noooooo the same as last years picks!!!!!! !!!oh , the kiss of death.
They're rerunning the game from last night on NBATV, holy , the Cavs D is even more pathetic then I remember from yesterday. The Magic either get a WIDE open three, an easy Dwight dunk or a lay up. I know the Lakers defense is a lot of the time but if they can just not play pathetic defense or Dwight 1 on 1 for stretches we have a great chance. Having actual seven footers to throw at Dwight will be much better then putting 6'8 Wallace and Anderson out there trying to check him.
I honestly don't know how this series will turn out.
From what I remember Jameer Nelson was the main reason the Magic won both of the regular season games. He had huge 4th quarters.
Espn experts might be right about this one though..LA has homecourt & match up way better vs Orl then Cle did..I dont see kobe letting his team lose another Finals..IMO, Orl has to shoot better then 50% from three all series to even have a chance. The only reason they beat LA in the regular was because Nelson hit a few clutch shots in the last 2 minutes of each game..LA was up by 10 at halftime in Orl so I aint scared at all to play Orl & havin games 6 & 7 at staples is HUGE..Gamneplan-just let Howard get his double doubles & guard 3 point shooters. Mike Brown didnt do to adjust to any games. He got coach of the year cuz Cle gave it there all when they played crappy teams. There record vs elite teams was terrible.
It's Los Angeles, not Los Angelas.
If you're not going to include Hedo in there, you obviously haven't watched much of the playoffs this year. He's only their go-to guy in the 4th quarter!
Pietrus is a good player but is very streaky. Howard is going to have a field day with Gasol, and Bynum will pick up fouls very quickly in his attempts to guard D12.
It will be interesting to see who Ariza will be guarding....either Rashard or Hedo is going to have a big series because no on else on the Lakers (even Kobe) will be able to defend them.
It's either/or. Either Rashard or Hedo. Both guys won't light up the Lakers.
Ariza will be on one of 'em and that should be enough. Odom can also take them on...hopefully Lamar can have a huge series.
The odd man out is actually either Bynum/Gasol since one of them has to guard a much smaller/quicker player. Pau's pretty mobile for a 7 footer so he probably gets the assignment. But on the flip side, if Bynum or Pau can dominate the much smaller Rashard/Hedo then they earn their floor time.
And one other aspect, Bynum/Pau have a very good chance of getting Dwight into foul trouble since Rashard or Hedo are under-sized PFs and will need help.
Ariza will most likely guard Lewis and I think you're forgetting about Odom. He can definitely guard either of those two players. He has the height, length and versatility.
I also disagree that Howard will have a "field day" he will have an advantage no doubt but he will be going up against actual seven footers this series unlike against the pathetic Cavs frontcourt.
Kobe really doesn't have the height to guard either of them. It also depends on which Bynum and Odom shows up in this series. Ariza DOES have a good chance of slowing either Hedo or Rashard down though, they aren't players of Melo's caliber (in my opinion he had a hard time with Melo).
I agree that Odom possesses all three of those traits; however, consistent motivation is another story, lol.
I think Howard WILL have a field day, particularly on the boards, because Bynum and Gasol couldn't keep 6'6'' Chuck Hayes off the boards, so they certainly are going to have their problems with Howard. Gortat is also a good rebounder in his own right. If Bynum shows up to play for these Finals, maybe he can slow down Howard, but given his play in the playoffs, that's a very large maybe.
I have seen Kobe do a pretty good job on bigger guys like Hedo/Dirk/LeBron, etc. But I agree Kobe SHOULDN'T be on Hedo unless something is seriously wrong.
Yes, I agree he did.(in my opinion he (Ariza) had a hard time with Melo).
Ariza - Lewis
Odom/Gasol - Turk
Bynum/Gasol - Howard
I don't think that is such a bad match up for LA. They definitely have the potential and personal to attempt to stop the big three for Orlando but who knows how those match ups will actually play out.
I don't think the Magic can play the Lakers & the Refs!
I don't think the Lakers have much to worry about offensively. Gasol/Bynum can and will dominate against the much smaller Rashard Lewis and will force doubles to come. The Lakers will be able to score against this Magic defense, no question about that.
