| Key Match ups Lakers vs Nuggets in the WCF |
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| Written by Administrator | |||||
| Tuesday, 19 May 2009 03:15 | |||||
Key Match Ups Lakers vs Nuggets in the WCF Brian Bills May 18th, 2009 If you look at the two teams on paper they match up pretty well with each other and it looks to be an exciting series. Having seen the two teams play during the regular season this year I give the edge to the Lakers, but we have seen how well of a predictor the regular season is with Houston. I guess one way to gauge how we'll fare against the Nuggets is to compare the Rockets to the Nuggets. I give the toughness edge to the Rockets, but the talent and size edge to the Nuggets. What does that mean? Do those two things cancel each other out? No they do not. Why? Because as if none of you have noticed, the way to beat the Lakers is not to try and outscore them, or to push them around in the paint, the way to beat them is to play smothering, tough defense and to play mentally tough for 48 minutes. If a team comes at us with that approach I see that as posing the greatest threat to our eventual coronation as the world's greatest. So what do we have to do to prepare for the Nuggets? It isn't so much the drills or the film, or the scouting. It's all about learning the lesson we were so rudely taught in the last series with Houston. You come out from the opening tip to the final buzzer with your eyes wide open and your ears perked up like German Shepards. You make every single posession on either side of the floor like it's the one and only. You don't take time off based on how you think you rate against the other team. You don't take anything for granted. You have to remember at all times that just because you have the best record in the west, other teams could care less about that. The playoffs are more about adjustments and mental toughness than they are about looking good and making pretty plays. This is where you earn your paycheck, this is where the rubber meets the road, this is what seperates the men from the boys. Things I liked about the way the Lakers played in game seven was when Pau used the baseline as the second defender, the way he prevented Scola from dribbling base line and spinning around him for the easy bucket. I like the way that he ran out at Brooks and blocked that jumper. I liked the way Ariza and the rest of the starting crew played smothering defense on the Rockets. I was surprised at Bynum because in the previous six games he looked soft and slow and like he didn't give a fuck. In game seven he would not be denied. He forced his way in and scored. He kept his head up and cleaned up the missed shots. He challenged any and all shooters and got some nice blocks. Another thing our team did is grab at the ball every time a Houston player had it in their hands. That right there looked to me like it frustrated Houston's offense more than anything. Our bigs kept the ball up high going to the hoop and on rebounds and they didn't get the ball snatched from them in that game. That was very satisfying from a fan's perpective and I'll bet Phil Jackson liked it even more. See, when you're team is aggressive then you tend to get the calls. I really have to say that Houston did not plan for that and they were befuddled. They are used to relying on Battier to slow down Kobe and the rest of the Lakers to stand around and take jumpers all night. They didn't realize that we were going to turn their strategy on them and totally demoralize them from tip off to final buzzer. This is what we'll need to do with the Nuggets from wire to wire. They are not a team to be fooled with. Unlike Houston they are all healthy and they can get red hot and score in bunches. They can steal a game away from us in a heart beat. Now the player by player matchups are interesting: Derek Fisher vs Chauncey Billups = Easier cover for Fish than Brooks was and they both can shoot well but I'd be remiss to say that Chauncey doesn't win that matchup. Dahntay Jones vs Kobe Bryant = Sorry but Dahntay is no Battier, Kobe will have to be double teamed leaving other Lakers open. And if Kobe needs to go off and take the game over he'll have an easier time than he did with Houston. Melo vs Ariza = Melo obviously gets the nod but don't count out Trevor, he's lightening quick with great hands and he hustles every second he's out on the floor. I'd say he can slow Melo down just enough to keep him from going off and having a 30+ point night. KMart vs Pau = Pau gets the nod and he will dominate KMart even though KMart is stronger and beefier he's only 6'9" and Pau knows how to handle guys like him from Hayes and Landry in the last series. Bynum vs Nene = Bynum gets the Nod but Nene is the toughest guy on that team and he could cause us serious problems in the paint if we don't box out and watch the fouls. Bynum needs to play smart and avoid getting into foul trouble because he's beefier than Odom and can get extended minutes against Nene. LA Bench vs Denver Bench = JR Smith vs Odom and I give the edge to Odom the "Swiss Army Knife" of the NBA. Our bench has started to click since game seven of the Houston series with Sasha hitting his threes, Farmar hitting a couple himself and looking comfortable, Luke didn't make a bad pass or try to force any shots in game seven either. I have to say that Chris Andersen and Linas Kleiza are two very potent players and we better be ready to step up to the challenge with them on the floor. Andersen is a good shot blocker and an energy player and Kleiza can shoot and he's strong as an Ox. But bottom line is that with both teams playing all out for a full 48 minutes and not taking any games off the Lakers should win in 6 or 7.
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 May 2009 05:01 |
