The decadence of kobe? Dude was almost averaging a triple dub in the last series and just made some impossible shots to close out game 6 and you're talking about his decline?
a few solid body checks will do him some damage. he's at the age where he can still do the things he once did but as soon as injury strikes, recovery will be a b!+(h. i'm looking forward to ron artest and rasheed wallace going crazy. hope it's detroit/indiana all over again. all the stars get suspended and the whole series will be bench against bench.
A little preview of what's to come.... 2008 NBA Champs vs 2009 NBA Champs <object width="640" height="385" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="ESPN_VIDEO" data="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf" allowScriptAccess="always" allowNetworking="all"><param name="movie" value="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="wmode" value="opaque"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"/><param name="flashVars" value="id=5233963"/></object> this is going to be an interesting series ... :grin: --RB
haha i have no idea. i am trying to figure that out myself. on one hand i HATE the lakers..(especially after last year's series with the rockets)..but at the same time i hate the celtics. ANYYYYYYYYYYYTHING IS POSSIIIIIIIIIBLE - garnett
Yea I hate Kobe hitting a shot, then tappin the coach; if I was Alvin Gentry i would go off and that dude. You don't laugh that kinda stuff of even if you're a good natured person.
I think whats going to hurt the lakers the most is kobe not being able to take a break defensively. When you play la, if kobe doesnt have to work defensively, he's going to kill in the 4th. If he guards allen, now he has to chase him through all the double downs and back picks. If he guards pp, then he has to deal with the whole package. Last time he was guarding a still young rondo. He cant hide on rondo this time because rondo is too good.
He'll be on Rondo... he's not a bad perimeter defender anyway. But, chasing Ray Allen is something he won't do... and they already have Ron Artest to put on Pierce. That leaves Rondo. Guarding Rondo, at least IMO, is easier and takes less out of you than guarding Allen. You have to fight through screens and chase him all over the place.
If Kobe is guarding Rondo and Artest is guarding Allen, then who is gonna guard Pierce? Don't tell me Fisher is gonna guard him. Pierce will average 30 points this series if he does. :grin:
Kobe's the best on-ball defender in the league. Plus Rondo's jumpshot is still a liability. As long as Kobe doesn't get into foul trouble, Rondo can't do damage like in Cavs series. Lakers can actually guard Celtics one on one this time, no Sasha or Radman to exploit. On the other side, Celtics play much of box&1 defense to guard Kobe, it's up to Artest and Odom to hit those jump shots.
I guess you didn't read my post correctly. There's NO DOUBT that Artest will be guarding Pierce. Now, if Artest gets into foul trouble... that's where things get mixed up. You could see Kobe on him.... possibly Vujacic... hell even Walton or Odom (though I think Odom would be too slow). Fisher will be on Allen like he was in 08.... Ray averaged about 20 ppg for that series... but I honestly don't think the Lakers have a choice. Vujacic is a pest, so you can see him going on Allen... and then again Brown/Walton is also a possibility at times. But out of the gate, you'll most likely see Fisher on Allen.
Fisher is guarding Allen. Allen is a shooter off screen. And Fisher is very good at chasing screen. Allen is not very good at post thus the height advantage doesn't help much.
That is why I think the Celtics will win this series. They have three legit wings that can put up 20-25 points on you at anytime. Rondo is light years better than 2 years ago. The only 2 great wing defenders the Lakers have are Kobe and Artest. You're gonna have to depend too much on Fisher to guard one of the Big three wings. Whoever is being guarded by Fisher will be the ultimate X-Factor. They will probably average close to 25-30 points. Also the frontline of the Celtics is something the Lakers have never faced before these playoffs. Garnett-Perkins-Wallace-Davis will try to get into the skin of Gasol-Bynum-Odom, who are not necessarily known for their tough mentality. The Bench of the Celtics is much better than the Lakers'. The Lakers only have 2 legitimate starter quality players in Odom and Brown. The Celtics can throw in T.Allen, Davis, Wallace, or even Nate. Vujacic can not be counted on and Walton is still not 100%. Farmer has shown flashes, but really is inconsistent as hell. The thing that worries me is the refs. Will they let them play or keep the game tight? If it is played like playoff basketball and played loosely, the edge goes to the Celtics, but if it is called closely, the edge goes to the Lakers for the simple fact that they have some of the greates floppers on their team. Also Perkins might get suspended, due him only needing 1 more tech to get suspended. If Perkins and Wallace can fustrate Howard, they can make Gasol wilt under pressure. Bynum shouldn't even be playing and should have had surgery 2 weeks ago. He will more than likely see his minutes reduced. I wouldn't be suprised to see a Mbenga sighting early in the game. I think the Celtics will win this in 6 games. Game 1: Celtics steal a game on the road. Game 2: Lakers win a tough game, but it's a blowout. Game 3: Celtics win favorably on their home court. Game 4: Lakers win a tight contest Game 5: Celtics win Game 6: Celtic win.
Celtics with the slight edge Those were the previous match-ups 2010 Jan. 31: Lakers 90, Celtics 89 Feb. 18: Celtics 87, Lakers 86 If you take a look closer, those games were around the 88 - 90 points per game margin If the better defensive Celts can keep the offensive juggernaut in the Fakers under 90 ppg mostly it is done with the champs
Even with Kobe, Celts play better as a team vs. the overall individual better talent of the Lakers starters maybe
Lakers in 7 Lakers beat OKC, 4-2, who has a speedy PG Rondo will be the recipient of some accidental elbows :grin: from Kobe, who will be guarding him
Breaking down, and matching up, the Lakers and Celtics by Mark Heisler of the LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-heiser-lakers-20100531,0,810669,full.column
