What the Lakers win means for the Celtics

[Barnabas]

Means nothing if we don't win tomorrow night (or Sunday but I hope not to have to go through that again).


That said, before the playoffs began I liked the match up.  After watching the playoffs unfold I think a series versus the Lakers would be extremely tough.  I think PG and bench play would do us in but I hope to be proven wrong.

I agree with you.  That was quite an accomplishment to beat the defending champs in five games!  The Lakers have proven themselves to be the best team in the West, by a wide margin.  At this point, homecourt notwithstanding, they would have to be the favorites to win the championship.  

Yeah, I also agree.  We have a weakness at the PG position.  However, our bench is not that bad.  PJ Brown and Posey been good throughout the playoffs.  The Detroit series was probably just a bad matchup for Sam Cassell and Eddie House.  Maybe Derek Fisher won't scare the wits out of Eddie House the way Lindsay Hunter did.  And maybe, just maybe, Perkins has turned a corner in his career has now become one of the better Centers in the East.  We've got a pretty good big-man rotation, with KG, Perk, and PJ.  PG is a bit weak, with Rondo, Cassell, and House.  We're also undersized, but what can you do!

[Who]

Great Playoff run by the Lakers

Nuggets defeated 4-0 Sweep
Jazz defeated 4-2
Spurs defeated 4-1

They've won every single home game. They've won on the road in each series and are 4-3 on the road overall.

Very impressive so far

[eddietours]

also we have home court

[vl819]

After watching this series I've seen the Lakers' players step up and play significant roles. Guys like Vlad, Sasha, Farmar, and even Walton are turning into a really solid core of players. Them combined with their own version of the  "Big Three" along with Phil's coaching, i must say i'm impressed.

But something inside me just tells me that when the Celts play them (they better!), Pierce will arise and outperform Kobe for the Title. Call me crazy, but its just something about Pierce's mindset that he has when playing the Lakers and Kobe that not only elevates his own game, but lifts the whole team.

In Pierce I trust. Go Green!!!
 

[eddietours]

l'll say this the defense that spurs play in this series could it be Compure with the Celtics defense

[guava_wrench]

This game will ignite paul pierce alot. He was a big fan of the lakers when he was young and i'm sure he wants to play against them in the finals. On the flip coin it also gives the pistons more incentive to play better since if they reach the finals they can definitely play the lakers well(they won it all against them after all in 2004)

I don't see the connection between this Lakers team and the one in 2004 apart from Kobe. I don't see the relevance of 2004.

[Barnabas]

The Spurs were the better matchup for the Celtics. The C's are exactly the type of team that bothers San Antonio, like Dallas a few years ago except with more firepower.

The Lakers are on an odd one. There's no head-to-head form book because they didn't play after the Gasol deal which obviously changes everything. Perkins and Pierce look like the early keys to the series.

What do you think of the Lakers defense? Will it bother the C's? Their defensive weakness is in the interior. Their defense in the backcourt is excellent. Then they're full on long active players who play strong help defense. Not many, if any, defenses like LA in the league.

All this time, we've been hearing that the Lakers are poor on defense.  Gasol has a bad reputation for being soft on defense.  But according to one commentator tonight, the Laker defense is very, very good.  They strangled the Spurs to get back in the game.  And it's not just the backcourt.  

I don't think Derek Fisher and Vujacic will bother Rondo, Cassell, and House as much as Hunter, Billups, and Stuckey are doing right now.  A bigger problem for us is how to defend against the Lakers' tall line up.  

By the way, I like Vujacic.  I wouldn't mind having him in Green.

[guava_wrench]

After watching this series I've seen the Lakers' players step up and play significant roles. Guys like Vlad, Sasha, Farmar, and even Walton are turning into a really solid core of players. Them combined with their own version of the  "Big Three" along with Phil's coaching, i must say i'm impressed.

But something inside me just tells me that when the Celts play them (they better!), Pierce will arise and outperform Kobe for the Title. Call me crazy, but its just something about Pierce's mindset that he has when playing the Lakers and Kobe that not only elevates his own game, but lifts the whole team.

In Pierce I trust. Go Green!!!
 

That something inside you is called "wishful thinking".

Still, I hope things turn out that way.

[Frontierboy]

I can definately see Pierce and Posey containing Kobe just like they did with Lebron..... Rondo would have to play Fisher for the 3 point shot....... Perk just has to put a body on Gasol ( something that the Spurs didn't do )..... Odom has the speed quickness but KG would kill him in the low post..... I honestly think our bench would play very well against the Lakers since they stunk it up against the Detroit Pistons... somewhat of a redemption.... PJ is similar to Kurt Thomas (who played well against the Lakers ) ... House would get to play in this series cause the Lakers don't have ball pressurers like Detroit does...... Sam, well Sam lives for the spotlight now maybe he'll play better- besides he spent a lot of time playing in Staples Center ( as a Clipper) so he should be use to the baskets

I like our matchups.... we're a younger version of the Spurs...... I like this matchup better than the Spurs cause the Lakers have just as much championship experience as we do.....

