NBA Finals

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Paul Wozniak

Paul Wozniak

SatelliteGuys Master
Original poster
Oct 26, 2005
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Hamtramck,MI
Yes, we can have a separate thread to discuss the finals!

My spin on the finals - Lakers will win for the same reason Orlando beat Cleveland. The Lakers match up better against Orlando, especially if Odom brings his game for the whole series. Having said that, I still hope that Orlando wins this series. Just not a Kobe or a Laker's fan. Rave on, or rant on, fellow posters!

Edit: Please refrain from the LeBron controversy here. This is for the finals only. Thank you.
 
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Hopefully this post stays open, Tomorrow is the big day from Staples. You can see all the banners and flags all over the city of Angels.

I like the Lakers since the showtime days of the 80's, but even if Orlando Magic wins is fine with me. They proved they are the best from the East after eliminating both Boston and Cleveland. And you never know, Los Angeles can be next.

No matter what happens in this series, should be a blast. Getting the carne asada and Coronas ready for Thursday.
 
Ramy, I just saw SabresRule's thread for the NBA finals. Please merge this one into his, or close this for me.

My apologies SabresRule!
 
My Thoughts on the NBA Finals

Copied from the NBA thread, since it got buried with more talk of LeBron and his manners....... (Funny how LeBron continues to dominate the headlines even though we have a NBA Finals coming up btw). :)

Lakers vs. Magic

I think the Lakers match up WAY better against these Magic than maybe any other team in the league.

The Cavs got into trouble with the Magic because they didn't have anyone on the roster who could guard Dwight Howard 1 on 1. They were forced to double team, then Howard would kick it out to one of his long-ball shooters and eventually find someone who was wide open. When these guys are wide open like that, they don't miss. 3 pointers are demoralizing to a team because it eliminates a deficit in a hurry and can build a lead in an instant.

The Lakers on the other hand have multiple bodies they can counter Dwight Howard with, most likely the main one being Andrew Bynum. They also have long/athletic forwards to counter the Magic's shooting forwards. Gasol and Ariza should be able to minimize Lewis and Turkaglu's strengths. As for the guard matchups, give the edge to the Lakers. While Courtney Lee has shown to be an adequate defender, I don't see how he stops Kobe. Fisher and Rafer Alston should be a wash. As for the bench, Mickael Pietrus has come up huge for the Magic. The Lakers have Lamar Odom to counter.

Overall, I don't see any glaring matchups that pose a severe problem like the Magic had over Cleveland. I think the Lakers experience along with the 1-2 tandum of Kobe/Pau take out the Magic in 6.
 
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Also copied from the NBA Playoffs thread...minus the LeBron Stuff :)

Well I was 0 for 2 in the Conference Finals....

...the Nuggets reverted to being the Nuggets...

...and the Magic outplayed the Cavs, especially in the frontcourt.

So lets try this again for the NBA Finals...


Lakers in 6.

The NBA Finals 2-3-2 format really hurts the Magic, I don't think either the Lakers or Magic can win 3 in a row in this series, especially the 3 point reliant Magic. One edge that the Magic may have is that if both Howard and Lewis are both hot, the Lakers bigs of Gasol and Bynum don't stray from the paint too often and the Lakers may be forced to go small to defend the 3 point line.

One other thing to add in, the Lakers are bad defensively against screen/roll plays...points back to neither Gasol or Bynum straying from the paint...if Nelson does play in this series, his ability to play screen/roll may create more kickouts for 3's.
If the Lakers can't defend the 3 point line, they are playing with fire and will be in trouble.
 
Paul Wozniak said:
It would be a whole different series if a HEALTHY Nelson plays.
Click to expand...

I actually think that Nelson playing could hurt the Magic.....they're rolling right now and have gotten used to playing without him. I'm not sure I'd take the risk of re-inserted him into the rotation with hopes that he'll immediately mesh with the flow of the offense.
 
HD MM said:
Lakers vs. Magic

The Lakers on the other hand have multiple bodies they can counter Dwight Howard with, most likely the main one being Andrew Bynum..
Click to expand...

I'm not convinced Bynum can stop Howard. He'll do a better job than Z, but I wonder how much better. The series depends on this matchup in my opinion...it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
 
Skyhi said:
I'm not convinced Bynum can stop Howard. He'll do a better job than Z, but I wonder how much better. The series depends on this matchup in my opinion...it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Click to expand...

Oh, I don't think anyone in the league can "stop" Dwight Howard. He will be able to contain him though. Meaning, he can go 1 on 1 with him so the rest of his team won't have to leave their man to help out like the Cavs had to do.
 
There are a lot of hot topics about this year's NBA Finals:

1. Storylines. Kobe wants to prove he can get a title without Shaq, Phil Jackson has a chance to break the record for most titles by a coach, Superman would cement his legacy as a dominant player of this era, Rashard Lewis keeps proving he was worth that big contract, Van Gundy has a chance to shut up all the critics with a ring.

2. Style of play. The Lakers have big men that seem capable of stopping Howard; Orlando can be frighteningly good from three-point-range when those shots go in.

3. Matchups- Kobe vs. Superman will draw all the headlines, but Howard will also have his hands full with Gasol/Bynum. Turkoglu/Rashard Lewis vs. Derek Fisher in the battle of three-point-shot specialists, and of course, coaching; the Zen Master and Stan Van Gundy.

4. Role players- Each team has very good role/bench players. Pietrus, Anthony Johnson, and Gortat for the Magic- the Lakers have Ariza, Derek Fisher, and Jordan Farmer.

5. The Shaq factor. The Big Aristotle is linked to both teams.

6. Winning a road game. This is ALWAYS important. IMO, whoever steals a game or two on the road will be in great shape.

All in all, I'll say Lakers in 6- it'll be hard-fought and there'll be no easy wins, just like in parts of the Denver series.
 
Orlando....faced with being the underdog for the 3rd straight series will win it's 1st NBA title. Don't know and don't care in how many games...but I think they will.
 
BillD1984 said:
I was there when the Celtics won the championship in '86 vs. Houston. :up
Click to expand...

I had been thinking, "Bill has seen the C's in many NBA Finals- surely, he went to a game or two during that span."

BTW, two interesting things I realized:

1. The last six times they made it that far, they ALWAYS played wither L.A. or Houston. The last time they played a West team not named the Lakers or Rockets, you have to go back to 1976 against Phoenix, or as I call it, "one really great game and five OK games."

2. Were you a little dissapointated that there was no Lakers/Celtics rubber match in 1986?
 

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