Well, all the hater crap aside.. how do you guys see the matchups against Boston? Here is the way I see it..
Point Guard: Rajon Rondo vs. Derek Fisher: I think we have a good advantage here. I actually like Rondo, he's an exciting young guard, but he's offensively very inconsistent, especially in the playoffs. He's a good defender, but not great, and Fisher should be able to go through him to try and get off a shot. The Lakers win this position in depth as well, as you would have Jordan Farmar vs. Sam Cassell. Neither Cassell or Rondo can keep up with Jordan Farmar. The big problem for the Lakers here could be Farmars streaky shooting on the road. If they can manage to get a couple quick fouls on Fisher in Boston then we could have problems here. As long as Fisher can stay on the floor and out of foul trouble, the advantage is with the Lakers.
Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant vs. Ray Allen: Well, doesn't get much better here. Two great shooters going head to head in the finals. This matchup however, clearly goes to the Lakers. Kobe is the best player in the game and an All NBA first team defender. Ray Allen is a streaky jump shooter who's going to have a very hard time getting off shots over Kobe. On the other end of the floor, he has no chance of stopping Kobe late in the game. He's going to require double team help whenever Kobe decides to take over. Backup battle would pit Sasha Vujacic against Eddie House. This one isn't even worth mentioning, Lakers win this position hands down.
Small Forward: Paul Pierce vs. Lamar Odom: This one is a tough call. Pierce is a dynamic offensive player when he's being agressive, but Odom is quick and long and could create some problems for Pierce. On the defensive end though, it creates issues because having Odom stay out to guard Pierce is going to hurt us in rebounding. Also, Pierce could get Odom in foul trouble which has hurt us a lot in previous playoff games. It might be in the Lakers best interest to switch defensively and put Radmonovic on Pierce early just to see if he can buy Odom some time. That might not work however, because that would mean Odom would have to rotate to take Garnett, or Perkins, which would put Pau on Garnett. This is a close one, but I'll hesitantly give this matchup to the Celtics. I could be wrong here though, Odom is a tough matchup for anyone.
Power Forward: Kevin Garnett Vs. Vladimir Radmanovic: Vlad is going to have his work cut out for him in this one. Garnett is arguably the best PF in the game, and he's about as good as it gets in low post defense. The Lakers are going to have to roam the 3 point line with Vlad and see if Garnett is going to come out to defend him, or if they are going to switch on him defensively. The probelm for the Celtics here is that both Vlad and Pau can shoot from outside, so they can pull Garnett out of the paint and open driving lanes for Kobe and Fisher. On the offensive end, no one the Lakers have can really stop Garnett. Pau and Odom are big enough to disrupt him, but they are going to want to avoid that matchup early due to potential foul problems. Garnett is going to be the Key on the offensive end in this series, and Vlad can't stop him. The Lakers will need Vlad to find his shot early and keep Garnett focused on him defensively. As far as Depth goes you have Leon Powe vs. Ronny Turiaf, but you won't see much of Powe in this series. Turiaf is solid, but not experienced enough to compete with Garnett. Advantage: Celtics
Center: Kendrick Perkins Vs. Pau Gasol: This is where things will be tough for Boston. LA needs Pau to be aggressive and look for his shot against Perkins. Perkins is another guy who likes to stay low and has a problem with big men who can shoot. Pau has a mistmatch here, and I look for Boston to try to help on defense with Kevin Garnett. This would be advantageous for LA since Pau has a habbit of finding the open man when he's doubled. On defense, Perkins isn't anything huge to worry about. Unless he's left open under the basket, he's not going to hurt us. We can give him his 6.9 point per game average that's fine, the key is keeping Perkins off the boards. As far as backups go, I give Glenn Davis the advantage over DJ Mbenga, but I don't count on seeing either of them very often in the game. Advantage: Lakers
Final Prediction: The Celtics inconsistency in the playoffs, coupled with lack of experience does them in. The talent level is close, both teams have their "Big 3" but the Lakers big three is more consistent. The Lakers are playing better basketball then anyone right now, and are led by a hall of fame coach going for his 10th ring. The Celtics will fight hard, they are a solid team, but in the end they won't be able to stop the Lakers. Lakers will force a split in the first 2 and that will be about it for the series.
Final: Lakers win series 4-1.
