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Bonner will be starting. Book it.
Starters:
PF- McDyess < Gasol: As solid a player is McDyess still is, Gasol is a top 15 player in the world at this point. McDyess is good enough to not have this be a landslide, but it's still a clear Lakers advantage.
SF- Jefferson = Artest: For now I'll hold off on declaring who has the advantage, because we haven't seen how they'll fit into their respective new teams, but Jefferson is a slightly better player. He's a more complete scorer, and if he's not quite the defender Artest is, he figures to get back to being an above average one in his new role.
C- Duncan > Bynum: This post will be long enough by the time it's done, I'm not wasting my time writing a detailed write up of something so obvious.
SG- Mason < Bryant: See "C- Duncan > Bynum:"
PG- Parker > Fisher: This is hands down the biggest advantage either team will have. The Lakers are known to struggle defending quick, penetrating point guards and defending the pick-and-roll. Too bad Parker is the best of the former, and one of the best in executing the latter. This one, more than any other could decide a potential playoff series between the two teams.
Bench:
PF- Bonner/PF- Blair/C- Ratliff < PF/SF- Odom: Who knows what backup big man combination the Spurs deploy against the Lakers, but it won't change this verdict. All three are basically specialists: Bonner is a 3 point shooter, Blair a dominant rebounder, and Ratliff a good shot blocker, but none can match the versatility and all around game of Odom.
SF/SG- Finley > SF/PF- Walton: Even at his advanced age, Finley is still a lethal marksman from the outside and is cold blooded in the clutch. Walton is a decent facilitator and devoted prac ioner of the triangle, but isn't especially good at anything.
SG- Ginobili > SG- Vujacic: Speaking of complete and total mismatches, this one ranks second to the starting PG's. Disregard Vujacic's pesky defense on a severely injured Ginobili in the '08 West Finals, and look at it logically: Vujacic is a mediocre player who's had one good season, and Ginobili is a top 15 player in the world, when healthy.
PG/SG- Hill = PG- Farmar/SG/PG- Brown: All three are young, developing players who have yet to truly carve out a niche. Hill and Brown are very athletic and show the capabilities to be good defenders at both guard spots, while Farmar has the most upside offensively. Again, I'll hold off on declaring who has the advantage until I see who, if any, takes the biggest step forward in their development next season.
Bonner will be starting. Book it.
Blair guarding Gasol, I don't feel so good about. Putting Blair on Odom on the other hand makes me feel a little better. Gasol has proven he can take his game to the next level. Odom has proven he can be a bit fragile when pushed around, a Blair specialty.
Is Blair laterally quick enough and defensively sound enough to effectively guard Odom off the dribble though? Also, he'll be giving up about 3.5 inches defensively in the post, so can he keep Odom from getting deep post position, or can he get into his legs and root him, a la Hayes on Gasol? Obviously, with Blair having not yet played an official NBA game, these questions can't be answered, but they're things to ponder and watch for when these two teams meet in the regular season.
Last but not least, will Pop trust a rookie against the Lakers when he has veterans such as Bonner and Ratliff to turn to? I'm guessing that if Bonner continues to seem nervous and unsure of himself against elite teams and if Blair shows even a modi of confidence and poise, the answer will be yes.
Odom would absolutely murder Blair. All he would do is draw him out to the perimeter or get the ball through motion offense and Blair would be much too slow.
God I want some real news. We keep talking about the same stuff over and over and over.
Basketball doesn't work that way. You can't take a player by player matchup and then predict the winner.
How the pieces fit matters just as much. Right now, the Lakers are basically bringing back the same core and have fewer new pieces to integrate than the Spurs.
I'd bet that he don't.
Will be interesting too see how it works out with Artest and the new Spurs players. Chemistry might be an issue but I think both teams are professional enough to not letting this affect their game.
You guys are ignoring haislip....he will be the huge difference.
notice how he can push his dribble left or right hard to the hole for the ecstatic dunk......nice.
not to mention hairston or williams.
Last edited by antimvp; 08-23-2009 at 07:22 AM.
this is where the league ed up putting our games later in the season, after the spurs had time to gel.
bad news for faker fans.
spurs staters when the face the fakers
Duncan
Mcdyess
Parker
Jefferson
Haislip
That's probably the smartest thing I think you've said here..
He looks like Horry circa 1995. If he can play at that level when given the opportunity, he'll be getting a ton of minutes. 6th man award? Unlikely but like I said if he plays at a high level then he'll be a bigger x-factor than even Manu, because he would create match up problems. When playing a team like the Lakers you have to counter their strengths by taking advantage of their weakness, in this case it would be lack of depth on the bench and forcing them to show their age (Odom/Ron).
He is absolutely right. You guys need to stop getting schooled by Lakers fans. It's embarrassing. Lakers fans are usually the dumbest basketball fans on the planet. So . . . step it up.
Oh, and to House:
Are you sure that you have never analyzed player to player match ups before? I think you have . . . just sayin'.
On second thought, Mavs fans are dumber than Lakers fans, but they get to plead insanity.
The same core except for the fact that you lost a very important, defensive minded 3 pt shooter, and most important...unselfish player. And you gained a good defensive player, sometimes ball hogger, and headcase.
Trevor Ariza was a good piece, but he is certainly not an irreplaceable player. In fact of the Laker's starting 5 last season he was certainly the most replaceable player. You don't shoot yourself in the foot and pay $8 million for a guy like Ariza. He played hardball with his agent and lost, and the Lakers got Ron Artest for a cheaper price. IMHO, the Lakers were incredibly lucky and fortunate.
The key to this offseason was resigning Odom.
Will Odom go back to playing like now he's been got his money, will Artest be fully focused, will Blair pan out as people hope, will Duncan/Ginobili stay healthy, will both teams stay healthy for that matter.
Too many questions to have any idea what could happen.
You've misunderstood the post. I didn't "predict the winner" based on my putting >,<, or =, to indicate who individually has the advantage in each head to head matchup. I never claimed based on this it means "the Spurs will win", or "the Spurs should be favored", you're reading too much into it. I know how basketball works.
They were really lucky by paying close to 20M a year for Odom?
If you count lux tax, LO makes $15 mil (7.5 this year). That's about what SA is paying Jefferson (14.2) before tax.
LA kept LO at a steal price.
The difference is...Jefferson gets to keep the bulk of that cash that SA is paying him. LO is making much, much less. It's true LA had to pay more because of the Cap but if Dr. Buss didn't sign him, truthfully...without LO, if Kobe goes down with an injury for any real length of time, then LA is done.
Ok, I'll take that bet. How much?
He will not start.
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