Matchups and Breakdowns

[meatball sub]

God these Laker fans are on crack thinking Odom is on par with KG. They're in for a rude awakening this series.

[Knicksfan20]

God these Laker fans are on crack thinking Odom is on par with KG. They're in for a rude awakening this series.

He is not on Par with Odom..but its not a BIG of a differnce as some of you guys make it out to be...KG is by far the superier player...but by some of the posts i see here....its like Odom is Kwame Brown or somthing

[hermes]

[quote="Joselo16"][/quote]
you know odom is the 3rd option on the lakers so he won't score as many as KG, because KG is 1-1a with pierce

[Joselo16]

I will admit he has stepped his game up but you have to look at who was guarding him and how he got his points. The C's will most likely dare him to shoot and not allow him to drive and dish. It's almost like playing against Josh Smith again (but without the defense), an athletic lefty who can run a one man break, rebound, but can't shoot.

It's going to be a great series but Odom will not be the deciding factor. I worry more about Gasol getting the star treatment against Perk (wouldn't surprise me)! For soem reason I feel like we will be in foul trouble a lot!

[Joselo16]

-= original quote snipped =-


you know odom is the 3rd option on the lakers so he won't score as many as KG, because KG is 1-1a with pierce

Your fellow Laker boy was the one that brought up numbers as if Odom was dominant, I just wanted to compare!

[meatball sub]

The NBA is a superstar-driven league and the Celtics have three superstars, the Lakers have one. You do the math. If I were a Laker fan I'd hate the fact that everybody thinks they're going to win just because they have the MVP on their team. People are forgetting that the Celtics have three HOFers that are staring destiny right between the eyes and the only thing they need to solidify their places in history is four wins away.

1st options: Kobe vs. Pierce. Yes Kobe is better, no doubt, and will prolly average 30 PPG this series. Pierce has always played his very best against the Lakers and everybody seems to be overlooking that fact. Kobe will have a great series but so will Paul Pierce...

2nd options: Gasol vs. KG. No explanation needed, the Celtics not only have KG as their 2nd scoring option but also as their anchor on defense. Pau Gasol anchors nothing but blown assignments inside.

3rd options: Odom vs. Ray Allen. Odom might be your third option, which is no doubt a huge advantage over other teams and that's all well and good but...our 3rd option has been a bonafide #1 scoring option his entire career and just broke out of the worst slump of his career. After playing against two of the best defensive teams in the league the past 2 series, you're damn skippy he's going off against the Lakers.

Coaches: Yeah, Phil Jackson is way better than Doc. But using this argument is flawed for two reasons:

1. The coaches don't **** play the game.

2. Red Auerbach will be damned if his championship record is broken by Phil Jackson AGAINST the Celtics. While Phil is still a great coach, he has been blessed to coach quite possibly the two greatest players to ever play the game of basketball.

When the Lakers lose this series I hope Laker fans collectively cry into a gigantic bucket so we can all drink your tears.

[Joselo16]

I agreed with everything except maybe drinking their (Laker fanboys) tears. I just don't do that(lol)!

Phil and Doc are actually similar coaches in terms of the philosophy of letting their players play, for example if the opposing team is on a run neither will call a timeout but instead will let their players play through it (unless is out of hand). As for championship experience that crap is overrated specially with Phil. If your team is better than the opponent, on most nights the best team will win regardless of how bad the coach is. What does championship experience mean? That you have been there before so what each series is its own entity? Detroit has been to The Conference Finals the last six years with players that have played many playoff games together, how did that help them!?! I just don't see how coaching changes just because you're in the finals. You do what got you there and make minor tweaks if necessary.

[cdubbz]

I think everyone is underestimating the lakers role players...fisher/farmar sasha/vlad and turiaf are all solid role players who can all play solid defense and are all capable of scoring. if kobe and gasol are getting points and any one of these guys are....its over.

[Fencer reregistered]

We will defend Gasol like we did with Z. Flash at him when he pick and rolls and throw the kitchen sink of defenders on him (Perk, Baby, and especially PJ).

Actually, getting him in foul trouble or otherwise exploiting so badly he went to the bench was the real way the Cs stopped him -- his shotblocking, rebounding, and shooting notwithstanding.

[ShowtimeFan]

When the Lakers lose this series I hope Laker fans collectively cry into a gigantic bucket so we can all drink your tears.

If the Lakers lose, I'm sure there will be something in the bucket for you to drink...

LOL

[omegatronic3]

as an unbiased observer here's how I see it.

I think playing Cleveland will serve you well because LA has similar length on the front line. Scoring was tough against Cleveland since it was difficult getting inside. Cleveland was way more physical than LA but LA frontline will be a bigger challenge to defend. You need to be physical with Gasol and Odom.

Likewise the Atlanta series gave you a taste of an open court game. The key there is to be efficient on offense and limit turnovers and long rebounds. That'll be tough since youre essentially a jump shooting team...you need to find a way to get some easy baskets and post play. Perkins needs to get you some points in the paint.

