Hoops

Lakers vs Boston series

Series now locked at 1-1 following a triple double by Rondo and Ray Allen knocking down 8 three's!

Boston can win the title by winning all three of their next home games!

Just put Artest on Rasheed one on one for 7 games, now that would be a series!

Or an advertisement for the US' mental health system.... ; )

Anon, I'm not saying Nate will play much, just that if he does, he will give Fisher fits. As for Fisher's clutch shooting, I agree that he regularly makes the big shots, but that is not going to make up for how often his inability to defend will be exploited by the Celtics on the other end.

Re Gasol, my point was not to denigrate him, but to show that KG is NOT past it and has been dominant against all comers in the playoffs this year. Everyone is focussed on Rondo's play, but the #1 reason the Celtics are back is because KG is quarterbacking the Celtics defence once again. You only have to look at last season's playoffs to understand how KG transforms his team.

We will see how Gasol goes this time - if he can score consistently against KG the entire series, the Lakers win. But in 2008, KG was able to keep him under control and I think he will do so again.

Artest does defend Pierce better than most, but he doesn't shut Pierce down. Check his stats v Artest here:
http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=38285.0

The post from Spicoli on that page pretty much sums up what I think about Pierce v Artest: that Pierce will be a bit less efficient than usual, but will still be effective. Boston will primarily look to exploit backcourt mismatches in this series, so Ray and Rondo should be their highest scorers.

As far as the bench goes, it'll primarily be Davis, Sheed and Allen v Odom, Farmar and Brown. Odom is the best all around player of that bunch, but his achilles heel is that he can't shoot. So if you shut him down at the basket as KG has consistently done, Odom's impact falls away a lot. Farmar has always struggled agains the Celtics and while Brown looks to have some athletic ability, he has been inconsistent when I've seen him.

On the flip-side Davis and Tony Allen have both played their roles very well in the post-season and even Sheed has woken up and played well. Davis has consistently shown he can knock down the open jumpshot, as well as play good D, so he is very valuable off the bench. Tony has cut down on the bone-headed plays and is a constant threat to make a steal, score on the break, or score on a smaller player like Fisher. Sheed is the only question mark, because he hurt his back against Orlando, so he may revert to regular season Sheed, which would be bad for Boston.

Kobe had Hill on him last series, not J Rich..But agreed, Allen does pretty well defending him, although this may affect Ray Ray's shot if he is chasing Kobe all game..

Lakers fans like anon are in for a nasty shock if they think the Celtics are washed up. KG a has been? Check out this blog breaking down KG's defensive impact on his direct opponents during the playoffs:
http://www.celticsblog.com/2010/6/1/1495867/garnetts-shutouts#storyjump

Gasol is going to have his work cut out for him!

Also, while Kobe is the best player in this series, Ray Allen always plays well against him on both ends of the court. Kobe will find it a lot tougher matchup than he did J-Rich.

Artest is tough, but Pierce is smart, tough and very determined. He will find ways to score enough points and when he isn't scoring, Pierce rebounds and plays defence very well, even on quicker opponents like Kobe.

Boston's bench is better than 08 and its better than the Lakers, who may as well only suit 6 players. And I'm no Nate fan, but he could flat out embarass Fisher, who is a starter for the Lakers!

anon, that kind of post is why people can't stand lakers fans....This will be a tough series, Boston have been the best team this postseason, but i still think the lakers will get them in 7...just barely.

Celtics in 6 is my guess..7 would be great though..

Tough call though. I just think the Celtics can stop Kobe scoring, and Ron Artest is due to implode.

I truly now hope the C's win purely due to the fact I despise the Lakers.

On Foxtel on Friday morning.

Should be another good Celtics-Lakers series. I think the keys to the series are:

Does KG still have enough left to keep Gasol and Odom in check? I think he does, but the matchup there is critical for the outcome of the series.

Can the Lakers provide good enough defensive help to Fisher to slow Rondo down and put a major crimp in Boston's offence? If they can't, Rondo will be MVP of the finals and the Lakers will get hammered.

Can Artest nullify Pierce? If he can, a lot more pressure will fall on Ray Allen to carry the scoring load as well as defend Kobe. I think Artest makes it a lot more difficult for Pierce to play his iso mid-range game, so he won't dominate like he did against the Magic, but good ball movement will allow him to get open looks and draw enough fouls to still be effective.

Can the Lakers role players make enough shots to take the pressure off Kobe and Gasol? Two years ago, the Celtics shut down the supporting cast and the Lakers lead acts didn't have enough firepower to get over the line. Do the 2010 Lakers have a better offensive plan than they did last time? I don't think they do.

I'm going to say Celtics in 6, because in the end I think they will be able to shut the Lakers offence down more consistently than vice-versa.

MJ won 6 rings from 6 Finals Marty, not sure how Kobe wins more in less Finals appearances, he has already lost more NBA Finals than MJ ever did.

Ah.. Kobe vs. Bryant: The eternal struggle within one man =P

Fair stat Skud, but you may want to suggest the number of finals appearances as well. If Kobe wins more rings in less finals appearances, it balances out.

The "who got the most 30ppg games in the finals" stat is just for showboating.

Kobe vs Bryant??


Sorry Skud, I call that one evens...

Kobe won't be on Pierce defensively. They signed Artest in the off-season specifically for this series. Artest will be on Pierce. And depending on how Fisher goes against Rondo, Kobe will be on Allen.

Everyone says that Fisher is too slow and can't handle the point guards defensively any more. Well they said that in regards to Westbrook, said it in regards to Deron, said it in regards to Nash, and now they're saying it about Rondo.

Lakers in 6.

I wouldn't exactly call that article a "fair analysis"; more of a "blind ignorance" report and alot of assumptions.

Everyone knows that Kobe, Pau and Lamar are going to be the money-makers for the Lakers; just as everyone can guess that Rondo is going to destroy Fisher for 3 quarters.

Throw in the usual "Fisher MAY sink a clutch 3 at the best possible time" and you've essentially outlined what's been blatantly obvious all season.

The only analysis worth mentioning is whether Pierce and Allen are going to come to the party.

If Ray-Ray catches fire and nails a few 3's, he can average 20+ppg this finals series. It's all up to the Defence surpressing Rondo and blocking his passing lanes when he goes for the drive.

The biggest X Factor in this series is Pierce and Rondo. Rondo needs to rely on the assist more than the bucket and Pierce needs to get points early in the game to get him in rythmn.