How is L.A.'s matchup with Memphis?

[Marvin Martian]

New poster here

I know casual fans/media is ready to crown L.A. but I think Memphis matches up well with L.A. No one talks about this team. So what do L.A fans think?

Conley is second in the league in steals
Allen is one of the best perimeter defenders in the nba
Rudy Gay is a borderline All star
Z-bo is a great post scorer and rebounder
Gasol can pretty much do anything on the court from passing to defending

It could be a tough series

[JustAwesome]

It's a tougher match up than what most Lakers fans are willing to admit. As a fan, I'd love to watch a seven game series between the two teams.

[Kobe Wan Kenobi]

Steve Nash ballhandling skills are off the charts - one of the best Point Guards we'll ever see even at the age of 38. His IQ is crazy as well. Conley has great ballhandling skills too though, and has a nice stroke from the 3pt line.

Nash > Conley

Kobe Bryant is who he is, Tony Allen and Kobe had great battles against each other but we all know Kobe can do whatever he wants on the floor if he feels like. Tony Allen isn't much of a scorer as well...

Kobe > Allen

Rudy Gay is a great talent though. All in all...he's not a leader yet. Metta can shutdown Gay if he plays focused.

Gay > Metta

Zach Randolph is a great player. But I still think Pau owns him both on D and on offense. He has the lenght to his advantage as well.

Pau > Z-Bo

Gasol is a younger version of Pau still growing - yeah...that says alot. But we have Howard shutting down the paint, Marc isn't that great shooting mid-range J's. Not as good as his brother at least. Howard is way more athletic than Marc Gasol.

D12 > M.Gasol

But the bench is something we have to be aware. Lakers bench still need another piece imo.

[miggs]

While Memphis is definitely one of those teams that could upset a major force in the Western Conference I think against the Lakers they'd run out of gas. Conley is a quality up and coming PG, who's really improved the last 2 years, however, in a playoff series I still think Nash does better overall since Conley won't really impact the game offensively, it's not in his arsenal, whereas Nash is going to be deadly with all the open looks he'll surely get.

Allen does a good job on Kobe, very good job actually. The problem here is that Kobe will no longer be carrying the heavy burden of the offense and that means less time dribbling, bringing the court up and trying to make a play since that'll be Nash's job. Kobe will have more energy to find his spots but also to play defense, making Allen possibly work twice as hard if Kobe keeps running around like Reggie Miller used to. I don't think Kobe will become a pure spot up shooter but I definitely expect him to very active out there looking for his spots or taking Allen to the post.

As for the forward position, I don't think Rudy Gay will fare well against MWP other than having agility on his side, however MWP has slimmed down so he should be quicker which will equal big problems for Gay as he doesn't have the body to bang with MWP for an entire series. Z-Bo is an excellent player and one who's revitalized his career, I think he will be the one to explode as he plays a very physical game which Pau doesn't like at all. Pau has great man to man defense, however, I think Z-Bo's power-based arsenal in the post will be huge if Marc Gasol can somehow bring Dwight out of the paint, which leads us to the next part.

Dwight should completely overshadow Marc Gasol, as their games are similar with Dwight having an advantage in agility, athleticism, however, Marc is a smart player I just don't know if his jump shot will be used enough to bring Dwight out of the paint. If they can't bring Dwight out of the paint it'll neutralize the game of Marc and Z-Bo, forcing Memphis to either go small which is bad as Dwight can surely run the floor and I think Jamison will do well in these situations off the bench. Memphis will have to heavily rely on Rudy Gay, and I just don't think he's a player who will do better in the playoffs.

The Memphis bench could pose a problem as they're young, athletic and love to run. However, I still think one of Dwight or Pau would always be out with either Jamison or Jordan Hill covering the front court, with Duhon, Meeks and Ebanks. I think the Memphis bench is better but don't think it's good enough to make up for beating coming from the Lakers' starting line up. In terms of coaching, i'm not too sure, I just think the sheer frontcourt talent of the Lakers will overpower the talented frontcourt of the Grizzlies. Rudy Gay would have to average 25+ ppg with at least two players chipping in at least 13-15 a game but I just don't see another player on that Grizzlies team capable of averaging those numbers over an entire series.



just my two cents, not trolling you nor do i think my team is invincible. Just that the advantages Memphis has, the Lakers are better at and the weapons what Memphis has (Rudy Gay) just isn't enough to turn it around.

[JustAwesome]

Pretty strong words to say that Howard would "completely overshadow" Gasol. I wouldn't be completely shocked if he were able to match productions in a seven game series.

