Post by Baqu3ro on May 21, 2008 7:57:55 GMT 8
Lakers, Spurs Fight for Decade of Dominance
Gm. 1:Wed., May 21: at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 2:Fri., May 23: at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 3:Sun., May 25: at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 4:Tue., May 27: at San Antonio, 9 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 5*:Thu., May 29: at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 6*:Sat., May 31: at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 7*:Mon., June 2: at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT)
* if necessary
It will be a battle between the two most successful teams in the NBA over the last 10 years to decide which squad will have the chance to add another ring to its decade of dominance.
The Lakers, owners of three straight championships from 2000-02, will have homecourt advantage against the Spurs, owners of four rings in the last nine years (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007).
It wasn’t an easy road to the Conference Finals for the defending champs, as it faced perennial foe Phoenix in the First Round and was forced to win a Game 7 on the road in the Conference Semifinals to advance after falling down 2-0 to start its series with New Orleans.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, is 8-2 in the playoffs so far – the best record of any team still standing – following a regular season when it earned the No. 1 seed in the West by having the best record, 57-25, out of any other team in its conference during the 82-game slate.
The Spurs are led by the same triumvirate that they captured their last three rings with – Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker – while the Lakers feature a different cast of players from its threepeat at the turn of the century.
Well, a different cast besides Kobe Bryant.
Fresh off being named the league’s MVP for the first time in his career, Bryant has been nothing less than dominant in the postseason with averages of 33.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists.
While the Spurs have their “Big Three,” Bryant has three very good starting teammates who he relies on. Kobe’s post-Shaq running mate, Lamar Odom (15.6 points, 10.7 rebounds in the playoffs); reacquired friend, Derek Fisher (11.9 points, 2.7 steals); and midseason Godsend, Pau Gasol (20.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists) make Los Angeles a balanced team.
In the two teams’ four regular season meetings they split 2-2, with the home team winning all of the matchups by an average of 13.3 points.
However, the last of those four meetings occurred in the last week of the regular season with both teams vying for the best record in the West and was the only time the Lakers had Gasol in the fold. On that day, L.A. won by 21.
The best of seven games to decide the best team of the last 10 years tips off on Wednesday in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.
www.nba.com
Pierce, Celtics have to buckle down vs. Pistons
Gm. 2:Thu., May 22: at Boston, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Gm. 3:Sat., May 24: at Detroit, 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Gm. 4:Mon., May 26: at Detroit, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Gm. 5*:Wed., May 28: at Boston, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Gm. 6*:Fri., May 30: at Detroit, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Gm. 7*:Sun., June 1: at Boston, 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
* if necessary
But first things first.
Why and how Boston won
# Despite less-than-stellar offense from Kevin Garnett — he went 1-for-4 in the clutch, including an air ball and not including a fumbled dribble that wasted a key possession — KG did come up with 13 big rebounds. Indeed, his controlling the glass was instrumental in the Celtics' 39-29 edge in the overall rebounding.
# Even though Rajon Rondo made several poor decisions on defense, he dropped 8 dimes and copped 8 rebounds. Game 7 was a clear demonstration of both Rondo's quick-footed skills and his inexperience.
# Despite Ray Allen's continuing difficulties in locating the bottom of the net, he managed to drop a pair of critical free throws in the end game.
# Both Garnett and Kendrick Perkins refused to bite on Zydrunas Ilgauskas' ball fakes in the low post, thereby limiting the big fellow's minutes and reducing him to an oversized jump shooter — he made only two of these.
# Given that LeBron James was looking to attack the rim at every conceivable opportunity, the Celtics didn't do a bad job of limiting his lane penetrations. And despite his making a trio of critical treys, LBJ was still only 6-for-17 from mid-range and beyond.
# The Celtics also survived several superstar calls — and non-calls — that went LBJ's way. The most egregious of these was his blatant grabbing of Pierce's jersey out in the open without any of the three blind mice noticing that anything was amiss. Actually, Pierce was lucky that he didn't get a technical for playing with his jersey untucked!
