Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics

[Serpo]

I like the lakers better although personaly i don't see any of the two teams in the finals , still they are good teams .

I think Boston will have a hard time coming the end of the season / playoff time , their bench is just not strong enough and the Big 3 are already 30+ and played loads of games , it's going to be really tough for them . Detroit will stop them , i also got the feeling theres going to be an upset earlier but we'll see .

Lakers on the other still need someone besides Kobe to show up come playofftime . Everybody but Kobe and D.Fish has very few experience i really don't know if thats enough for the strong west.

[ChiCitySPORTS#1]

Lakers.

Kobe returning to the finals....he'd be unstopable.

[G35]

Well as was said earlier you have to prove it on the court, paper teams don't win games.

Right now Bynum is still hurt and I keep hearing rumors that he isn't going to be back in 2 months and could be out the rest of the season. I don't know if they mean just the regular season or playoffs also.

But going without Bynum the Lakers are still a decent team. I can see Pau playing C and Odom PF for now against certain teams. Then I can also see Phil starting Mihm with Pau at PF and Odom at SF against teams that have a bigger frontline.

Just taking Kwame out and replacing him with Gasol makes the Lakers a better team. Kwame had pretty good man to man defense but his inability to catch passes, finish open dunks/layups, terrible FT shooting, inability to dribble or pass the ball and he wasn't even a good shot blocker or intimidator. So even if Gasol is a turnstile at PF/C at least he can put up 15-18 points and get some blocks. Now the Laker playmakers; Kobe/Farmar/Fisher/Walton can pass the ball to Gasol and not be playing 4 on 5.

I am really curious to see if Gasol plays tomorrow vs the Wizards. The Wizards are pretty good defensively and should provide a good test. I haven't really seen Gasol play in a while but I remember him having a good 15-18 ft jumper and can take guys off the dribble while also being able to pass. If he can stick open jumpers the Lakers are going to be the premier team.

Kobe penetrating and then having options of:

A. taking the shot himself. Ok lets be real Kobe is a scorer

B. Bynum rolling to the basket for alley oop dunks

C. Dishing to Gasol for wing jumpers or drives to the basket

D. Hitting Fisher/Farmar/Vujacic/Walton for spot up 3's

E. Passing to Ariza and letting him use his athleticism to finish

F. Passing to Odom for dunks or layups (Odom better start learning to finish!)

It really opens the offense of the Lakers with a quality big man.

The Celtics did crush the Lakers twice and it seemed the Lakers had no answers. KG and Kendrick seemed to be able to frustrate Bynums interior play. Odom couldn't get anything going against KG and Kobe seemed to tire trying to initiate the offense and run after Allen.

However now with two legit 7ft I don't think KG will be able to roam and play that centerfield/safety type defense that disrupted the Lakers offense. Gasol is the key imo to keeping KG at home and letting Bynum/Odom/Kobe go against the other Celtics.

The one advantage I think the Lakers have is their depth. I think now the Lakers would be able to wear down the Celtics over an entire game/series now. However experience/desire will be the Celtics advantage. KG/Pierce/Allen would not want to lose to Kobe. Allen and Kobe obviously dislike each other. Pierce always plays well against the Lakers; Ariza would have to be assigned just to slow down Pierce.

Before I would have said the Celtics until this recent stretch the Celtics have had where they lost to the Wizards back to back; winning by 1 over Minnesota at home, losing to Toronto at home.

I would give the Celtics the decided edge because of home court and more experience playing together.........

[miller31time]

When the Celtics made the trades they did to establish their big 3, I knew, before they stepped onto the court, that they'd be a top 3 team in the league. Why? Because their best players all like to pass and they had all their bases covered (inside play - Garnett / outside play - Allen / do-everything guy - Pierce). It was simple to see that they'd just mesh. No conflicting styles, no conflicting personalities.

I get the exact same feeling with this current Lakers team. Before all of them have played one game as a healthy squad, they're going to be a top 3 team. Bynum and Gasol couldn't be better for each other. One's an inside scorer/defender/rebounder who won't get a lot of iso's. The other is a mid-range shooter, passer, rebounder, shot-blocker. Gasol is not a good man-defender, but an pretty good help-defender. Bynum is good at both, or so it seems.

Then, you look at the fact they have perimeter shooters in Fisher and Farmar, and the do-everything guy in Odom who, fortunately for Los Angeles, does not want to be a featured player.

Finally, you have the go-to player. The closer. The superstar. The only thing a team with Bynum, Gasol and Odom is missing - the shoot-first scorer who also happens to be a near-lock-down defender.

This team is going to be fantastic.

As to who is better? Tough to say. I'd go with the Celtics because they are not only one of the best offensive teams in the NBA. They're the best defensive team, too. The Lakers will probably (after this trade) be the best offense in the league, but with only 2 markedly good defenders (Bynum, Bryant), they won't be a top-5 defense.

Just my opinion, and it should be very interesting seeing how it pans out.

[hermes]

lakers

[risktaker91]

21-21, wow this is close.

[ImmortalD24]

Lakers in 6.. they have Kobe Bryant and a supporting cast half as good as Jordan's supporting cast.

[wezbo]

It woudl a the best series in a while

Kobe Gasols hunger vs KG PP RA

Fish's Vet Leadership vs Yuoth explosiveness of Rondo

but la is solid all around

Post Gasol Bynum Odom Turiaf Mihm

Perimtiter Kobe Fisher Farmar Sasha Radman Walton Karl

Defence Kobe Ariza Bynum Fisher

Rebpunding Gasol Bynum Odom

Passing Kobe Gasol Fisher Farmar Walton

Energy Turiaf Farmar Sasha Ariza

[Phil Jackson]

I'll take the team with The Greatest of All Time.
Kobe Bryant made the Patriots lose.

[JordansBulls]

Lakers in 6.. they have Kobe Bryant and a supporting cast half as good as Jordan's supporting cast.

This supporting cast is stacked. Every position someone can hurt you and a deep bench. If the Lakers don't win the title with this, it is a failure to them as is the case if Boston or San Antonio or Dallas or Detroit or Phoenix loses as well.

[ShowtimeFan]

Lakers in four

Series opens in Boston and the Celts win game 1, Lakers win Game 2 and then it is back to Staples for three straight games, Celts get swept in Cali...

[semi-sentient]

4+1=?

[Triple M]

I don't see the Celtics losing 3 games back-to-back-to-back on the road even if that did occur I doubt the C's wouldn't show up for the next home game as well.

[EiRON]

Lakers in 7, with Kobe hitting the last shot to beat the buzzer.

Wow what a game that would be :O