Originally posted by guy222
Nelson is gonna play
Gonna play what? In the finals? The last thing I heard from him was that he was shooting for Preseason. I don't know if this is the best idea but heck what do I know aobut medicine.
But I rember it took Wade a little bit of time to get back to his old form after his shoulder injury, he might do them more harm than good.
I'm conflicted as to who to root for. Its really hard to root for the team that just booted us, but its impossible to root for the Lakers. I guess I'll pull for Orlando.
But if Phil keeps up his derek fischer fixation it could be long series for LA.
We can even switch it up like we did in the Denver series and have Kobe guard the PG and have Fish, Brown or Sasha guard the SG. I dont think Fish will be very successful disrupting Alston or Nelson but Kobe could really make it tough for them to even get into their offense.
Where is that Geshien cat? I was hoping to get some insight into the Magics strategies for the finals and what he thought might work against us.
Well L.A is a tottaly different beast than Cleveland. Orlando doesnt' have the massive size advantage, if any think it is at a dissadvantage. And L.A has a number of ways to take them apart.
Pau Gasol is probalby going to be key to this series. Unless Phil Benches Bynum there isn't really anyone to guard him outside of Dwight and I imagine he is going to tear up Rashard or Hedo on the inside.
If I were Orlando I would have to count on my guards. La's guards are the only weak link, so I can see why they want Jameer back. I would take it to fish, farmer or Brown. Orlando lives off the kick out maybe I can draw Kobe of his man (probably Lee) and get him and open shot. Or get anyone to help really, any one leaves their man and its a 3.
I would really try to push the tempo when Kobe is off the floor and get dthrees in trasnistion, none of LA's big men can run with Rashard and Hedo.
I think LA's biggest worry is that high screen and roll with Dwight and Hedo. Varejo was able to move his feet pretty well so that didn't work as well, but I don't know if LA's big men have the same lateral quickness or commitment to the Defensive end.
Basically LA just has to learn from Cleavland's mistakes. Dwight isn't going to win this series. Even if he goes off for some ridiculous number with his post moves move. The key is to stop the magic's shooters from getting hot.
The Lakers have had problems with the pick and roll. Surely, they have learned from all the years playing Utah. They can adjust
Geshien, be here KR. Then we get em 🙂
They don't have an answer for Kobe. Pietrus did ok when he was with GS
Nelson when healthy took it to Fisher and Jordan. Shannon Brown plays much better defense....stronger and younger
Cleveland played 3 on 5. Lakers have 5 guys and the better bench. Gasol is playing well. Andrew has to shine. We need offense first, and his defense will sparke
The Lakers are poor at closing out on shooters because they have a habit of doubling the post when it isnt necessary. From everything i've been hearing from the Lakers we will stick to single coverage on Dwight unless we are in foul trouble. That will make sticking to the shooters much easier, also our strong side zone that we use against dominant wing players leaves open 3's on the weakside - but there will be no need for that in this series.
I hope to see a much more intense and active Laker team from now on, the last game and a half have been perfect in terms of focus and execution. We need to stay on that level for a whole series and keep building.
Hey fellas. 😎
Orlando will present the same issues that they give everyone else. They'll stretch out the D with Turk and Lewis while having the most dominate center in the middle.
I just don't see Bynum slowing Dwight down. Not enough anyways. And on the inside, I can see Odom and Pau giving Turk and Lewis issues, but on the outside, not so much, that is if they can knock 'em down.
However, like Lebron, the Magic just won't have an answer for Kobe.
Thankfully I don't see the Mamba attacking the basket the way Lebron did. He will, however, still be able to score with great efficiency. He's freakin' Kobe.
Orlando won't have Nelson, who played a major role in the regular season games. Though I've heard he is going to play some minutes. Still, five months is a long time for anyone. I highly doubt he's going to be the same guy. In fact, I think putting him in now, may just hurt Orlando. I guess we'll see.
I think with the Lakers, Orlando faces a more balanced team, both offensively and defensively, much like they did with Boston.
And unlike Cleveland, the Lakers are also a more consistent team. Offensively, Odom and esp. Pau will present problems for the Magic.