[Cman]

Honestly the Lakers win means nothing unless the Cs advance.  Then we can all thank exGM Wallace for his little Gasol good-bye present...
 

[LoveTheGreen88]

But something inside me just tells me that when the Celts play them (they better!), Pierce will arise and outperform Kobe for the Title. Call me crazy, but its just something about Pierce's mindset that he has when playing the Lakers and Kobe that not only elevates his own game, but lifts the whole team.

In Pierce I trust. Go Green!!!
 

ITS TRUE!! LA is pierces home turf....hes played lights out in LA is whole career....on top of that pierce is the center piece of the celtics offense,  when hes on the rest of the team follows suit...i like the matchup...call me cocky but i rather see LA in the finals...I LOVE THE GREEEEEEN

[vl819]

After watching this series I've seen the Lakers' players step up and play significant roles. Guys like Vlad, Sasha, Farmar, and even Walton are turning into a really solid core of players. Them combined with their own version of the  "Big Three" along with Phil's coaching, i must say i'm impressed.

But something inside me just tells me that when the Celts play them (they better!), Pierce will arise and outperform Kobe for the Title. Call me crazy, but its just something about Pierce's mindset that he has when playing the Lakers and Kobe that not only elevates his own game, but lifts the whole team.

In Pierce I trust. Go Green!!!
 

That something inside you is called "wishful thinking".

Still, I hope things turn out that way.

If it was wishful thinking, I would have said so I just believe pierce WILL outplay Kobe. But we gotta win game 6 first.

[Who]

The Spurs were the better matchup for the Celtics. The C's are exactly the type of team that bothers San Antonio, like Dallas a few years ago except with more firepower.

The Lakers are on an odd one. There's no head-to-head form book because they didn't play after the Gasol deal which obviously changes everything. Perkins and Pierce look like the early keys to the series.

What do you think of the Lakers defense? Will it bother the C's? Their defensive weakness is in the interior. Their defense in the backcourt is excellent. Then they're full on long active players who play strong help defense. Not many, if any, defenses like LA in the league.

All this time, we've been hearing that the Lakers are poor on defense.  Gasol has a bad reputation for being soft on defense.  But according to one commentator tonight, the Laker defense is very, very good.  They strangled the Spurs to get back in the game.  And it's not just the backcourt. 

I don't think Derek Fisher and Vujacic will bother Rondo, Cassell, and House as much as Hunter, Billups, and Stuckey are doing right now.  A bigger problem for us is how to defend against the Lakers' tall line up. 

By the way, I like Vujacic.  I wouldn't mind having him in Green.

The backcourt defense isn't like Detroit's in terms of pressuring the ball and trapping. So it'll be a lot easier for Eddie and the rest of them.

But just look at how little Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili got into the paint? Fisher and Bryant do an incredible job of cutting of penetration and forcing you into contested jump shots. That's what they do best. Nobody has defended the Spurs backcourt as well as LA did. Fisher did the same thing to Deron Williams in the previous round.

LA's big men keep improving on their help defense on the screen and roll too. It's light and day from where they were one month ago, then two months ago, then three months ago. Their (Odom and Gasol) improvement here has been great.

Is Vujacic a free agent this summer? I think so. Plays PG, SG, SF. Fantastic little player. Great energy, defense, shooting and intelligence. Ahh ... as I look it up he's a restricted free agent. Wonder how much it would cost to pry him lose ...

[Who]

Paul Pierce will the biggest factor determining whether the C's win or lose in a potential Finals matchup with the Lakers.

LA has nobody capable of defending of him. Radmanovic has been better of late but he's not even a mediocre defender. Luke Walton played some good defense on Pierce during the regular season but Pierce was still able to score on him. Then there's Ariza who's the Lakers best defender on the wing after Kobe Bryant. He's been injured but got a few minutes against San Antonio and has been training for about two weeks now. A few more days rest and they might start to consider playing him. Still, Ariza is way to frail/thin to defend Pierce. Paul has beaten him up relentlessly in the midpost in the past.

Lakers have nobody who can guard Pierce.

[guava_wrench]

nope most of does games the spurs had big leads the just could hold on another thing is manu has to hurt the man has no lift l think the faker have seen a defense like the celtics and detroit 

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