Cleveland May Have Been Our Toughest Opponent

s1ickd · Post #1 » by **s1ickd** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 4:21 pm

I understand we stepped up in the Finals, but I think Cleveland was the best team we played so far.

They're extremely tough in the paint with Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace... something the Lakers and Pistons were not.

Their role players are better than the Lakers roleplayers. Wally, Delonte, Gibson, and Joe Smith are better than Vujacic, Farmar, Turiaf, etc. Detroit's bench was damn good though.

Billups being off made it a very different Piston's team. One we're more likely to see as he gets older.

When Lebron catches the ball, he scares me more than Kobe. With Kobe, i knew Pierce was stronger than him and Kobe couldn't go by him. With Lebron, you're scared he's about to dunk on the entire team.

Basicaly, if Lamar and Pau arent effective, the Lakers really suck. If you gaurd Kobe one on one, those guys cant do anything.

And lastly... gaurding Lebron is scarier because Cleveland is a very good defesive team. The Lakers are not. If Kobe scores on you, you know you can go back and score on them. They're soft. If Lebron scores on you, you need to deal with big Z and Wallace defending the paint, plus a scrappy D west and physical Lebron on the perimeter. Wally sucks at D, but not as bad as Vujacic.

What do you guys think?

DJToLarry · Post #2 » by **DJToLarry** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 4:50 pm

s1ickd wrote:When Lebron catches the ball, he scares me more than Kobe. With Kobe, i knew Pierce was stronger than him and Kobe couldn't go by him. With Lebron, you're scared he's about to dunk on the entire team.

That sums up what I feel. He might not have the complete offensive arsenal as Kobe, but when you need a bucket he is a man among boys.

daveisceltics · Post #3 » by **daveisceltics** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 4:51 pm

I think Detroit was the toughest so far..
I won't say anything about L.A. because the series is still going on.
We beat Detroit in 6 games but they did give us a hard time.

kmgarnett21 · Post #4 » by **kmgarnett21** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 4:54 pm

lakers series not over yet

tombattor · Post #5 » by **tombattor** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 4:59 pm

This playoffs has shown us who the best player in the league is. As much as the media and everyone loves Kobe, it's really not close between Kobe and Lebron. Kobe may be more refined, but the potential ceiling of the 2 players aren't even close.

Not only that, Lebron makes his crappy teammates better by getting the most out of them and is constantly giving them props. OTOH, Kobe doesn't make his teammates better and can't get the much out of his superior teammates.

DJToLarry · Post #6 » by **DJToLarry** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 5:00 pm

kmgarnett21 wrote:lakers series not over yet

Not yet. But I have seen Kobe v Celtics 6 times this year. The Cavs with Lebron in a 7 games series + reg games. Thats a pretty good sample to judge the two.

GWVan · Post #7 » by **GWVan** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 5:04 pm

I've been thinking quite a bit about the whole East vs West thing and I'm wondering if either Cleveland or Detroit would have beaten LA in the finals.

Maybe Atlanta would have taken them to 7 games as well

MyInsatiableOne · Post #8 » by **MyInsatiableOne** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 5:12 pm

tombattor wrote:This playoffs has shown us who the best player in the league is. As much as the media and everyone loves Kobe, it's really not close between Kobe and Lebron. Kobe may be more refined, but the potential ceiling of the 2 players aren't even close.

Not only that, Lebron makes his crappy teammates better by getting the most out of them and is constantly giving them props. OTOH, Kobe doesn't make his teammates better and can't get the much out of his superior teammates.

LeBron is a leader...Kobe is a yeller who distances himself from the rest of the team...

Point forward · Post #9 » by **Point forward** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 5:46 pm

I fear Kobe, but Lebron simply scared me spitless. I mean, if PP does not have his finest hour and PJ does not hit those huge baskets, we simply lose. LBJ was frighteningly good.

Fencer reregistered · Post #10 » by **Fencer reregistered** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:57 pm

Tough call. The Cavs and Lakers are similar teams, but I think the Cavs had more talent.

Ilgauskas > Gasol
Cavs' shooters > Lakers' shooters
Cavs' energy/defense forwards > Odom, somehow

LBJ > Kobe in driving and passing
LBJ << Kobe in mid-range jumpshooting
Cavs -- more together as a team than Lakers (and that reflects on LBJ vs. Kobe)

Gant · Post #11 » by **Gant** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:05 pm

daveisceltics wrote:I think Detroit was the toughest so far..
I won't say anything about L.A. because the series is still going on.
We beat Detroit in 6 games but they did give us a hard time.

I also thought the Celtics played at a higher level against Detroit than Cleveland. The Cavs did pose two difficult match up problems with Z and LeBron.

Detroit is really good at all five spots but not terrifying anywhere. Boston played great ball to beat a very strong team in 6 games.

I liked the Laker match ups much better since LA has only one guy who can kill you, one other guy who's equal to Detroit's starters, and three more players who are anywhere from inconsistent to good.

The Laker bench was highly overrated. They exploited some favorable match ups in earlier series that don't apply now. Their bench is good, but has weaknesses.

Atlanta played their hearts out, exploited the Celtics on the basis of rust and energy, and really helped Boston prepare for later rounds.