# Also in the first half, James clearly stepped on the baseline before he was fouled on a forceful drive to the basket. In fact, it was this obvious violation that Perkins so vehemently objected to, and not the fact that he had clobbered James.
Paul Pierce went toe-to-toe with LeBron James. (Jim Rogash / Getty Images)
# The Celtics also persevered because James Posey and Eddie House injected a much-needed shot of intensity off the bench. This was particularly true during their initial rotations in the first half.
# Boston also spread the floor with maximum effect whenever Cleveland made aggressive double-teams on high screen-and-rolls. This spacing eventually led to several open shots when the Celtics executed swift find-and-reversal passes.
# P.J. Brown played cagey defense, hit a pair of big springers, and also cleaned up several messy offensive possessions with a pair of putbacks.
# The Celtics played with total unselfishness from start to finish.
However, Pierce's performance was the most important reason why Boston won. Although James surpassed Pierce in points scored (45-41), assists (6-5), and rebounds (5-4), Pierce still out-LeBroned LeBron in several ways.
# Pierce's jump-shooting was much more consistent. For example, whereas LBJ was 3-for-11 from downtown, Pierce was 4-for-6.
# Pierce was also more effective as the game raced to the wire. In fact, his steal of a jump-ball at the 47-minute mark (when James failed to seal him from where Ilguaskas was obviously looking to tap the ball) proved to be the single most important defensive play of the game.
# By comparison, during the last few minutes James shot an air ball, missed a triple, and misfired on a crucial free throw.
# Indeed, Pierce's performance was actually Bird-like.
On the flip side, the Celtics will have to improve several aspects of their game when they square off against the Pistons.
# Pierce appears to be the only Celtic who is ready, willing, and able to assume the burden of his team's offense. Meanwhile, Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace are all capable of being Detroit's go-to scorers when a game is on the line. This makes Boston easier to defend in such situations.
# If Ray Allen had so much trouble getting his shots in gear against the likes of Wally Szczerbiak and Sasha Pavlovic (and also against the Cavs' constant two-timing), imagine how much the quick, long-armed defense of Hamilton will dismay him.
# Allen will likewise have more difficulty defending Hamilton's perpetual motion than he did against the plodding offense of Szczerbiak and Pavlovic.
# Rondo's mistakes will be fatal against Billups.
# Rasheed's length and quickness will pressure KG more than did Ben Wallace's strength.
# Given that Brown can out-slick Jason Maxiell, Rodney Stuckey's power and aggressive offense will be too much for Rondo, House or Sam Cassell.
Are the C's ready for Chauncey Billups and the Pistons? (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
# The Celtics were often burned whenever Cleveland ran screen-and-pops. Fortunately, Szczberbiak, Pavlovic and Damon Jones missed many more uncontested jumpers than they made. But the Celtics could be murdered by the Pistons' much more reliable shooters if they don't rectify this state of affairs in dramatic fashion.
# Against Detroit, the ball must be kept out of Perkins' hands, unless there's a layup or a short (very short) jumper in the offing. His inability to make precision passes will turn into fast-break layups going the other way.
# Unlike the Cavs, the Pistons have a real point guard in Billups, who unlike Delonte West can run an offense with maximum efficiency.
The Pistons certainly have the ways and means to win a game (or two) in Boston, which means the Celtics can't afford to take any games off in Detroit. However, it should also be noted that the Pistons suffer from the same game-to-game lack of focus that afflicts the Celtics.
So give the Pistons the edge because of their offensive balance, and what could be a mismatch at the center position. The Celtics, of course, have the home-court advantage, which seems more advantageous now than ever.
What the Detroit-Boston series may very well come down to, though, is the consistency of focus and intensity that these two superior teams will bring to every minute of every game.
That's why anything less than another seven-game go-round will be disappointing.
msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8153082/Pierce,-Celtics-have-to-buckle-down-vs.-Pistons
