Could this series be more about the single match ups?

[campybatman]

I'm curious about the impact players like James Posey and Trevor Ariza could have in this series depending on who they're guarding. Perhaps, Ariza on Pierce and Posey on Bryant.

I hope the Lakers aren't serious about starting Odom out on guarding Perkins.

Derek Fisher will guard second-year point guard Rajon Rondo and Kobe Bryant will start out on Ray Allen, but the frontcourt is somewhat unsettled. Lamar Odom said he expected to match up against physical Boston center Kendrick Perkins, who outweighs Odom by 34 pounds. "I'll try to meet him as far out on the court as possible," Odom said. "I'll have my hands out, be like an offensive lineman coming right off the line and jam him early. I guess I'll be Orlando Pace out there." Los Angeles Times

Pau Gasol probably will start out on Kevin Garnett, and Vladimir Radmanovic probably will draw Paul Pierce, though this is the type of series where defense-minded forward Trevor Ariza could get more playing time, presumably against Pierce. With two more days of practice before Game 1, the Lakers aren't being overly committal at this point. "I mentioned a little bit about it [to players], but not a whole lot," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "We're going to move people around and find who's going to guard whom in this series. Those things will change dramatically as we go through the first game and the series." Los Angeles Times

[TMU]

Ariza, who didn't clock a single minute against Jazz or Denver, played garbage minutes against the Spurs. Imo he'll play in this series.

And please PJ, put Odom on Perkins. I will be watching Perkins average 5 dunks per game.

[shobe_81]

T-Mac aren't you a Rockets fan?

Anyways, of course Ariza didn't play against Denver or Jazz, he was still recovering from the broken foot!

[TMU]

T-Mac aren't you a Rockets fan?

Anyways, of course Ariza didn't play against Denver or Jazz, he was still recovering from the broken foot!

I am a basketball fan before a Rockets fan.
Plus, I am from Boston. I rarely post here, but I do read their articles and what the fans have to say about this team.

EDIT: Plus, Bill Russell is my favorite player of all-time.

[Rocky5000]

Odom on Perkins? Haha...good luck with that LA. Weren't Laker fans saying they match up well with the Celtics? Why would they need to play such a twisted ass lineup then? I was also chastised by some Laker fans on our board for making two many changes when I suggesting we use Ray Allen at point guard when Rondo needs a break. Yet Jackson plans on needing to change things "dramatically" as the series goes on. In other words, he doesn't know what to do yet.

[TMU]

Van Gundy thinks Jackson will put Kobe on Rondo, so that he can save his stamina for offense. Whether or not this will happen is a speculation, but this means Fisher will be on Allen.

I think the Lakers will have more problem trying to figure out what defensive matchup works best for them rather than the other way around.

[campybatman]

Los Angeles' starting front court reminds me somewhat of Orlando's... Because you've Gasol like Howard playing center when he's really a power forward and you've two small forwards in Odom and Radmanovic just like Lewis and Turkoglu. What at first looks like a line up which could favor the Lakers might in fact create a mismatch in the Celtics' favor. That is, the Lakers have the height advantage over the Celtics front court players. However, as the Odom guarding Perkins idea implies, the Lakers don't rally know who to guard on Boston consistently.

The Celtics can send out Pierce, Ray and Tony Allen and Posey to guard Bryant. Moreover, the Celtics have depth and the extra fouls in Garnett, Brown, Perkins, Pierce, Powe, Davis and Posey to contend with Gasol, Odom, Radmanovic, Turiaf and Walton or Ariza. I'm uncertain of what role, if any, will Ilunga-Mbenga and Mihm have in this series. Where things get interesting is at the point guard position for each team. Fisher could be on an island alone defensively against Rondo, House and Cassell. The Lakers have help in Farmer but that's still three to two. Lakers might need Vujacic to help out more with guarding bigger guards in Ray or Sam. Like Ilunga-Mbenga and Mihm, I don't know whether Newble will contribute in some way in this series.

[eatyourchildren]

The Lakers coaching staff is confused, and you can expect them to be confused throughout the series.

They do, afterall, come from the Doc Rivers school of coaching.

[Gomes3PC]

The Pistons put their SG on Rondo as well. Seems teams like to think that putting a bigger, physical guy on Rondo can mess with his ability to get to the basket. Putting the 6-1 on Fisher though is just asking Ray to shoot over the top of him all game though.

I can see why JVG thinks Phil will put Kobe on Rondo, but both Rondo and Allen are constantly running around. I guess when Rondo doesn't have the ball Kobe can slack off and take a breather, but it's not like he's a statue out there sitting in one spot, a la Wally Szczerbiak.

