I'm calling it Lakers in 7 but I hope I'm wrong. I do think the Celtics will have give the Lakers problems in some areas. Their defense is excellent except when they start fouling. Lakers don't have anyone who can guard Pierce, Garnett, and Rondo. Pierce needs to have a huge series, offensively. He has been sacrificing his offense to play better defense but in this series, he's going to be guarding Rodmonovich, Odom, and Walton. All three aren't the focal point of the offense so Pierce should get plenty of rest on the defensive side. I'm also interested to see how Gasol deals with Garnett. One of Gasol's biggest strengths is his length but that could be negated as Garnett is even longer. The only guy who can at least challenge Kobe defensively is Posey. He needs to play at least 30 minutes a game. The Celtics better have been taking notes on what the Spurs did with Kobe by making him a jump shooter and not fouling him.
A week ago I didn't think either Detroit or Celtics could match the Lakers offensively but with Ray Allen reemergence these last 2 games, that gives the Celtics four viable scoring threats. The reason I don't see them winning the series is they seem to make absolutely stupid mistakes offensively. Like Rondo or Garnett passing up open jumpers to pass to a teammate who is already covered. I see something like that happening at a critical moment that could swing the series either way. I hope I'm wrong and the Celtics do come through as the last thing I need this summer is 4 month of "Mr. Teammate" Kobe Bryant sucking.
Pau matches well with Garnett. Allen has never been able to guard Kobe. Lamar can use his considerable height advantage over Pierce. Fisher has so many years experience over Rondo
Celtics have no bench. Rondo basically plays the whole game. If Saucy Billups would've been 100%, Rondo is toast
Lakers are younger, quicker and rested. Celtics have only won two games on the road
Man i cant wait for these finals to start, the Lakers Celtics rivalry was what got me hooked on hoops in the 80's. The first time i remember seeing basketball televised in the UK was the 84 finals when we lost in 7, from that moment on i was a Laker fan. So to have these two teams play again for the title is stirring up so much nostalgia for me. This is our true rival, the Kings, Suns and Jazz over the years have provided us some great rivalries but this is what gets any Laker fans blood pumping.
Boston will be tough to beat at home but if we can steal one there than i can see the Celtics start to crumble. The only crunch time player they have is Pierce and he doesnt have that same killer instinct as Kobe. Garnett for all his obvious skills tends to shrink in the 4th, but he is the key for them defensively. He roams alot so we will have to be very precise with our execution and let the ball do the work by making quick passes.
This promises to be a great series, Kobe couldnt be playing better going into the finals and i hope he continues to attack the basket like he has been doing. Even if he pulls up and uses the mid-range jumper those dribble drives will make Bostons defense shift and open up passing lanes. Lamar has to be aggressive going up against KG, he can beat him off the dribble but he cant be putting up that weak shit around Garnett - Dunk the ball Lamar! Im hoping to see alot of Ariza on Pierce to, that could be a key matchup that has flown under the radar.
Man is it Thursday yet?
lakers bench is better, but remember.... they have home court advantage, and at home they're a pretty good team. rondo i think could be big, as his speed is gonna keep fisher on his toes and may make him too tired to shoot that well. sam cassell has some good finals experience and i'd look for him to perform well or at least help other people play well. ray allen is always capable of having a big night shooting wise, pierce can play a decent game against anyone, the only person who can make him have a bad game, like kobe is himself. garnett is the main player though. the key is his battle inside with pau. whoever wins that could win the title
I dont know if they really have home court advantage. I'm not a big fan of the 2-3-2 format. My gut is telling me to go with the Lakers in 6, but I can't all in good consciencse say that, so I'm saying Celtics in 7. If the Celtics want any chance at winning this Allen cannot have off nights, and Garnett needs to dominate in the post,but I think Gasol is going to give him a harder time than people expect.
We played like a team that was unsure of the gameplan, the Celtics played tough and we failed to match their aggressiveness. The good thing to come out of this is that a few guys need to look in the mirror, Lamar and Pau now know that they need to bring it stronger next game. Lamar looked like the occasion had overwhelmed him but whereas before that would mean that he would lose confidence he has bounced back on a number of occasions in the playoffs. He has the skills to cause the Celtics all kinds of problems but he needs to believe in himself and impose his will on the game. He was absent on the boards to, that is something he always brings and we need to win or at least come close in the rebounding battle. Gasol needs to create angles when Lamar drives to the hoop, he does this beautifully with Kobe and usually follows Lamar in but for some reason he left Lamar surrounded under the hoop a few times.
Kobe just continues to amaze me with how he stays patient with the guys, hopefully this will help as the series continues. He has to fight so hard against his instincts to just take over and do it himself and im proud of the way he is building confidence in his teammates.
The big three for the Celtics played well, but PJ Brown was key for them in the 4th. He did a great job controlling the boards and making sure we only got one shot, we need some of our role players to step up and support our big three in the next game. When we run the offense and zip the ball around the Celtics defense looks shaky, the problem comes when we just stand around and give the Celtics easy targets to guard. Ball and player movement is key for us to get quality shots.
Phil is great a making adjustments but i think he needs to look down the bench at Ariza, he is a very good defender and he keeps the defense honest by cutting off the ball and he can finish at the rim. Also sometimes the threat of missing out on playing time can inspire the regular rotation and Vlad and Luke need a kick up the arse.
No need to panic for sure, we can take this next game if we just stay aggressive and run the offense. When we get quality shots and everyone is involved our defense always picks up.