[Stebo_SSK]

Memphis showed us this past playoff season why they arent that good. They beat an injured Spurs team the year before. Good quality team but LA has way too many weapons for them to deal with at this point. Rudy Gay is a good player but he is a fraud all star type player, similar to how Iggy was for Philly.

[Marvin Martian]

Steve Nash ballhandling skills are off the charts - one of the best Point Guards we'll ever see even at the age of 38. His IQ is crazy as well. Conley has great ballhandling skills too though, and has a nice stroke from the 3pt line.

Nash > Conley

I agree. but I think Conley's impact from the defensive end is also worth taking into account

Kobe Bryant is who he is, Tony Allen and Kobe had great battles against each other but we all know Kobe can do whatever he wants on the floor if he feels like. Tony Allen isn't much of a scorer as well...
Kobe > Allen

I agree here as well although if we were talking about a 7 game series, then there will be games where Kobe will struggle

Rudy Gay is a great talent though. All in all...he's not a leader yet. Metta can shutdown Gay if he plays focused.

Gay > Metta

Agree

Zach Randolph is a great player. But I still think Pau owns him both on D and on offense. He has the lenght to his advantage as well.

Pau > Z-Bo

How did the length of Gasol help against the 6'8 Kenneth Faried, who owned him on both end of the floor? Just saying.

Gasol is a younger version of Pau still growing - yeah...that says alot. But we have Howard shutting down the paint, Marc isn't that great shooting mid-range J's. Not as good as his brother at least. Howard is way more athletic than Marc Gasol.

D12 > M.Gasol

Marc is not too shabby defending the paint. He nearly averaged 1 steal and 2 blocks last season. his jumper isn't as good as Pau but it is better than Howard's. Marc is also a better passer and ball handler than Dwight so don't be surprised if it ends up being a wash

But the bench is something we have to be aware. Lakers bench still need another piece imo.

Yeah on paper, Memphis's bench seems to own L.A. The only player I like on L.A's bench is Jordan Hill. The rest do not scare anyone. On the other hand MEM has Bayless, Arthur, Pondexter, Selby, Spheights, Ellington, and Wroten

[miggs]

Pretty strong words to say that Howard would "completely overshadow" Gasol. I wouldn't be completely shocked if he were able to match productions in a seven game series.

I feel confident in those words. It's the playoffs and I just don't see Gasol being able to impact the game more than Dwight, stats aren't the whole story, especially when talking about the playoffs. Marc may equal Dwight's PPG and have better AST numbers but I don't see him getting equal rebounds and blocks compared to Dwight. Also, won't be help that Marc has no way to consistently bring Dwight out of the paint, hence why I think Marc will have a real tough time getting his seasonal averages against Dwight in a 7 game series.

[dockingsched]

Pretty strong words to say that Howard would "completely overshadow" Gasol. I wouldn't be completely shocked if he were able to match productions in a seven game series.

i would be floored if marc freaking gasol was matching d12 over a 7 game series. this is crazy talk. howard would probably have double the boards and blocks, then he'd probably outscore him too quite easily. i'll give marc assists, thats it.

[stunnar0b]

with bynum it probably wouldve went 6 7 games, now with howard Memphis doesnt stand a chance i say it goes 4 or 5

[Stebo_SSK]

Alot of you guys are seriously overrating Marc Gasol. While he is a good player he is 27 and is who he is. He is a great role player but has never dominated anything on a consistent basis, especially not another all star Center. He avg 15/7 in 38 MPG against the Clippers. THE CLIPPERS, let that sink in.

[Anklebreaker702]

Pretty strong words to say that Howard would "completely overshadow" Gasol. I wouldn't be completely shocked if he were able to match productions in a seven game series.

i would be floored if marc freaking gasol was matching d12 over a 7 game series. this is crazy talk. howard would probably have double the boards and blocks, then he'd probably outscore him too quite easily. i'll give marc assists, thats it.

Love Marc's game but I think Howards athleticism would wear him down.

[Marvin Martian]

Alot of you guys are seriously overrating Marc Gasol. While he is a good player he is 27 and is who he is. He is a great role player but has never dominated anything on a consistent basis, especially not another all star Center. He avg 15/7 in 38 MPG against the Clippers. THE CLIPPERS, let that sink in.

That logic kind of works both ways. Pau Gasol was poop for the entire playoffs despite having the size and skill advantage (especially against DEN) and MWP was just straight up garbage versus OKC.

[Anklebreaker702]

with bynum it probably wouldve went 6 7 games, now with howard Memphis doesnt stand a chance i say it goes 4 or 5

Based on what? Howard out performing the 27 & 11.6 Drew averaged against Memphis last year? I know Howard protects the paint & plays defense better but i'm not willing to say that type of difference would be made.