And if Perkins gets guarded by Lamar Odom, Perk better have about 10 rebounds at the half. If Garnett gets Gasol on him, he HAS to take right at him. Gasol will Ole him and give him an easy path to the hoop. Please, please, please no Dream shuffle's on a defensive stiff like Gasol. Face him up, take him to the paint, and dunk all over that softy.

[ArmstrongInGreen]

Pau Gasol probably will start out on Kevin Garnett, and Vladimir Radmanovic probably will draw Paul Pierce, though this is the type of series where defense-minded forward Trevor Ariza could get more playing time, presumably against Pierce. With two more days of practice before Game 1, the Lakers aren't being overly committal at this point. "I mentioned a little bit about it [to players], but not a whole lot," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "We're going to move people around and find who's going to guard whom in this series. Those things will change dramatically as we go through the first game and the series." Los Angeles Times

[/quote]


This is quite hilarious. since when is Ariza defensive minded???? he wasn't at UCLA, NY or Orlando . . . lol

[campybatman]

The Pistons put their SG on Rondo as well. Seems teams like to think that putting a bigger, physical guy on Rondo can mess with his ability to get to the basket.

I don't believe or I didn't think that the reason Detroit had Hamilton guarding Rondo was to stop him from penetrating as much as it was to keep Billups who wasn't 100% away from guarding him. Rondo is much faster than Ray Allen. Moreover, I can't see the logic in assigning a taller player on Rondo when most teams should know by now that he isn't going to shoot it nearly as often as he should. Hence, why Hunter was able to cheat off of Rondo knowing he isn't a threat to shoot it if he's open necessarily. No, I feel Fisher will stick with Rondo for as long as he's on the court and Rondo's in the game. I'd read that Fisher held his own against playoff opponents: Iverson, Williams and Parker. However, I don't know that for sure since I didn't watch those series and don't know who he'd guarded more often.

[jfs1000d]

I don't care what the national media says, this is a matchup nightmare for the lakers.

They have the best player in the series, and a great offense. But, I don't see how, or where, they stop the celtics from scoring. At what position do the Lakers have a defensive advantage over the offensive player?

I think the Celts can force he Lakers and Kobe into making tough shots. Not sure the Lakers can take boston out of its offense.

Everyone has a boner over kobe. Celts at least have ray, posey and Pierce to run at Kobe.

Who guards Pierce?

The lakers are a great offensive team, but they don't have nearly the physical defensive athletes that Cleveland or Detroit had. And, they aren't nearly as athletic on the wing as Atlanta is (in fact, few teams are. Smooth, Childress, Marvin Williams are as athletic as any team out there).

Atlanta was ridiculously athletic and gave Boston problems with energy level. Cleveland was extremely physical and had 7-3 Big Z and 6-11 Ben Wallace guarding the basket. Celts couldn't score over them. Pistons are a great defensive team with versatility and length at all positions.

Lakers? Gasol has length, but I don't think he or Odom can bother KG. And, for the love of god, who guards Pierce?

[eatyourchildren]

The matchups are that hard to figure out for you?

You have your set lineup:

Rondo Ray Pierce KG Perk

We can just run this:

Fisher Kobe Vlad Odom Pau



Fisher takes Rondo
Kobe takes Pierce
Vlad takes Ray
Odom takes KG
Pau takes Perk


What's so hard about that? I hope you aren't expecting Perkins to dominate Pau Gasol. Pau's best 3 games this playoffs dwarfs Perk's. So even if Perk makes life tough for Pau, he's not dipping below 10/10.

[TMU]

The matchups are that hard to figure out for you?

You have your set lineup:

Rondo Ray Pierce KG Perk

We can just run this:

Fisher Kobe Vlad Odom Pau



Fisher takes Rondo
Kobe takes Pierce
Vlad takes Ray
Odom takes KG
Pau takes Perk


What's so hard about that? I hope you aren't expecting Perkins to dominate Pau Gasol. Pau's best 3 games this playoffs dwarfs Perk's. So even if Perk makes life tough for Pau, he's not dipping below 10/10.

Knowing the measurements and the strengths and weaknesses of each players, the matchups should be the way you've posted. That's easy for both you and I to see.

However, people are trying to figure out what type of matchups the two head coaches will implement during the series. With the case of Phil Jackson, I can almost guarantee that he'll be employing a matchup that is different from the norm.

[campybatman]

Jackson isn't looking at it like that. From what I was reading, it's in the best interest of the Lakers not to put Bryant on Pierce (if they can help it) in an attempt to conserve his energy. Still, Cleveland used James on Pierce but Bryant doesn't play small forward. He'll have to shift to small forward at times through the course of these games. Hence, it's why the Lakers are hoping another player (Ariza) or two can be effective in slowing down Pierce which I don't see.