First let me apologize for not posting a column last week. After a great, but grueling weekend in Boston – I lost track of the week and by the time I had time to write the post, it was too late. I had a column on the history of lacrosse. I will table it for another time, especially in light of the rebirth of one of the greatest rivalries – The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. For those that can remember 1987, it was the last time these two teams met in the NBA Finals. In 1987, it was time when the shorts were short and Kurt Rambis’ glasses were cool. But I digress..
So without further ado, let’s break this series down – match up by match up. And then it will be time for Smitty’s somewhat biased opinion – Did I give it away? Well in the spirit of MC Hammer – let’s break it down:
Point Guard: Rajon Rondo vs. Derrick Fisher – Youth versus Experience at its finest. Rondo is the engine that does make the Celtics’ offense run. When he is pushing the ball and hitting his jumpers, he makes them difficult to defend. But when he shows his youth and inexperience with turnovers and bad decisions – it can make the C’s offense come to a grinding halt. Derrick Fisher – what can you say bad about Derrick Fisher, other than he is getting up there in age? Might not have the speed or defensive skills of Rondo, but he makes up for it with experience and savvy. May be the unofficial MVP of the Lakers, as he makes Kobe even more dangerous with his ability to stretch the defense with his outside shooting. Rondo likes to roam on defense, but won’t be able to with Fisher’s ability to shoot the 3.
Advantage : Lakers, but a slight edge
Shooting Guard: Ray Allen vs. Kobe Bryant – Hmmm.. best player in the game right now. Bryant is playing at his best right now in the playoffs and apparently has been able to “instill” his DNA on the rest of the Lakers. Throughout the playoffs he has been playing at the top of his game. So for the C’s it is a matter of if you can’t stop him, can you contain him? This is certainly his opportunity to put him amongst the elite in the history of the NBA. Will the real Ray Allen, please stand up, please stand up? Having struggled throughout most of the playoffs, he has seemed to find his shooting touch in Games 5 and 6 against the Pistons. If he can continue to hit from the outside, it will be the Big Three and not the Big Two featuring Ray Allen.
Advantage: Ahhhh. … Lakers? Seriously, the Lakers.
Small Forward: Paul Pierce vs. Vladimir Radmanovic – Ummm, has Radmanovic done anything in these playoffs? Is he playing? Okay seriously he has had his moments in the playoffs, but has also had a habit of disappearing in these playoffs. Pierce, aka “The Truth” aptly received his nickname from a former Laker. He has been just that throughout the playoffs, seeming to rise to the occasion in the biggest moments in the playoffs. His 4th quarter in Game 6 against the Pistons and his Game 7 performance against the Cavaliers are helping to define his legacy in Beantown. Will be guarding Kobe for much of this series. How much of his chasing Kobe around will affect his play on the offensive end remains to be seen. But then again, he guarded LeBron and Joe Johnson in previous series. So will guarding Kobe be that much different?
Advantage: Celtics
Power Forward: Kevin Garnett vs. Lamar Odom – KG has been consistent throughout the playoffs and even dominant at times. But at times, he seems to give up the shot at the biggest moments during the game. Unselfish or just afraid to take the big shot? Known for his tenacity on defense, his intensity rubs off on his teammates. Odom is dangerous in that he is a slasher and a jump shooter. Will be a handful for Garnett to defend, but which Odom will show up? The Lamar Odom of Game 5 against the Spurs or the Lamar Odom of Game 3? When Odom is playing on all cylinders, the Lakers’ offense is the best in the NBA.
Advantage: Celtics
Center: Kendrick Perkins vs. Pau Gasol – The Laker’s steal of Gasol has been well documented. Gasol is a finesse big man that can play away from the basket, but can also rebound with the best. Gasol’s talents have fit in perfectly since the injury to Andrew Bynum. Perkins has been a huge boost for the Celtics and has been unexpectedly dominant at times. His first half in the Game 5 against the Pistons was huge for the Cs. But at times, he shows he is young and inexperienced with silly fouls and unnecessary technical fouls. Perkins loves to bang underneath the basket and may be too physical for Gasol. Gasol has been key for the Lakers in rebounding, but how will he fare in his battle with Perkins? Should be a good match up.
Advantage: Lakers
Bench: I am not going to list them all for both team, but both benches have been key at times for both teams throughout the playoffs. But with so many days in between games, and long timeouts – will their playing time be cut? Will the long timeouts give players time to rest. Will Kobe even come out of Game 1 with 3 days rest between Games 1 and 2?
Advantage: Even
Coaching: Do I even want to do this? Phil Jackson, is Phil Jackson. Doc Rivers, is well Doc Rivers. In Doc Rivers’ defense, he has shown me a lot in these playoffs and seems to be growing as a coach in these playoffs. But this is Phil Jackson, man.. The key may be Boston assistant, Tom Thibodeau who has been the mastermind behind the C’s defense. Can he make the necessary adjustments.
Advantage: Lakers
Smitty’s Prediction: Celtics in seven. There is no place like home, there is no place like home. And rides in the Duck Boats are so much fun.