The question is can they stop the Magic on the other end. I'm not so sure about that. D12 is beasting it, this is the one series where LAL will really need Bynum to show up. If he can do anywhere near the job Perkins did of keeping D12 out of the paint we'll be in decent shape. I don't worry as much about Hedo or Rashard to be honest, we have Ariza/Kobe/Odom to throw at them.
The Lakers are very fortunate Jameer Nelson isn't playing. He is absolutely the reason the Magic won both regular season games.
The refs will actually call some Orlando bull , just to extend this series and make the league some more money. Otherwise, Lakers in 5.
No chance in . Just keep praying Kobe busts his knee open, even if the Lakers still win the le.
this is the official thread, it was the first one up....don't be stealin my rights!
You FAILed to put up a poll. I hated doin' it to you, sook.
LOL.
You're right though, i still haven't learned how to make a poll!!!
or spell Los AngelesLOL.
You're right though, i still haven't learned how to make a poll!!!
Spelling is useless brah
Orlando has no star calls
it comes down to star calls
Lakers will win this based that they have more Star Calls .
KOBE , GASOL vs. Dwight Howard
this is actually a pretty interesting matchup. magic went 2-0 against the lakers during the regular season. they had nelson but this was a time when courtney lee was still getting used to the NBA and when pietrus was still adjusting the magic. pietrus was even injured for one of the games against the lakers. bynum played in both games (this was pre-injury) and dwight howard, i believe, has improved dramatically in the playoffs.
defensively, the magic are a deceptively good team. the lakers play very good defense when they try also, probably would be the best defensive team in the playoffs if they were consistent. offensively, the magic and lakers differ. magic has the 3 pt shooters, while lakers have mostly slashers. ultimately, the magic are the ones heading into the finals with a handicap with nelson out. with all teams being healthy, the magic aren't even the best team the east has to offer. the celtics are with garnett and powe. the lakers however, no one can say they are surprised they made it out of the west.
The Lakers have one serious weakness and it is the small, fast scoring point guard. Nelson was that guy for Orlando. Alston has not proven to be consistent enough to drop 25 game in/game out.
While Howard is definetely a force inside, Lakers have the advantage of having Gasol who plays on the block as well as an inconsistent Bynum. While I dont think that Bynum v Howard is much of a match-up at all, either of the Lakers bigs can and will draw fouls off Howard, rendering him much "less" effective due to less PT. With that in mind, I expect the "center" positions to cancel out with Binum/Gasol points/boards = those of Howard.
Ariza will probably defend Turk and do a fairly decent job of it (holding Hedo to about 12 or so points a game) due to Ariza's length and Turks lack of speed.
Odom on Lewis could go either way depending on which Odom shows up. I EXPECT a few 10/5 games from Odom with maybe a 20/10 or 2 mixed in. I'd give this match up to Lewis.
The bench i'd have to give to LA and Kobe is Kobe (probably will avg around 27-30 a game).
The x factor to me is the Laker Bigs agressiveness. Their agressive moves to the hole will determine the # of calls agaisnt Howard. If they are continuously agressive, they will eventually get calls and get Howard off his game.
With Howard out, the Lakers have a decided adv unless Magic start draining 3s at a 45% clip.
I see this series going 6 or 7 with the tipping point being HCA.
Yeah..so I'm just completely wrong. There's no way in Orlando could POSSIBLY win if LA wins the first game. You are an idiot. Oh..and streaks? They're meant to be broken. 43-0? Sounds like you're jinxing your Lakers...if they win Game 1, I'd love to see what happens. You have no one to guard Howard...if Orlando continues their hot streak from behind the arc, LA can be beat...period...doesn't matter who wins Game 1.
You have got to be kidding me. 15.2 points per game...11.8 in the first round, 16.3 in the second, 17.2 in the ECF...and this is with teams putting their best defenders on him. And who was the guy who continued to take every game winning shot for Orlando? Turkoglu...and he made them...continuously. He's been their clutch shooter. Did you even watch the playoffs? You better hope your team doesn't think like you..or LA will be done.
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