Thing is, even without Nelson's allstar game, the Magic have matured a great deal since last the Magic and Lakers played. Esp. during these playoffs. Dwight in particular.
Also, some of Orlando's bench is starting to come through. Specifically Pietrus. He's playing the best he's ever played in Orlando. Knocking down big shots and playing solid defense. Gortat has stepped up as well. He doesn't fill Howard's shoes, but he's been a good back up, whenever the big guy get's into foul trouble.
The other side of that coin is Lee a sketchy player and he's still proving to be a rookie and/or moron. Redick isn't getting any minutes (don't understand that at all) though he's shown to be a decent third or second string SG. And Alston is the real X factor to me. Sometime he comes through and sometimes he's doo doo. If these guys can play more consistent and in Redick's case at all, I'd say Orlando has this series, hands down, but they aren't. Those guys need to show up.
Thankfully for Orlando, the Lakers seem to have the same issues with Fisher and Sasha.
Both teams have great D and coaches, though I think that the Lakers have the slight edge on both. The size and youth that Orlando has, helps them in being a good defensive team, however they lack the I.Q. They still tend to play dumb. And I've watched the Lakers play. They slip too, but they are still a more cohesive team compared to Orlando. When Orlando starts to collapse, they play kinda like chickens without heads.
In the end, I feel that Orlando has too effective an offensive game, without enough resistance to stop it. Turk and Lewis will come through and Dwight will have big game after big game, enough to take the series. Could be that I'm bias though. 😛
Single coverage on Dwight. No need to double, only frees the shooters
Looking for big things from Andrew
I wouldn't change things when Rafer's been playing well. Don't expect much from Nelson
Lakers have the best talent 1-12
Don't see Hedo or Rashard handling Lamar on the blocks
Dwight's a beast
The bench. Advantage Lakers. Lamar, Luke, Shannon, Sasha and DJ
Fisher and Sasha have been in a long slump. Good to see Sasha make his three and hit four free throws in the closeout game vs Denver. Bright things ahead for him. He's a pest on defense
No team can beat the Lakers when they bring their 'A' game all the time. 48 minutes everynite
Fan since '79-80(Magic's rookie yr) and the motivation for this year's team has been the 131-92 beating the Celtics game them
Good luck good friend. Gonna be a good series. Hope my team wins
Good to hear your thoughts on the finals G, obviously i dont agree on some of your points but it makes for good conversation.
Bynums only job this series should be to keep a body on D12, thats on both ends of the floor. Push him as far away from the hoop on defense and when he makes his move dont challenge the shot just stand straight up, Bynum has ridiculous length and i think that will be useful in disrupting Dwights hooks. Anytime a shot goes up Bynum needs to forget about the rebound and just get his body onto Howard, let his teammates worry about the boards. Howard is such a great offensive rebounder because of his strength and his hops, Bynum needs to get low and box him out - if we can limit offensive boards our defense will look much better. I still expect Howard to get some big numbers but if Bynum does the basics he can limit him somewhat, Dwight doesnt have much of a post game so just play him to his right hand and watch out for that drop step move.
Phil has been reluctant to play his most effective players over ones he is loyal to, but i am hoping the lure of his 10th ring might stop that trend. Brown needs to get as many minutes as possible, he is far better than Fish on both ends and is even shooting the 3 better. He has so many more options than Fish in the triangle because he works off the ball so well, look for Pau to find him off double teams in the post for alley oops. The Bynum, Pau and Lamar front court needs to see the light of day to, keep the impact players on the floor if you have them. Most coaches would love to be able to play that line up and i have no idea why Phil wont at least try it, Lamar is shooting well from outside (certainly better than Walton who Phil is more than happy to play at SF). Kobe, Pau, Drew, Lamar, Trevor, Brown, Farmar and Powell should see the most minutes. Luke is great at running the offense and getting the ball inside so i dont mind seeing him out there, Sasha needs to have a very short leash and Fish's minutes need to be cut in half.
My main hope (other than a Laker victory) is the refs let both teams play. This is what every player dreams of and its always a shame when the refs think they have to always be part of the action. Let the players decide the outcome and i'll be happy.