IP Ranks Your 'Pick 2' Team By Division (All 6 Divs now in!)

[The Walker Wiggle]

EDIT: okay, TP's for the a thing.

I'll take it.

There are reasons L.A., sorry, Folsom Prison beats Miami but I just don't buy Brendan Haywood's scoring as one of them. First off, the actual Lakers too often inexplicably fail to get Gasol enough touches, so forget Haywood. He doesn't get more than two easy baskets at the rim a game, and tops out at eight attempts. Second, Diaw can defend Haywood; he can't keep him off the glass; but he can defend him. We're far removed from Diaw's days starting at center for Phoenix, but I did look back at those match ups and I didn't see anything that worried me (except that rebounding disparity).

Now I need to go to bed before Roy wakes up. Thanks for the memories.

[Who]

The key to Miami beating LA as I see it is twofold (1) Slowing down Kobe Bryant with strong man-to-man defense (2) Miami's perimeter players showing quick help defense and being very aggressive in the passing lanes in an effort to slow down the ball movement of the Triangle offense.

Miami were very successful at both in the Christmas Day game earlier this season but the second area will be much more difficult with this LA squad than the actual Lakers ... mainly because of the offensive upgrade of Nicolas Batum to Ron Artest and also the upgrade of Derek Fisher to Chauncey Billups.

Nicolas Batum's superior / quicker decision making, passing, cutting and overall movement without the ball will facilitate the Triangle offense to a much greater extent than Ron Artest does. More comparable to what they had with Ariza.

And obviously, Chauncey gives them a major offensive threat on the perimeter as a scorer and playmaker.

[The Walker Wiggle]

Nicolas Batum's superior / quicker decision making, passing, cutting and overall movement without the ball will facilitate the Triangle offense to a much greater extent than Ron Artest does. More comparable to what they had with Ariza.

And obviously, Chauncey gives them a major offensive threat on the perimeter as a scorer and playmaker.

This I would begrudgingly have to agree with. Although Miami has its own added offense in Terry, Diaw, Lawson and Howard.

[indeedproceed]

Nicolas Batum's superior / quicker decision making, passing, cutting and overall movement without the ball will facilitate the Triangle offense to a much greater extent than Ron Artest does. More comparable to what they had with Ariza.

And obviously, Chauncey gives them a major offensive threat on the perimeter as a scorer and playmaker.

This I would begrudgingly have to agree with. Although Miami has its own added offense in Terry, Diaw, Lawson and Howard.

Lawson I oddly see as more of a difference maker than Terry. When one of Gasol/Haywood are out...Lawson will be mucho effective.

[Who]

Yeah, I don't think the Lakers have much hope of stopping Miami's offense.

I just don't think their big men are capable of stopping Miami's pick and roll game, of dealing with LeBron's and Wade's dribble penetration while also containing their shooters (both bigs and smalls).

It'll be their offense that makes or breaks LA in that series. Kobe's ability to get high percentage shot attempts for himself and LA's overall team offense.

You pretty much know what you are going to get from Pau Gasol and Chauncey Billups but the rest of LA's supporting cast's offensive contributions could vary widely depending on how effective Miami's defense is.

[Roy H.]

Now I need to go to bed before Roy wakes up. Thanks for the memories.

Ha.  I've enjoyed the overnight debate, but I'm not going to spend a lot of time participating in it.  To do so is to argue why Kobe will win another title, and that's not an argument I have much zest for.

That said, I do think Folsom is going to play great team defense, which is what's needed against a team like Miami.  All five players in the starting lineup got votes for All-Defense last year, and all are both athletic enough and smart enough to make the proper rotations.  Chauncey, Kobe, and Batum all play excellent perimeter defense, and Gasol and Haywood can stop penetration and can defend interior bigs (not that Miami has any).  I think the Celtics have proven that if you make Lebron and/or Wade play mostly on the perimeter, the Heat (and Cavs before them) become very beatable.

Also (and I hate to argue this point), but I disagree with the notion that the "real life" Lakers can't win without a big offensive contribution from Bynum and/or Odom.  In LA's four wins in last year's Finals, Bynum averaged 5.75 points on 37.5% shooting, with 0.0 assists.  Odom was a little better, but still only averaged 8.0 points on 46% shooting (and only shot above 38% in one of those games), with 1.25 assists.  In the two biggest games of LA's season, here's how Bynum and Odom performed:

Game 6

Bynum:  2 points, 1-for-4 shooting
Odom:  8 points, 3-for-9 shooting

Game 7

Bynum: 2 points, 1-for-5 shooting
Odom: 7 points, 3-for-8 shooting

In other words, at least in terms of offense, LA doesn't need to get much from Bynum or Odom to win.

In terms of offense, I think Folsom is going to be better than the "real" Lakers, both in their starting lineup and off their bench.  Odom will be tough to replace, but Chauncey and Batum are big upgrades, and I can't think of a "real" team that can shoot like Folsom.  Even real teams like the Magic and the good Suns teams couldn't bomb from outside like the Blue Therapists.

That said, let's hope that both Miami and Folsom find a way to lose, so that one of the more likable teams can bring home a title (that means you, Fake Celtics).

[Edgar]

I am pretty sure the 3rd team in he east will win it all