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Lakers & The Championship
Posted by: Lakers4Kobe on Feb 27, 2008 - 06:01 AM
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The Los Angeles Lakers seem to have turned a corner this year, showing that despite the eruption of their leader in the offseason they are still able to win. With the addition of Pau Gasol the Lakers are on a nine-game winning streak, and that is wtihout injured center Andrew Bynum. This has lead many people to wonder if the Lakers can hoist up the Larry O'Brien Trophy at the end of the post-season. However, to do so the Lakers will have a huge mountain to climb, a task with unsurpassed chaleenges and struggles that the Lakers will face along the way. This all begins with the Western Conference Playoffs. I will break down the teams that the Lakers are likely to face and how they will fare against them.
As it stand right now, the Lakers are on top of the Western Conference with a 40-17 record. This feat itself is amazing considering the Lakers are two games away from tying their win record from last year, with 25 games still left in the season. This in itself merits coach Phil Jackson for the Coach of the year award, but that story is for another time.
At the moment the Western Conference looks like this:
1. Lakers 40-17
2. San Antonio 38-17
3. Phoenix 39-18
4. Utah 36-21
5. New Orleans 37-18
6. Dallas 38-19
7. Houston 37-20
8. Golden State 34-22
Lets assume the regular season finished today and the seeding looked like this:
1. Lakers
8. Golden State
2. San Antonio
7. Houston
3. Phoenix
6. Dallas
4. Utah
5. New Orleans
How do the Lakers fair? Let me break it down for you:
1. Lakers vs. 8. Golden State
While many people will say that the Lakers can sweep the Warriors because of their size, I still believe that Golden State can prove to be a very difficult team to beat. Despite their lack of size, the Warrioirs play with heart and are lead by B-Diddy who at times plays like the best point guard in the league. Defending Baron can be difficult, as seen by Kirelenko during last years playoffs, which means that Fish and Farmar will need to step up their defensive intensity. The Lakers will also have to look out for Capt'n Jack, who is having a great year and has helped the Warrioirs get those few extra wins they need to stay in playoff contention. However, if the Lakers can pick up their defence then the Warriors will prove to be chump meat and an easy defeat.
Lakers in 4 games.
After the First Round of the Playoffs, I expect things to look like this:
1. Lakers
4. Utah
2. San Antonio
3. Phoenix
Utah has shown that it can be a great team and with Williams and Boozer leading the charge it can prove to be problematic for the Lakers. Boozer is an amazing player that can create his own shot and has a decent mid range game. Williams is a future all star and will be on of the best PG in the game for years to come. The Lakers will need to battle hard to make sure they win this but it is still possible.
Lakers in 6.
So After the second round who will the Lakers be facing next?
1. Lakers
3. Phoenix
Oh yes, you see what I see. The Lakers and the Suns playing in the WCF. This is going to be my favourite series because I cannot wait to see what the Lakers are going to do to the poor, old Suns. However, as much as I want the Lakers to sweep the Suns, I don't see it happening. The Suns, while great to make jokes about, are still a very strong team manned by two-time MVP, Steve Nash. They have size and strength and they now have the Big Cactus to guard the post. This will be a hard series for the Lakers but it will be a lot easier for them if Bynum picks up his play against Shaq. Bynum can utterly dominate the former Laker and this will make the lifes of the rest of the team a lot easier. Of course we cannot forget about Kobe Bryant who makes anthing possible for his team so in the end I will give it to the Lakers.
Lakers in 5.
Well, that's the Western Conference finished so now let's have a look at the East. So once again, if the regular season finished today the East would look like this:
1. Boston 43-12
2. Detroit 42-15
3. Orlando 37-22
4. Toronto 31-24
5. Cleveland 32-25
6. Washington 27-30
7. New Jersey 25-32
8. Philadelphia 25-32
So this means that the Eastern Conference Playoffs would look like this
1. Boston
8. Philadelphia
2. Detroit
7. New Jersey
3. Orlando
6. Washington
4. Toronto
5. Cleveland
I see the Celtics in 4, Pistons in 4, Orlando in 5 and Cleveland in 7. Given that, the second round looks like this:
1. Boston
5. Cleveland
2. Detroit
3. Orlando
I see Celtics in 7 and Detroit in 7. This means that the ECF will be:
1. Boston vs. 2. Detroit
This will be a fun series to watch. Garnett and 'Sheed going at each other, Rondo and Billups battling it out. In the end the Celtics will win in 7.
So, the playoffs are now out of the way and we have come to the NBA Finals, where dreams come true. It would be great to see the Lakers and Celtics facing each other in the Finals again. It is going to be a hell of a lot of fun so let me break it down for you:
NBA FINALS 2008:
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics
This is awesome! Lakers and Celtics back where they belong! Oh how I hope this comes true. This will be the best Finals series in recent memory and it would be great to watch. So how would it turn out?
The Celtics went from a poor, lottery bound team last year to, arguably, the best team in the NBA. With Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce all playing on the same team, it is little suprise that they hold the league's best record. Add that to one of the most suprisingly good benches in the NBA and you can see how this team is where it is. So what do the Lakers have to do to beat the Celtics and claim the Championship for the Lakers?
Defence, Defence, Defence! The Lakers will be playing against the teams best defensive team and they will need to show that they can out play them on Offence and Defence. The Lakers will be playing as hard as they can and with no team that can effectively guard Bynum and Gasol, the Lakers will be able to seal the deal. I see the Lakers winning in 6 games and bringing back the Larry O'Brien trophy to where it belongs, in the streets of L.A baby!
So there you have it. The Lakers are the 2007-2008 NBA Champions and Kobe Bryant is regular season MVP and Finals MVP. This would be a great way to remember the Lakers' 60th year in the NBA.
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| Lakers & The Championship | Log-in or register a new user account | 4 Reviews/Comments |
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| Reviews and Comments are opinion statements made by the author.
They do not necessarily represent the opinions of the site editor. |
Re: Lakers & The Championship
by JamFan on Feb 27, 2008 - 11:13 AM
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Really nice work. Continue to contribute when you have the time.
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Re: Lakers & The Championship
by Dave on Feb 27, 2008 - 02:39 PM
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Excellent Laker blog Lakers4Kobe! You outlined the path the Lakers may take to the championship + the logic behind it. I think the Lakers would more likely face the Spurs in the WCF, but Phoenix has a legit shot at it too. Good work!
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Re: Lakers & The Championship
by Lakers4Kobe on Feb 28, 2008 - 03:29 PM
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Thanks for the props guys. I'll do my best to keep it up.
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