Don’t agree? Let’s hear what you have to say.
Admittedly, basketball is not my game, but I’ve paid enough attention to this postseason to chime in. I can’t disagree with your position-by-position assessments. So that’s two solid edges for the Celtics and two for the Lakers, plus one slight edge.
It would seem to me that the Lakers bench gets a slight edge, but you might be right about playing time, so this may not be that important of a distinction. Coach to the Lakers, obviously, and home-court advantage to the Celtics. But, the home-court advantage means less and less as the teams get better. In the conference finals, the visiting teams won 4 of 11. Granted two of these were the Celtics, but the Lakers didn’t really need to do better than 1-1 on the road vs. the Spurs.
Two championship disappointments in a row for Boston fans. Lakers in 7.
My heart says (or wants) Celtics in 7.
But my brain says Lakers in 6 or 7. Phil Jackson and his coaching staff are the difference in this one. The guys playing on the floor are about even. Coaching experience and savvy will win this for LA … but I hope I’m wrong. Should be a great series!
Benches will play a factor.
Yeah they have 3 days rest between games 1&2, but then it’s a one day rest when they travel from Boston to LA and then one more day before game 4. This is pretty much the schedule they have been carrying throughout the playoffs. Besides- for the first four games both teams will stay with a rotation that involves their benches. Also it will only take a couple of fouls by whomever is covering Kobe to get the Celts bench moving.
For the Celts to win they have to keep LA in the 80 point range. That means Boston has to limit LA’s chances in transition. The Celts have been able to get some momentum from their D, but I will be surprised if Boston wins this series.
Happened to catch game 5 of the ’84 finals between Boston/LA on ESPN Classic. That was the game when Cornbread Maxwell took out Kurt Rambis on a layup, and Kareem sucker punched Legend.
That game completely supported what JD mentioned recently – there was no love lost between those two teams.
Twice the benches cleared. At one point during a timeout Magic had to be restrained from going to the Celtic bench after Maxwell. It was great stuff.
Beyond that – the level of play was intense. I hear too often that current players are better than guys from the past. Guys now may be stronger, faster, and have all of these great individual attributes, but they cannot use these talents within the confines of a team like guys from the past. Everyone talks about the ‘Show Time’ Lakers and their quick hitting offense. Thing is their transition defense was suffocating. And it was all about three or four guys (never Kareem) sprinting the floor, touching the paint, and matching up.
I’m going to go with the Celtics. The best player is on the Lakers but the Celtics have 3 future HOF’s. My hunch is that they will step it up and make plays when needed, especially Pierce. The question for the Celtics is who is going to guard Kobe?
Agree with everything except for the eventual champ. Thinking back to Smitty’s past discussion of “clutch” players, it’s hard for me to doubt Kobe Bryant right now. Garnett still makes some questionable passes down the stretch; he has to be dominant in the post at some point in this series – and in the 4th quarter. Smitty – Do you think Gasol will guard Garnett? He’s a pretty disciplined defender near the basket and seems like he doesn’t have too much trouble stepping out, which he would have to do on Garnett. But I don’t know too much about Odom’s defense to comment on who should guard KG.
Lakers in 7 (?)
Is Ray Allen really a future Hall of Famer?
Reynell,
I think Odom will end up guarding Garnett, as while I think Gasol can step out and guard the perimeter – I am not sure he is quick enough for Garnett.
That being said, it will be interesting if the Celtics have Garnett posting up in the series – where he has been effective through out the playoffs – I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gasol guard him. When Garnett posts up his defender, that turn around jumper is almost impossible to guard. His length and adding his long arms – too tall for anyone to guard.
Reynell, in the end, it might be a combination of the two.
Chas –
When JD referred to the 3 HOF’s, he might have been thinking of Cassell….:)
I’ve heard Tony Allen is injured. Any truth? If so, who else can guard Kobe besides Pierce?
Come to think of it…I remember hearing something about Allen rolling his ankle in the celebration after defeating the Pistons.
At first they were saying Tony Allen is out for the series, but it’s starting to sound like there’s still a chance he’ll play.
Adding to Reynell’s point, if Pierce guards Kobe, does that mean Ray Allen will be guarding Radmanovic? I know he’s not that good, but that’s a serious size mismatch.
I was joking before – Allen is averaging 4 minutes per game in the playoffs. During the season he played 18:00 per game. That would be a significant upgrade in his playing time.
Anyone want to take a gander as to how much playing time Ray Allen will use before he picks up foul #5 while guarding Kobe?
I am going to have to take back what I insinuated about Ray Allen. He friggin’ made Kobe’s life uncomfortable last night.
I am glad that the teams have 3 days off now. Gives Pierce a chance to heal.. Hopefully he can play on Sunday. Something tells me he will.
What I liked about the Celtics approach on Kobe. Just try to make him uncomfortable. He is going to get it 25-30 points. But if you can keep him to as many points as he takes shots – you are going to be in position to win.
It is being pointed out know and after Game 1, I agree. The Celtics are a much better rebounding team then the Lakers and that might be huge in the end.