The Pierce vs. Artest Matchup

The last time the Lakers played the Celtics in the Finals, L.A had nobody to matchup defensively with Paul Pierce. Unless you consider Luke Walton and Vladamir Radmanovic good matchups? Consequently Pierce had a huge series and was the single biggest nightmare for the Lakers in that series.

This time around it will be different with Ron Artest in the mix. His defensive assignment will be to harass Paul Pierce and keep his offensive productivity low by forcing him into contested, low percentage shots. Expect this matchup to pay huge dividends for the Lakers in this series. Artest’s combination of strength of foot speed is really going to bother Pierce.

Andrew Bynum in the Middle

This will be one of the bigger stories going into this years NBA Finals. How is Bynum’s right knee? Andrew Bynum says he will be able to contribute about 20-24 minutes a night for L.A in this series. His size and length is important to keep guys like Rondo and Tony Allen out of the paint and to help win the rebounding battle with Perkins and Garnett. Even though he’s injured, and it will only be 20 minutes per game or so, expect Andrew Bynum’s presence in the middle to change the landscape of this series and give Boston some serious problems.

The Bench Mobs For Both Teams

The Celtics have a pretty good bench. It does however pale in comparison to what the Lakers just had to deal with in the Phoenix Suns and their strong 5-man bench rotation. The Celtics have 3 players they refer to off the bench with regularity in Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen, and Glen “Big Baby” Davis. The other 4 bench players are a little more limited in their time to play and in their impacts in the game. These being Michael Finley, Marquies Daniels, Shelden Williams, and Nate Robinson. Althought lately Nate Robinson has become more of an impact player for them.

The Lakers also have their own 3 they rely on off the bench in Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar (who’s playing great right now) and Shannon Brown. Less dependable but still available off the bench for L.A include Luke Walton, Sasha Vuyacic, and Josh Powell. These benches are quite even between the two teams as you can see. The first key will be how well Lamar Odom plays, as he is by far the most talented and skilled of the bench players on both sides and stands to have the biggest impact.

The second key is who will be the key 4th bench player. Will it be Nate Robinson for Boston? Will it be Sasha Vuyacic for L.A? Something very interesting to watch out for. My prediction is that it will be Vuyacic for L.A and that he will have a great series shooting from beyond the 3-point line.

Rondo & Allen vs. Bryant & Fisher

The battle of the backcourt. Expect to see Kobe Bryant defending Rajon Rondo at times to try and keep him out of the paint while Fisher gets busy chasing Ray Allen around screens. I think these defensive matchups favor the Lakers more than people actually think.

As far as offense goes, expect Kobe Bryant to continue his dominance. In 2008 the Celtics would throw several defenders at Kobe in a single game including Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Tony Allen, and James Posey. Posey would get most of the defensive assignment with a ton of front-court help behind him. This time around it’s different. Tony Allen is not tall enough or good enough to defend Kobe. The great defensive play of James Posey is no longer in Boston. So Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are left to do the job themselves. Expect Kobe to take full advantage of these matchups and force Allen and Pierce to spend alot of energy trying to stop him.

Garnett vs. Gasol

This should be one of the more exciting matchups to watch. Pau Gasol feels he has something to prove after being out played and out classed in 2008 by Garnett. Garnett is a little banged up and a little older, and Gasol should be able to take advantage of these two discrepancies. The key though will be whether or not Gasol who can be soft at times, can match the intensity (and sometimes insanity) of Kevin Garnett.

Home Court Advantage

The Lakers are undefeated at home in this years playoffs. And they get home court in this series unlike the 2008 series against the Celtics. This will have a huge impact in the series. The Lakers will have a chance to go up not just 1-0, but 2-0 on Boston which will put the Lakers in a great position.

I expect that the Lakers will win the first two games at home, and then still 1 game in Boston before closing it out in game 6 at home.

