[The Splash DocParticipant]

I honestly think a healthy Portland team will match up best with the Lakers

Bynum-Gasol-Odom-Ratliff

Oden-Aldridge-Camby-Pryzbilia

Bryant-Artest-Brown-Barnes-Vujacic

Roy-Batum-Bayless-Matthews-Fernandez

Fisher-Blake

Miller-Johnson

who do you guys think matches up best

[llperez]

is this just from the west? If so, yeah portland rights there. BUt camby, oden and przybilla need to be healthy or at least 2 of them. If i had to pick one team in the west, i would say dallas then portland as the top 2.

[stanford hoops]

id want to pick dallas but they seem to change when playoff time roles around

in the west i think id have to agree with protanland but i think they dont match up as well as yeasr past now that the lakers actually have a bench, but probably still better then the other teams out west

[sammybuckeye13Participant]

The Jazz have a good backcourt matchup relative to most teams, as DWill is infinitely better than Fisher (although Fish is still an above average defender) and Raja Bell is a top-notch defender and gets super hyped playing against Kobe. Neither are especially strong at the 3, and Jefferson (the only player to average 20 and 10 over the past three seasons) is a nice counterpoint to Gasol, although it isn’t an ‘advantage.’ The Lakers best Utah at C but a healthy Okur can be dangerous. 

[JoeWolf1]

If Bass played to his potential, I’d say Orlando, they need that athletic defender at sf/pf off the bench, but he didn’t show up last year. On paper I’d say the Magic match up best. They can put Peitrus on Kobe, D. Howard in the middle, plenty of offense and a deep bench.

[KU FANParticipant]

LAKERS ALL DAY EVER DAY

[stanford hoops]

jazz win a game or two max. they are no match for the lakers. jefferson just replaces boozers numbers but a worst defender as far as post defense. so the jazz arent much different then they have been just adding bell but lost matthews korver and ronnie

[llperez]

as a laker fan, jazz dont worry me at all. Jefferson struggles against the lakers length and the wing position is still not up to par with the elite west teams unless ak is near all-star form.

[omphalosParticipant]

Yeah Jazz simply don’t have the size to compete with the Lakers, terrible matchup there.

When you talk about matching up well with the Lakers you need a couple of things; size, length and a great wing player.

In the West, I’d say Portland are the best matchup when healthy. But depending on the development of Cousins, the Kings could give them some trouble; they have size in Dalembert, Cousins and Whiteside, two of whom are great shot-blockers, and a star wing player in Tyreke Evans who will make Kobe or Ron-Ron work to defend him; when you consider how well they played against the Lakers without the 3 frontcourt players I mentioned above, I can see a series between Kings and Lakers being great fun to watch and closer than people would think.

That said, I doubt the Kings make playoffs this year.

If we are talking league-wide then it has to be the Celtics; they have ridiculous size this season and are arguably the best team at limiting superstar players over the course of a series.

[stanford hoops]

lol@kings matching up against lakers. whiteside isnt ready for playoff basketball . gasol and odom and bynum would have him fouled out by half time. same with cousins. now 3 years from now could be a different story but not right now. that series would be a quick sweep. the kings shouldnt even be mentioned right now

[stanford hoops]

lol@kings matching up against lakers. whiteside isnt ready for playoff basketball . gasol and odom and bynum would have him fouled out by half time. same with cousins. now 3 years from now could be a different story but not right now. that series would be a quick sweep. the kings shouldnt even be mentioned right now

[nateoak10Participant]

 The obvious one, Miami but I’ll bring up sleepers

 

LAC

PG – Fisher/ BAron

SG – Kobe/Gordon

SF – Artest/ Gomes

PF – Pau/ Blake

C – Bynum/ Kaman

 

GSW

PG – Curry/ Fish

SG – Ellis/Kobe

SF – Wright/Artest

PF – Lee/ Pau

C – Dre / Bynum

 

If Whiteside with 1-3 years can start yes the Kings I can see

[stanford hoops]

lol..warriors really. yall are just making stuff up to make people laugh now huh

david lee cant check you

ellis would get destroyed in a plyoff series getting posted up on the block

bynum kills dre

artest kills wright

curry struggles against fish and the laker team defense

[JNixonParticipant]

The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics.

