piercef0rmvp wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
I do agree that the argument that the Lakers will win because they have the best player is bunk, but this Laker team/supporting cast is MUCH better then that Cavs team...I actually feel that both Finals teams this year are better then both finals teams last year...I think either one would have beaten the Spurs...this will be a great series I have no doubt.
It may be true that individually, the Lakers have better role players around Kobe than Cleveland had around Lebron, but they still share similar characteristics, in that number one: They don't have a dynamic scorer capable of creating his own offense. A lot of Gasol's baskets come off either jumpers, open layups created by the attention Bryant gets, or offensive rebounds. The same with Odom. He's not a bad offensive player, but not someone you can give the ball to and create his offense--also you have to factor Garnett is covering him, so the task becomes that much harder. And number 2: The Cavs' as a defensive unit was simply more physical and more cohesive as a unit, which obviously gave Boston tons of trouble. LA can defend, but I'm not sure they can be as physical as Cleveland was, and they certainly don't rebound as well as Cleveland did in the series. And 3: Outside of Kobe, they don't have a great primary ballhandler/distributor, just like Cleveland lacked. This could favor Boston heavily, as it tasks Kobe Bryant to take the task of both areas as well as being the leading scorer; considering how well Boston has handled those situations defensively, you have to like their chances.
Ultimately, it comes down to the same situation as Cleveland, in that we're going to need to see multiple super-human efforts from their top player if they're going to come out on top in the series.