Lakers vs. Celtics: Match-ups

[blueygreen]

I've been following Kobe since he was a rookie.  I can honestly say that for the last couple of weeks he has taken his game to another level.  He's pretty much unguardable, one-on-one.  I know that sounds like exaggeration, but it is true.  Ask Bruce Bowen, 1st Team All-NBA defender.  Allen is going to have to rely on help. 

You guys would know.  When going up against an elite 2 guard, how do the Celtics typically defend him?  Do they usually stick with a man-to-man matchup or will they double-team him?  Who are the Celtics primary help defenders?       

Yeah, I was reading at realgm that this is Kobe's first season in a long time where he does better in the playoffs than the regular season. And from the few games I've watched he has definately looked unstoppable.
I expect the Celtics to try and play him straight up at least in the first game, and probably just daring him to shoot rather than let him build momentum by getting to the lane. If that doesn't work out they will probably try and double him very early and deny him the ball. Similar to how they played Joe Johnson in the Atlanta series.

[chibi]

i guess that is THE question isnt it? logig might dictate paul be the one to give help. it would be tough to give help off of either odom or gasol though that may actually happen. no laker has benefitted more from gasols presence than lamar odom who now seems to be sharing gasols brain. their interior passing when on the floor together has been nothing short of spectacular and it's going to be an issue for the celtics no doubt. the celtics are gonna have to test the toughness inside of the lakers. punish them, crash the offensive glass and likewise keep gasol off the offensive glass as well. but just as kobe can dictate matchups and create matchup advantages i think paul can do the same with whoever is guarding him at his end. with all due respect to vujacic who has been playing well and even kobe, i dont think either are big enough or strong enough to keep paul from getting to where he wants to go on the floor.

1.  The way the triangle is set up, Kobe occupies a spot at the top of the circle; Pau is on the low block; Radmanovic floats over to a corner; Odom is on wing opposite Radmanovic; and Fisher is located about halfway between Radmanovic and Kobe near the 3pt arc.  Should Kobe drive right, the closest help defenders are Rondo and Perkins.  Should Kobe drive left, the closest defender would be Garnett.  

2.  Vujacic doesn't really guard 3s unless he's caught on a switch.  He's an annoying little defender but the only way he is assigned Pierce is in some Celtic's dreams.  Radmanovic and Walton aren't quick enough to guard Pierce; many Laker fans are hoping Trevor Ariza will be in adequate shape, as he is the only Laker besides Kobe with the size, length, and strength to matchup decently with Pierce.      

[mjohnson]

to chibi:
Kobe is not unguardable!! It's just that Kobe's past games were like he's unstoppable. Unguardable is different from unstoppable though.

The series according to espn.com's series page. Lakers would win in 6 mostly. This means the celtics are the underdog and the lakers are the favorite to win the title.

Since the lakers had acquired Gasol, both teams never battled each other. This would be a GREAT series...
I think this game would be "BIG 3 versus MVP and CELTICS DEFENCE vs TRIANGLE-OFFENCE"

[rmcc4444]

kobe is going to fill the stat sheet no matter who you put on him.  do the best you can on him and take out the role players.

i bet we see a lot of posey on odom.

[Bahku]

kobe is going to fill the stat sheet no matter who you put on him.  do the best you can on him and take out the role players.

i bet we see a lot of posey on odom.

He'll fill the offensive stat sheet, not the defensive one, and that's where the C's will win this series: defense. The Lakers have no answer for Pierce, Garnett, or Ray Allen, and even Perk and Rage will be tough match-ups for them.

Kobe has almost always had trouble with the Truth, and has played some of his worst games against the Celtics, again, for the lack of D. I think this is the best match-up for the C's in the playoffs, and that they'll win it in five, (at the most).

[chibi]

He'll fill the offensive stat sheet, not the defensive one, and that's where the C's will win this series: defense. The Lakers have no answer for Pierce, Garnett, or Ray Allen, and even Perk and Rage will be tough match-ups for them.

Kobe has almost always had trouble with the Truth, and has played some of his worst games against the Celtics, again, for the lack of D. I think this is the best match-up for the C's in the playoffs, and that they'll win it in five, (at the most).

How did you arrive at the conclusion that the Lakers having no answer for Pierce, Garnett, or Ray Allen?  Szcerbiak and Rip Hamilton did a fair job limiting Ray Allen.  Now you presume Ray Allen is suddenly going to go hogwild on Kobe Bryant, 1st Team All-Defense?  Ridiculous. 

The Lakers limit opposing teams to a 45% fg pct.  That's better than the Cleveland Cavs.  The Celtics didn't exactly torch them on the offensive end, so how did you arrive at the conclusion that suddenly the Celtics offense is going to erupt?

Your team had trouble with the Atlanta Hawks.  The Lakers are as young, as athletic, and more experienced.  How did you conclude the Lakers are the best match-up?  Do you really believe Perkins is going to be tougher than Tim Duncan?  Do you think Rondo is going to be tougher than Allan Iverson, Deron Williams, or Tony Parker?  I'm going to go out on a limb and predict the Celtics supporting players don't faze the Lakers. 

Pierce and Garnett are going to be a handful for the Lakers.  But I have to disagree with your presumptuous portrait of the Celtics being such clear-cut winners.     