Maybe i'm missing something. Maybe Howard would also average 11.5 assist per game & breaks Wilt's 100 in 1 game while he's at it after all he is Dwight Howard

[DEEP3CL]

First off what the hell are we worried about a playoff series with Memphis for ? Secondly they dynamic of their team has changes with Mayo bolting for Dallas, that in itself would change the outcome of such fantasy series.

I get the euphoria with Dwight and all, but he's just another player, another piece of the puzzle to contend for a title. No one series will be won just because he played. The comment from stunnar0b is so asinine I don't know what to think of that. Drew mauled the Grizzlies in every game last season, to say a series would go 6 of 7 because he plays and 4 or 5 because of Howard........to me is just mind boggling.

[EArl]

Lakes in 4!

[Asianiac_24]

While Memphis is definitely one of those teams that could upset a major force in the Western Conference I think against the Lakers they'd run out of gas. Conley is a quality up and coming PG, who's really improved the last 2 years, however, in a playoff series I still think Nash does better overall since Conley won't really impact the game offensively, it's not in his arsenal, whereas Nash is going to be deadly with all the open looks he'll surely get.

Allen does a good job on Kobe, very good job actually. The problem here is that Kobe will no longer be carrying the heavy burden of the offense and that means less time dribbling, bringing the court up and trying to make a play since that'll be Nash's job. Kobe will have more energy to find his spots but also to play defense, making Allen possibly work twice as hard if Kobe keeps running around like Reggie Miller used to. I don't think Kobe will become a pure spot up shooter but I definitely expect him to very active out there looking for his spots or taking Allen to the post.

As for the forward position, I don't think Rudy Gay will fare well against MWP other than having agility on his side, however MWP has slimmed down so he should be quicker which will equal big problems for Gay as he doesn't have the body to bang with MWP for an entire series. Z-Bo is an excellent player and one who's revitalized his career, I think he will be the one to explode as he plays a very physical game which Pau doesn't like at all. Pau has great man to man defense, however, I think Z-Bo's power-based arsenal in the post will be huge if Marc Gasol can somehow bring Dwight out of the paint, which leads us to the next part.

Dwight should completely overshadow Marc Gasol, as their games are similar with Dwight having an advantage in agility, athleticism, however, Marc is a smart player I just don't know if his jump shot will be used enough to bring Dwight out of the paint. If they can't bring Dwight out of the paint it'll neutralize the game of Marc and Z-Bo, forcing Memphis to either go small which is bad as Dwight can surely run the floor and I think Jamison will do well in these situations off the bench. Memphis will have to heavily rely on Rudy Gay, and I just don't think he's a player who will do better in the playoffs.

The Memphis bench could pose a problem as they're young, athletic and love to run. However, I still think one of Dwight or Pau would always be out with either Jamison or Jordan Hill covering the front court, with Duhon, Meeks and Ebanks. I think the Memphis bench is better but don't think it's good enough to make up for beating coming from the Lakers' starting line up. In terms of coaching, i'm not too sure, I just think the sheer frontcourt talent of the Lakers will overpower the talented frontcourt of the Grizzlies. Rudy Gay would have to average 25+ ppg with at least two players chipping in at least 13-15 a game but I just don't see another player on that Grizzlies team capable of averaging those numbers over an entire series.



just my two cents, not trolling you nor do i think my team is invincible. Just that the advantages Memphis has, the Lakers are better at and the weapons what Memphis has (Rudy Gay) just isn't enough to turn it around.

Just wanted to say that your sig is amazing

[SportsandTacos]

would be a very good series. i think the grizz are going to be one of the most interesting and fun teams to watch this season. just like with every team, our starting 5 will overwhelm but our bench will not. while i do like what the grizz are doing (and do believe they are fully capable of an upset in the western conference), if we played in a series, the grizz would run out of gas. series could very well go 6 or 7

[Anklebreaker702]

Pretty strong words to say that Howard would "completely overshadow" Gasol. I wouldn't be completely shocked if he were able to match productions in a seven game series.

I feel confident in those words. It's the playoffs and I just don't see Gasol being able to impact the game more than Dwight, stats aren't the whole story, especially when talking about the playoffs. Marc may equal Dwight's PPG and have better AST numbers but I don't see him getting equal rebounds and blocks compared to Dwight. Also, won't be help that Marc has no way to consistently bring Dwight out of the paint, hence why I think Marc will have a real tough time getting his seasonal averages against Dwight in a 7 game series.

MIGGS! The sig! Will be rocking this one with you brah!

[Edrees]

I think it's a tough matchup, but Memphis has shown to be chokers when it matters most, so I'm not afraid of them for mental reasons. On paper they do match up well versus us, but IMO, they also match up well enough to sweep the Clippers and yet they lost that series.