A great rivalry has been renewed. From Russell/Chamberlain to Magic/Bird, and now to Kobe vs the big four for the second time in three years. This will be a phenomenal matchup. I want to look at each of the possible individual matchups for this series. Fisher will be on Rondo at the start, but do not expect that to last. Rondo is too quick for the long time veteran, a completely different cover for him than Nash in the previous series. Kobe will be on Allen, shadowing him at the 3 point line. This matchup clearly goes to the Lakers. Artest and Pierce is the most important matchup. Pierce has turned his game back on, and when he plays well the Celtics are tough to beat. Since Artest isn't relied on for any offensive production, he can totally concentrate on Pierce at the defensive end. Advantage Lakers. The Gasol and Garnett matchup went to Garnett and the Celts 2 years back. KG is older and gimpier these days, and Gasol has proven to be the best big man in the league. Advantage Lakers. Bynum and Perkins will go at it, and this is an interesting matchup. Bynum is hurt but has the size to dominate Perkins. Perkins gives little to nothing on the offensive end. Once again this one goes to the Lakers, who are better at 4 of the 5 starting matchups. I also like the Lakers bench more, with Lamar Odom being better than any player off the Celtics bench. Farmar is a better backup point guard then Nate Robinson. Rasheed Wallace has been on and off in this postseason, so I have no idea there. Shannon Brown will get plenty of minutes in this series, for his athleticism and defense. In 2008 the Celts had home court, three hungry superstars still at the edge of their prime, and a much better bench. The Lakers are a better team now, and Kobe will have that chip on his shoulder from losing that series embarrassingly in game 6 by 39 points. The Lakers have home court and are better. They will win this series in 6 games.
Go ahead and keep underrating the Celtics, but the fact is the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Pierce against Artest clearly goes to the Celtics by the way, it's not even close. He's one of the best players in the game, and Artest wants to be playing in Queensbridge. And Bynum has been a non-facor for the entire playoffs, while Perkins put a beating on Dwight Howard and got under his skin. The Celtics also have Big Baby off of the bench for them, as long as he's not collapsing, and only really need a few minutes out of their backup guards (Rondo has already played 48 minutes in one game this playoffs). Rasheed also got his swagger back, getting under Howard's skin, and he and Garnett will definitely frustrate Gasol with their length. The series could definitely go either way and I expect it to be a 7 game series, and you make it sound like it's one-sided. Also keep in mind the Celtics have won two road games in each of the past two series. I'm taking the Celtics in this series because they are too physical in the paint and they have a chip on their shoulder as an "underdog."
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ReplyDeletelakers have the best player, but celtics are the better team. celtics in 7.
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