Up next are the Phoenix Suns who just finished a surprising sweep of Tim Duncan and the Spurs. The Phoenix Suns come into this series hot, shooting over 40% from 3-point land. The Lakers took 3 out of 4 regular season games from the Suns this season. And this didn’t happen by chance or luck. There are some specific things they did in those 4 regular season match-ups that, if they do in this series should have no problem finishing the Suns off in 5 or 6 games.

1. Control Amare Stoudamire

Much like the Lakers were able to control Carlos Boozer with their length inside, the Lakers need to be able to control Amare. And they can. With their 3 7 Footers in Gasol, Bynum, and Odom the Lakers can prevent many of the buckets in the paint that Amare lives off of. Keeping Amare out of the paint offensively is the number 1 key to the Lakers success in this series.

2. No Answer For Gasol

Just like in the last series, there is no answer for Pau Gasol inside. The Suns throw around names like Robin Lopez, Jaron Collins, and that Amundsen guy. But come on now! Expect Pau Gasol to have a huge series yet again and to pretty much get whatever he wants inside the paint.

3. Offense Against the Zone

During the Lakers 4 match-ups with Phoenix this season, the Lakers had some trouble scoring against the Suns when Phoenix would break into a zone defense. Sometimes the Lakers have a lack of outside shooting on the floor and this can hurt them against a zone. This is where Sasha Vuyacic is important in this series. If he can shoot the ball well from the outside, he can help eliminate the effects of any zone defensive strategy.

4. Fronting of the Post

Much like the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Phoenix Suns like to try and take away your inside game by constantly fronting the post and placing a help defender right behind. It will be interesting to see what the ref’s do in this series. Kobe Bryant when in the post, likes to keep his elbows up high (good fundamentals by the way) and use great body position in order to shield off the defender when he’s trying to front. Consequently Jason Richardson, Grant Hill, and Jared Dudley are going to get many elbows in the grill. While these are not offensive fouls, it will be critical to the game as to how exactly the ref’s call this situation.

5. The Bench Play

This one as it stands (before the series) is a clear advantage to the Phoenix Suns. The Suns throw at you 5 guys. Dragic, Barbosa, Dudley, Amundson, and Frye. All 5 of these guys are major contributors. The Lakers really throw 3 guys at you in Odom, Brown, and Farmar with 2 extra guys who you are not sure what you will get from in Walton and Vuyacic. Can the Lakers 3 main bench guys outplay the Suns 5? This will be the biggest key to this series.

If you want to read a very detailed and insightful breakdown of the Bench match-up, read what Darius over at Forum Blue & Gold wrote.

6. Defending the Screen Roll

The screen roll is flat out tough to defend in the NBA. Now add Steve Nash to the mix. The guy is probably the greatest of all-time at running it. How the Lakers defend this will be critical. In the last series the Spurs would try and simply switch every screen roll and it worked against them. Tim Duncan’s foot speed just couldn’t keep up. This is where I think Gasol and Odom will be critical in this series. Darius at FB&G wrote another great piece breaking down the Lakers defense of the Suns.

7. The Play of Artest and Odom

Ok here’s the deal. The Suns have nobody, and I mean nobody who can compete with these 2 players on either side of the floor. These 2 guys have their opportunity in this series to put a huge stamp of this years championship run for the Lakers. Artest can help and roam as a defender in this series. It will be critical for him to chase off 3 point shooters and go from defending a big guy like Frye on a few plays, to defending Barbosa on another.

Odom had to beef it out with Paul Milsap (who is a BEAST by the way) all of last series. That is a challenge. But Amundsen and Frye should not be. They are good players yes. But nothing compared to Milsap of the Utah Jazz. Odom should completely dominate these 2 big man bench players for the Suns . If he does it could shorten the series for the Lakers.

8. Kobe, Kobe, and More Kobe

I keep hearing all this talk about Grant Hill and Jared Dudley and how they are going to defend and bother Kobe. Let’s not be ridiculous people. The Phoenix Suns have no match-up for Kobe Bryant whatsoever. In the last series you saw what a good defender like Wesley Mathews get torched game after game. The older legs of Grant Hill and slower legs of Jared Dudley are in huge trouble. Kobe will have his way in this series! Mark my words.

