Do you folks wanna play the Rockets or Blazers?

[Luxury]

I believe in the notion of being battle tested. The harder task will be the Rockets (and will probably face them), but revenge would be much sweeter in beating the Blazers.

Rockets won't be as easy as people think, but its exactly what Kobe needs in order to fully prepare himself and the Lakers for the NBA Finals. This series is bigger than what most people think. Can Kobe play his game efficiently: facilitate, pick his spots, dominate in stretches, and take over in the 4th qtr against the 2 best perimeter players in the league to win the series? Regular season, yes. Playoffs, we will see.

Last time he was faced with that kind of adversity was against Boston (Posey, Pierce). This Houston series to me atleast, will exemplify championship definition.

I'm excited to see if we could break their defenses down while holding our own against them.

[kevin_405]

Either opponent will be atleast a 6 game series.. so dont know which one to chose..

With Portland we would be one home game loss away from losing the series because beating Portland in portland would be a near impossible task..

[milesfides]

A playoffs series against the Blazers would be more entertaining and challenging.

The greatness of the victory is measured by the quality of the opponent.

I'd love for Kevin Garnett to come back 100% so we can get them back. Lebron and the Cavs will still be around for awhile.

And I want Pretty Boy Floyd to step up and fight Pacquaio.

[MAMBAEMD]

We match up better with the Rockets. The problem is they are playing great defensive ball. They are getting Yao involved early and often in their offense. And their role players like Battier and Brooks are playing really good ball. In a 7 game series I would take the Lakers over either team but both will be very tough.

[The Laker Kid]

Kobe wants Blazers, Kobe gets Blazers. Kobe sweep Blazers.

[rand0m]

IMO, the curse at the rose garden won't continue in the playoffs. But for some reason I see the lakers having a harder time beating the blazers although the rockets are a better team. I also agree with the previous posters that HOU will give us a matchup that can prepare us better for a championship. They are just better defensively (especially vs. kobe) and the series would be more tactical and methodical. Against the blazers I see it getting a little wild offensively and downright entertaining.

[semi-sentient]

All I know is whomever our opponent are, CLE has a walk in the park compared to us.

Good.

They won't be as prepared as us and run right into a freight train when we meet.

...

As for the question, I'll take either.

The Rockets still concern me because they are a great defensive team that can keep themselves in any game. If Artest doesn't **** things up for them, then they can make it one hell of a series.

Portland has the #1 ranked offense in the league, and judging by how quickly we give up leads that is somewhat of a concern. That says nothing of how poorly we've played in Portland over the years, so maybe they are a bit tougher in those respects.

I guess it's really a matter of what type of team we want to face -- an offensive-minded powerhouse or a defensive-minded one.

[semi-sentient]

A playoffs series against the Blazers would be more entertaining and challenging.

The greatness of the victory is measured by the quality of the opponent.

I'd love for Kevin Garnett to come back 100% so we can get them back. Lebron and the Cavs will still be around for awhile.

Agreed. I'm very much disappointed that we won't have a shot at redemption against the Celtics. I doubt they will reach the Finals again either as both the Magic and Cavs are only going to get better while they start to decline. Unfortunate.

[Dexmor]

I know we have a better history vs Rockets but they seem like they would be harder. I mean what if they wake up and go to Ming every single play? Kobe will have to go against Artest and Battier which will tire him out and then go play Melo following that Lebron? Damm.
I know Brandon Roy would suck to play to but I honestly think it's moot because the Rockets close it out next game.

[Danny Darko]

Portland. I think Houston would beat on Kobe and he's already looking like a boxer after Utah. Either one will get dealt with, but I think the Blazers would do less pounding on our players.

[Dexmor]

Exactly Danny. Hey have you always been a mod? Congrats on the promotion. You deserve it.