[butidonthavemoney]

Even with a healthy AK, the Jazz simply can’t match up with the Lakers in a seven game series (unless Kobe dies).

We can match up with anybody else in the West, so we just have to hope Portland, Houston or Oklahoma City can knock the Lakers off.

[NYK2010Participant]

In the West, I’d say the best matchup would be the Blazers, Mavs and Rockets

Can’t see the Jazz matching up well they always lose to the Lakers and the last 2 years it hasn’t been that close.  Dallas should benefit having Chandler and Haywood both, Butler for the whole season also Barea and Beabois to rest Kidd during the reg. season.  Portland is probably the best matchup if Oden is healthy he is a shot blocker and a presence in the middle.  They have plenty of bigs to throw at Gasol with Camby now and Aldridge could pull Odom or Gasol away from the rim with his perimeter game.  Roy an All NBA player when he’s in the lineup the Blazers have done well against the Lakers.  Mathews, Bayless, Fernandez, and Pryzbilla give Portland 1 of the best benches in the league.  In the East, Orlando did very little to improve their team, Vince Carter isn’t a clutch player anymore and though Pietrus plays good D he can’t really slow down Kobe much.  Also I don’t see where this team can score much on the Lakers.  We’ll see how much Howard has improved offensively still unless Vince Carter or Rashard Lewis turn back the clock to a few years ago its doubtful they would make it more than  5 game series.  Sleeper matchup would be Atlanta with Bibby, JJ, Marvin Williams, Smith and Horford its too bad they lil defense and go 1 on 1 mostly.  The Celtics and Heat obviously matchup the best esp. with Rondo and all those bigs.  Miami having multiple scoring options and Wade or Lebron on Kobe during crunch time.  Also Miami players do have Finals experience with Wade, Lebron, Haslem, Arroyo, House and Big Z.

