only player who showed up for UCLA in their title game against the Florida Gators. Ronny Turiaf is a big defender with an extrmely high motor who should provide some valuable minutes if and when Laker big men need rest or get into foul trouble. Luke Walton is Mr. Intangible who quietly works his way through games. Never dominant but pretty fundamentally sound.
Celtics - The Celtics have a pretty short bench if you look at who has been getting minutes in the playoffs. Sam Cassell was brought in from the Los Angeles Clippers to provide some big-shot capability but has been a decided disappointment in the playoffs and hasn't received much playing time. Leon Powe was a valuable contributor for the Celtics who has found his way into coach Doc Rivers' doghouse and hasn't gotten many minutes at all. Eddie House is a shooter who has also had some problems and has been riding the pine for much of the playoffs. That leaves mid-season pickup P.J. Brown providing good minutes as a solid big defender who has a nice midrange jumper and James Posey who brings great defense, has good length, and has a good 3 point shot.
Coaching - there is no comparison between the two. Doc Rivers has struggled as a head coach in the league with inferior talent while Phil Jackson from LA has won nine championships, six with Michael Jordan's Bulls and three with Shaq and Kobe in LA. Grumblings from viewers have noted that Rivers shortened his bench for the playoffs and his players have logged big minutes, which may have contributed to 4th-quarter problems for his team. The Lakers, meanwhile, have come back from 15+ deficits three times this postseason and have finished quarters and games very well.
This series will hinge on 3-point shooting, rebounding, and turnovers. The Celtics have homecourt and will host games 1 and 2, with 6 and 7 coming if necessary.
Game 1 of the NBA finals is on Thursday, June 5, and will follow a Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday format. The TV coverage will be on ABC networks.
Los Angeles Lakers - 57-25 regular season, 12-3 playoffs, #1 seed in the Western Conference
vs.
Boston Celtics - 66-12 regular season, 12-8 playoffs, #1 seed in the Eastern Conference
Regular season meetings: Boston bloodied the Lakers in 2 games in the regular season, holding Kobe Bryant to 15-for-46 shooting in the 2 games. Both games were played with Andrew Bynum on the roster for LA, who went down with an injury in January, prompting the Lakers to trade a lot of their dead weight to Memphis for center Pau Gasol.
The Lakers, with Gasol, went on a hot streak and won the top seed in the toughest western conference in history while the Celtics bludgeoned their way through the eastern conference and seemed poised to run roughshod through the playoffs. A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum, though, and while the Lakers swept Denver, conquered a very good Utah team, and dethroned the defending champions, the Celtics were taken to seven games by the lowly Atlanta Hawks, seven more by the one-man-show Cleveland Cavaliers, and 6 tough games against a defensive-minded Detroit Pistons team.
The matchups favor Boston in this series, so I'll run through those:
Kobe vs. Pierce
Fisher vs. Rondo
Radmonovic/Vujacic vs. Allen
Odom vs. Garnett
Gasol vs. Perkins
Think that's how they'll line up?
First, Kobe and Pierce. Both guys are physical and can bump their way to the basket if they need to. Kobe is the better defender but in the 2 games played during the season, it was Kobe who was struggling from the floor. Will the same happen this time around? The Black Mamba is a different player in the playoffs.
Fisher vs. Rondo: Fish will probably do a pretty good job keeping Rondo out of the lane and chip in with some shots here and there. Rondo will probably be pretty up and down, more down than up. Fisher lives for the big shots while Rondo is usually the cog that gets the wheels turning but isn't afriad to take big shots.
Radmonovic/Vujacic vs. Allen is all incumbent on if Allen's jumpshot decides to show up or not. Radmonovic has picked up his play and I don't expect either Laker to put too much defensive pressure on Allen in terms of going to the basket but this is something the Celtics will probably try to do to get Ray going if his shot isn't going. Vujacic has got to be the pest he was to Ginobili for this to work.
Odom vs. Garnett will be the big key matchup. Garnett is obviously going to get more points but Odom is going to have to match him rebound for rebound. Can Odom stay out of foul trouble, though? I don't like Gasol on Garnett because Garnett has a good outside shot and can take Gasol to the bucket if he plays him too high.
Gasol vs. Perkins will be an interesting one to watch because it was offensive rebounding that gave the Lakers real problems in the series against Utah and it was something the Spurs didn't really have the personnel to do. Perkins had a monster first half in game 5 and then had a meek second half. Will he be consistent all the way through? Will Gasol get challenged around the rim as San Antonio successfully did against him? Will Gasol's overall field goal percentage pick up or will we have these 3-10 type of games from him?
Bench:
Lakers - Sasha Vujacic brings instant offense and pesky defense but poor penetration. Jordan Farmar has had an up-and-down playoffs but showed some real signs against San Antonio. It should also be noted that he was the only player who showed up for UCLA in their title game against the Florida Gators. Ronny Turiaf is a big defender with an extrmely high motor who should provide some valuable minutes if and when Laker big men need rest or get into foul trouble. Luke Walton is Mr. Intangible who quietly works his way through games. Never dominant but pretty fundamentally sound.
Celtics - The Celtics have a pretty short bench if you look at who has been getting minutes in the playoffs. Sam Cassell was brought in from the Los Angeles Clippers to provide some big-shot capability but has been a decided disappointment in the playoffs and hasn't received much playing time. Leon Powe was a valuable contributor for the Celtics who has found his way into coach Doc Rivers' doghouse and hasn't gotten many minutes at all. Eddie House is a shooter who has also had some problems and has been riding the pine for much of the playoffs. That leaves mid-season pickup P.J. Brown providing good minutes as a solid big defender who has a nice midrange jumper and James Posey who brings great defense, has good length, and has a good 3 point shot.
Coaching - there is no comparison between the two. Doc Rivers has struggled as a head coach in the league with inferior talent while Phil Jackson from LA has won nine championships, six with Michael Jordan's Bulls and three with Shaq and Kobe in LA. Grumblings from viewers have noted that Rivers shortened his bench for the playoffs and his players have logged big minutes, which may have contributed to 4th-quarter problems for his team. The Lakers, meanwhile, have come back from 15+ deficits three times this postseason and have finished quarters and games very well.
This series will hinge on 3-point shooting, rebounding, and turnovers. The Celtics have homecourt and will host games 1 and 2, with 6 and 7 coming if necessary.
Game 1 of the NBA finals is on Thursday, June 5, and will follow a Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday format. The TV coverage will be on ABC networks.