If the Lakers can hold strong in these 8 areas, the Lakers will win the series in 5 games. If they struggle in these areas it could go 7. All in all expect PJ to have the Lakers fine tuned and to win this series in 6.

175 Total Playoff Games Played

Just to put this into perspective for you, another player drafted out of high school who entered the league 1 year before Kobe is Kevin Garnett who is also experiencing the effects of old age has played in a total of 73 playoff games. More than 100 fewer than Kobe Bryant. 6 NBA Finals experiences, 4 NBA Championships. 175 Playoff games played. That’s one hell of a resume. But it comes with a price. It can take a huge toll on the body of any athlete. In many ways Kobe and Tim Duncan share this problem. Duncan has played a total of 160 playoff games, and we have seen the effects of his wear and tear for several years now.

The only other player that matches the total playoff games stat is Shaquille O’neal with 203 total playoff games. But this stat comparison between these two players can be misleading. Historically players at the Center and Power Forward positions have been able to sustain longer careers because of the lack of athleticism needed for their positions. Guards and Small Forwards like Michael Jordan for example experience much more wear and tear than players like Kareem Abdul Jabaar who played 20 years in the NBA.

1,021 Career Games

That is an insane amount of games. People will usually look at the number of seasons a player has been in the league to prove durability. But the real statistic is number of games played. Yes Shaq has been in the league for 19 years, but he has only played 149 more games than Kobe because of all the games missed due to “injury”. Or laziness whichever you prefer. Only Shaquille O’neal, Jason Kidd, and Kevin Garnett have played in more regular season games amongst current active players.

2 Years of Basketball Madness!

When analyzing the wear and tear of Kobe Bryant the athlete, look no further than the past 2 calendar years. Summer of 2007 Kobe Bryant trains with the US Olympic team and plays in several Olympic qualifying games to help restore Basketball dominance in the U.S. In the 07-08 NBA season Kobe led his Lakers to the NBA Finals (21 post-season games) and lost to the Boston Celtics. A few months later (summer of 08′) Kobe travels plays in another 18 games including the Olympic games in China to help bring the Gold Medal back to the United States.

A pretty busy 1 1/2 year for Kobe Bryant right? Oh but he doesn’t stop there. He leads the Lakers back to the NBA Finals in the 08-09 Season (23 more playoff games) to help capture his 4th NBA ring. All that accomplishment and hard work in just 2 years time. That on top of a 10 year resume that already included 4 NBA Finals appearances and many, many playoff battles for the ages.

Nobody in the NBA has more wear and tear on his body than Kobe Bryant.

Nobody works harder at his game than Mr. Bryant.

And yet the guy is still somehow, despite all the odds competing for yet another NBA championship this summer. With all this you should however understand one thing. Kobe’s body may be failing him with a few big injures (ankle, knee, two broken fingers etc.) but his mental will and determination is what makes him a champion. Don’t expect any of this wear and tear to keep Kobe from winning number 5!

But it leaves us all wondering, how many years does Kobe Bryant really have left in the tank? Of course we would all love him to play forever. But even the games greatest eventually step down. I know I will be enjoying every second of the time this guy has left in his illustrious NBA career.

And remember these last 2 statistics when having your next G.O.A.T conversation. The great Michael Jordan played in 1,072 total career regular-season games and 179 total playoff games. Kobe Bryant will surpass him in both these statistics.

Ring Time

Practice Makes Perfection

As Intense As Ever

Trickery

Trash Talking

Treatment of Many, Many Injuries

Another Buzzer Beater

Failure from Time to Time

Being a Husband

Visiting East Harlem

1. Kobe Bryant

After winning his 4th NBA Title, the guy hasn’t missed a beat. You can say the guy actually got better over the summer, working out with Hakeem Olajuwon and introducing a solid post game to his offensive arsenal. Many people want to crown LeBron James at the top of this list, but it just does not work that way. Kobe is still at the top of his game and he is winning rings, not LeBron! Expect Kobe to win his second MVP in 2010′.