[celticmaestro]

NOW we can discuss this thread.

perkins-gasol - offensively gasol destroys perk, but what perk lacks offensively he makes up for defensively. i think the gulf here is bigger.

garnett-odom - garnett is infinitely better. complete mismatch.

pierce-radmanovic - much the same here, pierce is inifintely better and boston has a complete mismatch.

allen-bryant - the real advantage for the lakers is here as kobe can be unstoppable. but when allen heats up, he's very hard to stop himself.

rondo-fisher - rondo has the beating of this guy, his shot needs to be on and he needs to keep his poise.

bench - not sure who has the advantage here. they've got some offensive gunners on the bench we might find it difficult to deal with. as do we, pretty even benches.

[Frontierboy]

If Ray can make Kobe work on defending him, then Kobe will probably tire a bit.  When the Lakers played the Spurs Kobe didn;t really have to defend Bowen since he wasn't really an offensive threat besides the 3ptr.......

This Finals..... Celtics are a defensive team ( the best in the league ) while the Lakers are an offensive team........ Defense wins championships!!!!!!

[celticmaestro]

If Ray can make Kobe work on defending him, then Kobe will probably tire a bit.  When the Lakers played the Spurs Kobe didn;t really have to defend Bowen since he wasn't really an offensive threat besides the 3ptr.......

tp, exactly what i said to my brother last night.

[OmarSekou]

Does anyone think we'll have some sort of a set rotation? I like Powe coming in on Walton/Turiaf and am fine with Cassell/House on Farmar. I hope PJ does not play as much of a role because Turiaf might be too aggressive on both ends and Walton too versatile for him to guard. With that said, he's earned some burn in the series. Vujacic actually has me worried because he could come in and play well on Ray or anyone else we throw out in backup. Ray historically plays much harder against Kobe. This is going to be fun.

[Who]

One of my favourite matchups of the past few years has been Gasol and Garnett. I always pencilled that in my calender. These two have had lots of great matchups over the years. They've had quality matchups since Gasol's rookie year (remembering a nice dunk from the rookie Gasol on KG's dome, remember KG returning the favour. Did it start there?).

It's been a very even matchup. Gasol's similar size and intelligence negates a lot of KG's usual advantages. With both player's similarities they also know how best to attack each other so there's usually a lot of quality offensive play. Gasol's confidence/comfort going against KG has been rare, that's what has made this such a fun battle to watch in the past. In their matchups, Gasol has done a better job of getting good looks near the rim and getting his teammates better looks. KG on the other hand has caused a lot more defensive disruption off the ball. Again, it's been very even between the two, they have good battles.

I don't know if we'll see the direct matchup between Gasol and KG though.

I don't know whether Phil will have Gasol defend KG or not. I would if I were in his shoes. Gasol can defend KG better than Odom can. Plus Odom is a lot quicker and better able to provide help defense off of Perkins. We'll have to wait and see. As for Doc, I think he has to put KG on Odom. The idea of Perkins trying to stop Odom scares the life out of me. Talk about making an inconsistent offensive (scoring particularly) player a factor in a hurry. Perk can defend Gasol well enough so no complaints there.

[BballTim]

One of my favourite matchups of the past few years has been Gasol and Garnett. I always pencilled that in my calender. These two have had lots of great matchups over the years. They've had quality matchups since Gasol's rookie year (remembering a nice dunk from the rookie Gasol on KG's dome, remember KG returning the favour. Did it start there?).

It's been a very even matchup. Gasol's similar size and intelligence negates a lot of KG's usual advantages. With both player's similarities they also know how best to attack each other so there's usually a lot of quality offensive play. Gasol's confidence/comfort going against KG has been rare, that's what has made this such a fun battle to watch in the past. In their matchups, Gasol has done a better job of getting good looks near the rim and getting his teammates better looks. KG on the other hand has caused a lot more defensive disruption off the ball. Again, it's been very even between the two, they have good battles.

  Gasol vs KG: 17 points, 8 boards, 2.5 assists

  KG vs Gasol: 25 points, 14 boards, 5.4 assists

  Throw in the defense and it's far from even. But I'd expect to see a lot of Perk on Gasol.

[RebusRankin]

Can't see Gasol defending KG well. Gasol got light up by most pf when with Memphis, had trouble with Duncan last series and didn't play KG well at all in the game they played this year in January.

[ma11l]

Similar to the Pistons series I think KG needs to step up huge.  I don't see anyone who can cover his all-around game. 

Kobe needs to be a team effort on our part.  Also on the other end he is a great defender.  I don't know who they'll put him on, either Ray or Paul.  Whoever it is, the other one has to step up big time.  Radmanovic will not be able to cover either one of them.

Rondo needs to stay on Fisher's shooting arm and stop Farmar's penetration.  He needs to use his superior speed over the two of them to attack the hoop. 

Perk vs Gasol is a key.  Perk did a great job last series on both ends.  We don't need the offensive end as much as the effort on Gasol and on the boards.  If he stays out of foul trouble I think he will be able to limit Pau's impact, especially on the offensive boards where he has been very good.

Sasha needs to found at all times off the bench.  He is deadly from behind the arc, very underrated in my opinion. 

[Thruthelookingglass]

I worry about Perkins.  The Lakers will need to prevent him from making an easy putbacks.  He's going to be a handful for Gasol on one end, but Gasol can race him down the court and wear him out. 

I'm intrigued by the Perk/Gasol matchup, it could go either way.  My hope is that Perk (w/ a little help) will muscle and frustrate and wear down Gasol.  Oh yeah, and without fouling, but maybe that's a bit much to ask.