So your saying that Fisher will guard Ray Allen..... WOW, if that does happen an "Epic Ownage" will happen on jun 3rd 2010, in Los Angeles Calif. by man named Ray "Jesus Shuttlesworth" Allen.... --RB
Ray Allen average 20 ppg against Fisher in 08 when they had Fisher on him for the whole series... but I think it's the best thing to do in this situation... Unless they want to consider starting Farmar or Vujacic and put him on Allen. Vujacic did play Ray Allen in 08 as a back up for Fisher.
Offensive load won't come into play as much in this series as it did in the Suns series. It'll be more of a half court game which doesn't favor either team because the Celtics play great half court D and the Lakers play great half court O. But, I think depth in this situation isn't really needed in terms of scoring... I don't think the Lakers will have a problem scoring with the players that have in their rotation, it's more of how good they can play D. I'm not saying they're going to score easily on that C's defense... but that their focus will be on defense more than offense.
The question is, will Artest pull down Pierce's pants again? <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FD796H08J7w&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FD796H08J7w&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
This. Bryant and Gasol are the only players guaranteed to play well, imo. Artest didn't catch fire until GM 6 against PHX, and even then, it was against PHX. Boston will shut him down just by being Boston. Odom is definitely an X-factor though; too lengthy for Tony Allen and Paul Pierce to guard, and maybe a step too quick for Garnett. If the Celts can stifle Kobe and Gasol some, and make Odom / Artest useless on offense, Celts take this series.
Actually Artest played well in game 1 & 2. and was missing 3-5 . It really comes down to the fundamentals and who can execute and exploit the advantages better and more efficiently. Lakers in 6.
artest/odom/allen are the most important wildcards. artest CAN show up...on the defensive end on pierce. odom can suck like he did 2 years ago or get a bunch of "lucky" rebs that will turn a series. methinks odom fails but artest proves his worth.
Surprised at the poll numbers; the Celtics won't beat the Lakers, although Rondo could be a serious wild card. Frankly, I hope they both lose. I don't like them; I cheered for every team that played against them. Though I hate to admit it, the playoff teams have so much more talent than the Rockets. Look at the two finalists, several all stars on both teams. Our wonderful little group of role players simply don't match up with these teams which explains why they are not there.
It depends on if Lakers can neutralize Rondo like Nash. They trap you up past the three point line with their length and eats away at the shot clock until you are forced to take bad shots. This seems to be their strategy to neutralize good PGs, they did the same thing with Brooks in our series. If Rondo overall plays well then I don't see Lakers winning.
I'm going with the Lakers in 7. As much as I should hate the Lakers, I hate the Celtics even more. They seem arrogant and cocky to me, though I truly respect Rondo. I would respect Pierce more, if it wasn't for that wheelchair incident a couple years ago. Bynum/Perkins Gasol/Garnett Artest/Pierce Bryant/Allen Fisher/Rondo 6th man: Odom/Wallace
THIS IS BASKETBALL AT ITS BEST... 2 BEST LAST CHAMPIONS/2 OF THE BEST TEAMS PLAYING FOR IN THE FINALS! ITS GOING TO BE A GOOD SERIES. DOESNT MATTER WHO WINS...I JUST WANNA SEE SOME GOOD ACTION, GOOD GAMES!
This series comes down to the Refs. Not so much in a CHEATING sense but HOW IS THE GAME CALLED If it is called tight . . . i think it will favor the Lakers touch fouls when Lamar - Gasol are working will kill the Celtics Helps Peirce with Artest though. If they allow them to rough house Lamar and Gasoft will wilt Rocket River
KG > Pau two years ago in the NBA Finals. No doubt about that. Now it's time for payback if Pau can deliver.
Haha thats good enough, Lakers are not gonna need all guys playing 30 minutes off the bench only Odom. For the most part 5 minute contributions here and there from Farmar, Walton, Vujacic and Brown would be just fine.
Artest doesn't have to do sh** just like the OKC series as long as he keeps Pierce under control and his impact on the game negligable. Lakers arent gonna look for Odom to score against Boston's frontcourt, just grab 10-12 rebounds, block a couple of shots, make the right passes, be active on the offensive boards that would be just fine. Question...who is going to check Kobe? Ray Allen? Pierce? lol there's no Posey for that team now who can protect those two, either of them are gonna be foul trouble guarding Kobe.