2. LeBron James

LeBron is a beast to say the least. After winning the MVP last season, LeBron has a very good chance of winning it yet again this season. There is nobody else in the world at the same level of Kobe and LeBron. The man get’s better and better every single season. If you would have told me 10 years ago that one day we would see a player with Michael Jordan’s athleticism and the size of Karl Malone, I would have called you crazy. It’s crazy to see what LeBron can do on a basketball court.

3. Dwyane Wade

It’s crazy how this guy is always being overlooked because of Kobe and LeBron. Dwade is flat out a great player. The word Great get’s used in sports far too often. When I say great I say future hall of famer. The big question for Wade will be if he can lead his team to a competitive season and past the first round of the playoffs. If he can do that, Wade will reach a level that LeBron and Kobe have reached with getting the most out of their teammates.

4. Chris Paul

What needs to be said here. CP3 is the best point guard in the world hands down. He’s nasty competitive. He can finish going to the rim like no other point guard in this era. He can pass, shoot, score, defend. The only downside here is the New Orleans Hornets organization lack of willingness to support him by providing him solid players and a coaching staff to work with. Outside of that, Chris Paul is holding his own as the modern day version of Isaiah Thomas.

5. Carmelo Anthony

If Carmelo Anthony can stay healthy, he has a good chance of winning his first MVP award in 2010. I don’t know what Melo is eating for breakfast, but the guy has made himself unstoppable.  He’s an offensive scoring machine, and he has stepped up his game defensively to an elite level. Melo proved in last year’s playoff run that he is one of the leagues top 5 players and cannot be stopped by anybody when he has the ball in his hands.

6. Kevin Garnett

People are moving this guy out of their top 10 lists because of his injured Knee and his age. Baloney! The Celtics are one of two dominant teams in the league (the Lakers being the other) and Garnett is by far the cornerstone of the Celtics. Without him they are nothing. Even though Garnett’s offensive numbers are down, his defensive precense is still as frightening to opposing teams as ever. And talking about intangibles, nobody brings more leadership and effort day in and day out than Kevin Garnett. He’s a poor man’s Bill Russell, and that my friends is quite the compliment.

7. Dirk Nowitzki

I don’t know if it’s cause he’s German, or because he’s white, or what exactly it is. But people seem to always sleep on Dirk Nowitzki. But Dirk continues to put up huge numbers since he won his first MVP award a few years back. His team continues to be competitive, and he continues to show more and more toughness each season. Truly one of the most gifted 7 Footers we have ever seen in Basketball. He is a joy to watch!

8. Dwight Howard

Popularity wise Dwight Howard is easily in the top 3 or 4 of this list. But being one of the best players in the NBA has nothing to do with popularity, and everything to do with your game. He’s the strongest guy in the league. And he’s the most dominant player inside 4-5 feet from the rim. Defensively he can change entire playoff seasons with his inside precense. But he won’t move higher up on this list until he can provide leadership to his team, and develop more of an inside post-up offensive game.

9. Deron Williams

The only reason Deron Williams doesn’t get more “pub” as one of the premier players in the NBA today is because of where he plays. That being Utah of course. Combine that with a team full of lazy, unambitious, self-serving players around him and you can see the difficulties he has to deal with. But every year he gets better and better. Scoring, passing, ball-handling, defense etc. The guy can do it all at his position. Throw Chris Paul out of the equation, and Deron is the best point guard in the World.

10. Steve Nash

Steve Nash didn’t make the list in 2009, primarily because the Suns stopped winning and Nash started to look old. This season however is a completely different story. Nash is showing no signs of his age whatsoever, and is leading his Phoenix Suns to a winning season with an under-talented team and an inexperienced head coach. The guy is still one of the funnest players to watch in the game today! Don’t be suprised if this guy pulls a John Stockton on us and plays til’ he’s 40.