Orlando

Fisher,Blake/Nelson,JWill

Kobe,Vujacic/Carter/Reddick

Artest,Barnes/Lewis,Pietrus

Gasol,Odom/Bass,Anderson

Bynum,Ratliff/Howard,Gortat

Chicago

Fisher,Blake/Rose,Watson

Kobe,Vujacic/Brewer,Korver

Artest,Barnes/Deng,Johnson

Gasol,Odom/Boozer,Gibson

Bynum,Ratliff/Noah,Asik

Atlanta

Fisher,Blake/Bibby,Teague

Kobe,Vujacic/Joe Johnson,Crawford

Artest,Barnes/Williams,Evans

Gasol,Odom/Smith,Powell

Bynum,Ratliff/Horford,Pachulia

Okc

PG-Fisher,Blake/Westbrook,Maynor

SG-Kobe,Vujacic/Sefolosha,Harden

SF-Arest,Barnes/Durant,Mo Pete

PF-Gasol,Odom/Green,Collison

C-Bynum,Ratliff/lbaka/Kristic,Aldrich

Houston

PG- Fisher,Blake/ Brooks,Lowry

SG – Kobe,Vujacic/Martin,Lee

SF – Artest,Barnes/ Battier,Budinger

PF – Gasol,Odom/ Scola,Hill,

C – Bynum,Ratliff/ Yao,Miller

Dallas

PG – Fisher,Blake/Kidd,Barea,Beaubois

SG – Kobe,Vujacic/Butler,Terry

SF – Artest,Barnes/Marion,Cardinal

PF – Gasol,Odom/Dirk,Mahinmi

C – Bynum,Ratliff/Chandler,Haywood

Portland

PG – Fisher,Blake/Miller,Bayless

SG – Kobe,Vujacic/Roy,Fernandez

SF – Artest,Barnes/Batum,Mathews

PF – Gasol, Odom/Aldridge,Cunningham

C – Bynum,Ratliff/Oden, Camby, Przybilla

Miami

Fisher,/Chalmers,Arroyo,House

Kobe,Vujacic/Wade,Miller

Artest,Barnes/Lebron,Jones

Gasol,Odom/Bosh,Haslem

Bynum,Ratliff/Anthony, Magloire

Boston

Fisher,Blake/Rondo, West

Kobe,Vujacic/Allen,Nate

Artest,Barnes/Pierce,Daniels

Gasol,Odom/KG,Jermaine/Big Baby

Bynum,Ratliff/Perkins, Shaq

[mj23mj23besteverParticipant]

i agree wiht port land becaus of the size if 2 of the 3 centers are healthy cause u gotta have size and lenght to stand a chance against the lakers

[Jlv2010]

Boston Celtics.  Don’t be fooled by the Miami Heat’s flashiness, it is all an illusion.  Wade will be injury prone all season, Bosh will continue to put up meaningless numbers, and Lebron James will complain about his arm coincidentally when the playoffs come around.

[nateoak10Participant]

" lol..warriors really. yall are just making stuff up to make people laugh now huh

david lee cant check you

ellis would get destroyed in a plyoff series getting posted up on the block

bynum kills dre

artest kills wright

curry struggles against fish and the laker team defense"

 

I said I was going for a sleeper team. And Curry is WAY better than Fisher, and you dont watch us too much if you think Ellis gets posted up easily. You honestly just said that cause hes a small 2 but if you watched our knoew our team youd know he doesnt get posted up easily. Look at the games this year when Ellis guarded Kobe, other than 1 game Ellis played him very well. And Ron on offense is just meh at this point and so is DW. Both are good on defense so they’d cancel each other out. BYnum would overpower Dre but Dre would be too quick for Bynum in transition. Not saying GSW would beat or is nearly as good but that there matchups aren’t that bad. And Lee and Pau wouldnt be able to guard each other IMO

[Jlv2010]

Warriors suck bro.  Get over it.

[NarcParticipant]

OK…Curry is miles better than Derek Fisher. Fisher for all intents and purposes is just riding the coatails of the LA Lakers at this point. Sure he does provide leadership and he did hit those two clutch baskets in the playoffs, but he did really do much last season or the playoffs until that point.

Bryant would have his way with Ellis, I’m not even going to entertain that point.

I am honestly going to give Ron Artest the benefit of the doubt here. I know he can provide more offense than that (and may have too is Kobe’s knee isn’t up to snuff) and to me is better on defense than Dorell Wright (who IMO is an above average at best). But being the best defender on the GS Warriors isn’t say a hell of a lot.

Dre might be to quick for Bynum on transition, but he doesn’t really own too many post moves. He scores mainly on garbage buckets. And please don’t get me started on his god awful foul shooting. I hope the new coach Keith Smart works with him on that.

As far as the Warrior being a sleeper team…I don’t see it. If any Western team needs to be called a sleeper, to me its Memphis who were an eyelash out of the playoffs.

 

To get on the topic, the team that matches best with the Lakers in the West are the Blazers (if completely healthy) and the Mavericks, who added a lot to their front line this year. I don’t like the Mavs, but the signing of Chandler puts them past the 1st round at least. He provides what Dampier provided, with more mobility and athleticisim.

[HitsterParticipant]

I’d say out West, Dallas, Portland, Spurs and Thunder match up fairly well against the Lakers. Out East then I’d say Orlando and Boston are the best match ups.

Overall I’d favour Boston given their frontcourt depth, they could run specific match ups especially if Perkins gets back and use KG, JO to try and shut down Gasol. They could perhaps almost use KG as an SF to combat Artest, Odom allows PP to move to 2 and take Kobe, Rondo can also help to double team Kobe and maybe KG can come away from the paint a bit if you have a combo of Shaq, Perkins, JO and Davis inside.

 

 

 

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