Re: Does anyone expect any different than a Heat/Lakers final?
Quote:
Originally Posted by bokes15
Agreed. No real inside presence. They really got away with a center rotation of Bosh/Haslem/Anthony/Bron/Miller/Battier. Basically they went small the whole series because the Thunder bigs don't really pose much of a threat in the paint. If they played the Lakers on the other hand they'd have their hands full with Gasol/Howard. And they'd also have less than favorable matchups with guys on the other side of the ball with Artest roughing up Lebron and Kobe probably having to take on D-Wade.
Of course OKC would be more favourable matchup but kobe/artest cant stop lebron/wade.Actually OKC wing defenders are better than lakers.Miami will have significant advantage against lakers wings.
Lakers advantage is the best big man duo since spurs duncan/robinson
Re: Does anyone expect any different than a Heat/Lakers final?
Quote:
Originally Posted by arifgokcen
Of course OKC would be more favourable matchup but kobe/artest cant stop lebron/wade.Actually OKC wing defenders are better than lakers.Miami will have significant advantage against lakers wings.
Lakers advantage is the best big man duo since spurs duncan/robinson
People overrate the value of wing defenders, big time. No great perimeter defender is gonna "stop" a great offensive perimeter player when he's on. An "on fire" Kobe won't be stopped by say Thabo or Battier either. In the same way an "on fire" Bron or Wade won't be stopped by any ONE guy either. The job of the perimeter defender is just to contain the guy, try to get a hand in his face and if he's gonna pass you, force him in one direction or the other and if there's a great help defense behind you, it makes you look that much better. So a team like LA has solid perimeter defenders already but now they're gonna have Dwight and Pau in the paint to rotate and take away those easy lanes that Bron/Wade had against Boston/OKC.
Re: Does anyone expect any different than a Heat/Lakers final?
In the East I think Miami is quite clearly the runaway favorite (as many have already mentioned). Barring a serious injury to one of the big three there's no reason to believe the Heat won't simply get better with a deeper squad and that championship confidence.
In the West, it's more wide open than a lot of people think. Here is how I see it as far as most likely to make the Finals:
The two favorites (with serious flaws):
1 Thunder
2 Lakers
The borderline contenders, mix of the new guard and the old. Teams with serious flaws and serious advantages that can put them over the top (superior coaching and veteran leadership from the Mavs and Spurs, and top flight talent for the Grizz and Clippers with coaching flaws):
3 Spurs
4 Clippers
5 Mavericks
6 Grizzlies
I honestly believe any of these bottom four could knock off the top 2 in a 7 game series (if healthy). And, with that being said, the Finals could be a combination of any of these teams and the Miami Heat (With the Heat in all likelihood coming out on top once again).
Re: Does anyone expect any different than a Heat/Lakers final?
Quote:
Originally Posted by FinishHim!
People overrate the value of wing defenders, big time. No great perimeter defender is gonna "stop" a great offensive perimeter player when he's on. An "on fire" Kobe won't be stopped by say Thabo or Battier either. In the same way an "on fire" Bron or Wade won't be stopped by any ONE guy either. The job of the perimeter defender is just to contain the guy, try to get a hand in his face and if he's gonna pass you, force him in one direction or the other and if there's a great help defense behind you, it makes you look that much better. So a team like LA has solid perimeter defenders already but now they're gonna have Dwight and Pau in the paint to rotate and take away those easy lanes that Bron/Wade had against Boston/OKC.
I agree. People forget that 2011 Marion, Kidd, Stevenson were all able to contain and even embarrass Lebron and Wade.
Re: Does anyone expect any different than a Heat/Lakers final?