Honorable Mentions

• Kevin Durrant
• Brandon Roy
• Pau Gasol
• Tim Duncan
• Paul Pierce
• Joe Johnson

I must admit that ever since Shaq was traded, I have enjoyed being a die hard Laker fan even more. The reason is because all of the fake “fair weather” Laker fans disappeared. It was the die hard laker fans that stuck around with guys like Kwame Brown and Smush Parker on the team. As terrible as they were we still stuck around with our Lakers.

Now that the Lakers are champions yet again, those same “fair weather” fans are back! And anytime things go wrong during the regular season, they are there to boo and heckle the Lakers.

A message to you annoying, fake, “fair weather” Laker fans out there. Dr. Buss wants you around for one reason only…Ticket Sales! The rest of us real Laker fans can do without you. We support our team, even when they lose. Just like every other fan we do get frustrated with our team from time to time. But we don’t boo! We support!

As for the Lakers. They have lost 2 games in a row. They are still without their second best player Pau Gasol who is out with a hamstring injury. Kobe Bryant now has a groin injury which has limited his play the past 2 games. Ron Artest is doing pretty well but is still trying to fit in with the team. And the Western Conference is tough as ever.

It’s going to be a grind this year for the Lakers to repeat as champions. That “grind” will be fun for us Laker fans. It’s not going to be as glamorous as the fake Laker fans want it to be. But rest assured, these Lakers WILL get the job done!

1. Kobe Bryant’s interview on losing the 2008 NBA Finals

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Kobe explains why the Lakers lost to the Celtics. He explains how Defense wins a championship every single time, as opposed to offense. He talks about being perceived by the public and being respected by his peers and how important it is to him.

2. Kobe Bryant interview with Stephen A. Smith on winning the MVP

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Kobe gives us better insight into his feelings of winning a championship without Shaq. And also how he really feels about being like Michael Jordan.

3. The First Interview In Long Time with Shaq and Kobe

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After years apart, a short and quick interview for the first time with both Shaq and Kobe discussing the old days during All-Star Weekend.

4. Kobe Interview with Chick Hern After First NBA Start

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Kobe Bryant sits down at age 18 after his first ever NBA start and talks about his experience with Laker great Chick Hern.

5. Kobe Bryant Interview with Magic Johnson

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Kobe Bryant sits down with Laker Hall of Fame great Magic Johnson. Kobe famously answers the question about passing the torch to Lebron James saying he will when he retires.

6. Kobe Interview with TNT Team After Winning Championship

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Right after winning the last game of the 2009 NBA Finals, Kobe takes a few minutes with the TNT crew Ernie, Kenny, and Charles and talks about just winning the NBA Finals.

7. Kobe Bryant Talks to Michael Wilbon about trade demands

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Kobe Bryant sits down with ESPN’s Michael Wilbon about his off-season trade demands during 2007, and the acquisition of star forward Pau Gasol.

8. A Grumpy Kobe Bryant After Winning Game 1 of Finals

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A focused, determined and grumpy Kobe Bryant during a press conference after winning Game 1 of the 2009 NBA Finals. Kobe was focused on the task at hand and would not be deterred.

9. Kobe answers questions from the fans

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Kobe answers a series of questions from would he coach after he retires to what player in the history of the game would he most like to play with.

10. Kobe Bryant’s Opinion of Raja Bell

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During the days when Raja Bell was cheap shotting Kobe Bryant, Kobe gives his opinion of Bell in an interview during their first round match up against the Suns. He famously states “I can score on him anytime I want too!”

Bek$ over at Youtube has put together a really cool mixtape of Carmelo Anthony highlights from this year and from last year’s playoff run with the Denver Nuggets. Check it out.

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Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxHitET-LO4