As far as the position by position analysis goes I dont think its that useful since lineups will change and different players will guard one another but I do think the Odom vs. KG matcheup is gonna be key.
I think KG can definitely neutralize Odoms offense but KG may have a tough time shooting over Odom since hes very long. Keeping Odom off the boards will be key.

I think as a team Boston is similar to San Antonio in that you both have 3 key guys and a defensive mindset. I think what did San Antonio in was lack of depth, injuries and getting tired down the stretch.

Your bench has to give KG, Pierce and Allen enough rest so that they're fresh down the stretch. In watching the San Antonio series Kobe got plenty of rest. I got the feeling he was pacing himself for the 4th quarter.

What scares me is that like San Antonio you guys also go on scoring draughts. That cant happen in this series.

Also guys like Farmar, Vuyachich, Walton , Turiaf etc can't come in and make an impact.

Game 1 is huge since losing home court off the bat would be tough to overcome.

To state the obvious you need to make Kobe either a scorer or a passer but not both.

[Flexx10dzl]

LAker fan here ..here's my breakdown ..fair as possible:

Both teams are matched well with age and youth..so

Doc vs Phil..

This is Doc's first rodeo..this is Phil's 11th... Advantage Phil


Rondo vs Fish ... Advantage Rondo..

Rondo has the speed and quickness to get by fish every day..Lakers will have to use team D on him like they did with Parker...and williams..

Kobe vs PP ... Kobe ..that's all that's needed to say on that

KG vs Odom ...KG ..That's all that needs to be said on that


Ray Vs Rad .. Advantage Ray


Perkins vs Pau .. advantage Pau ( slightly)


The benches: BOS advantage on D LAL advantage on O

Posey/house/cassell/Pj brown

sasha/farmar/turiaf/luke/ariza


Boston is better on the Boards LAL is a better scoring team..


X factors .. Lamar Odom and Perkins...( they will decide this series)

if Boston wins the first 2 games I believe they will win the series .. If LA wins one of the first 2 I believe LA will win the series..

To be honest I don't know who will win .. i want the Lakers to win but ..Bos is strong..


IMO it will come down to coaching and adjustments..and that favors the lakers ....but I just don't know

[TheSheriff]

I think everyone is underestimating the lakers role players...fisher/farmar sasha/vlad and turiaf are all solid role players who can all play solid defense and are all capable of scoring. if kobe and gasol are getting points and any one of these guys are....its over.

Because if Pierce and KG are getting points, Cassell, Ray Allen, James Posey, Eddie House, Rajon Rondo, and Leon Powe are incapable of scoring?

[Joselo16]

I agree with most of what you said (omegatronic3), except that our scoring droughts were a product of the defenses we were facing. I do think that our prior series will be of help against the Laker's.

[jfs1000d]

We;ll see how great he celts defense really is. There is no stopping kobe, but celts have advantage on the boards and defensively.

I just don't see how the lakers guard the celtics. Lots of doubles coming on pierce and KG in the post. Will rondo, Ray Allen Posey and House hit the shots? If they do, LA is going down.

I think people in LA are underestimating how good KG really is defensively. He has shutdown the paint in every round. Look what he did to Sheed? He destroyed him. Lamar's length won't help him against KG. And, KG will overpower any player the Lakers have.

I worry about Gasol just beating up on perk, and forcing KG on him. That leaves Odom free reign.

And, why are the experts picking LA? It is the format 2-3-2. Many feel there will be a split in Boston and then some say LA wins all 3 at home, while others have lakers winning 2 or 3 that would make the Celtics have to win the final 2.

Game 5 is the swing game, and that is in LA. I think the "experts" are picking on that basis that Lakers will have a 3-2 lead after 5 in some way shape or form.

[Joselo16]

I think this is when a player with Posey's versatility comes in very handy. If Perk gets in Trouble with Gasol, we shift KG on Pau and have Posey cover Odom which also spread the defense for KG to operate in the post. We do use Posey a lot with the starting lineup. Our team matches up great against the Lakers.

[anuroc]

I think Gasol and not Odom will be the one paired with KG. And he will have help when needed.
Lakers defence is not that bad as you believe, they don't have shut-down one on one defenders (except Kobe) but they have a nice team defence.
Celtics are better there but Lakers have just played against two very rough defences in Utah and San Antonio and I guess they will be relieved when playing against Boston because they don't do all the pulling-grabbing-shoving that those two teams usually do.

[omegatronic3]

[quote="Joselo16"]I agree with most of what you said (omegatronic3), except that our scoring droughts were a product of the defenses we were facing. I do think that our prior series will be of help against the Laker's.[/quote
as someone else mentioned I think LA is capable of good d in stretches...they lock down when they need to. During those stretches you need some go to plays to get you looks close to the basket rather than jumpers..because jumpers can come and go. I wanna see KG get to the rim...Pierce posting up..Rondo getting to the rim and finishing.

[John from Hemet]

It will be interesting to see if Phil Jackson gives Trevor Ariza any burn in this series for defensive purposes.

I would love to see what he could do against Paul Pierce. He wont outscore him....but he is our best defender at that position and will go at the basket..

[Al-Haqq]

We have mis-matches with Pierce and KG and those guys need to be our main offensive targets. Simple as that.