Thought of the Day
It's time to make my pick for the 2009 NBA Finals. So today, during a training session at my job that was, to say the least, about as interesting as the middle innings of a cricket game, I broke it down. I took the five positions on the court, plus benches and head coach, and graded the Magic and Lakers on a 1 to 10 scale.
But there's a twist. Each category is equal to 10, meaning the perfect score in this would be 70-0. For example, in the point guard matchup, Skip to my Lou Alston is better than the shell of Derrek Fisher, so it went 6-4 Magic. Let's just say it ended up being a lot closer than 70-0.
As I mentioned in the last paragraph, Derrek Fisher is about as visible as Bobby Fisher during these playoffs. He can no longer defend, he rarely knocks down his outside shot and he's barely even used in crunch time. Rafer Alston isn't much better, but at least he can knock down threes when left wide open. 6-4 Orlando
It's time to make my pick for the 2009 NBA Finals. So today, during a training session at my job that was, to say the least, about as interesting as the middle innings of a cricket game, I broke it down. I took the five positions on the court, plus benches and head coach, and graded the Magic and Lakers on a 1 to 10 scale.
But there's a twist. Each category is equal to 10, meaning the perfect score in this would be 70-0. For example, in the point guard matchup, Skip to my Lou Alston is better than the shell of Derrek Fisher, so it went 6-4 Magic. Let's just say it ended up being a lot closer than 70-0.
Point Guard: Derrek Fisher vs. Rafter Alston:
As I mentioned in the last paragraph, Derrek Fisher is about as visible as Bobby Fisher during these playoffs. He can no longer defend, he rarely knocks down his outside shot and he's barely even used in crunch time. Rafer Alston isn't much better, but at least he can knock down threes when left wide open. 6-4 Orlando
Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant vs. Courtney Lee
It's not even worth the 100 words to explain this matchup. It's the best scorer in the world versus a rookie from Western Kentucky. 10-0 L.A.
A couple of very interesting players squaring off. No two players have seen their stock rise higher over the past six weeks than Ariza and Turkoglu. The Lakers swingman has shown he can defend and be an effective scorer, while the Magic star has proved to be quite the clutch player. Orlando gets the edge because of all the skills of these two, none is greater than Hedu's ability to score. 7-3 Orlando
Power Forward: Pau Gasol vs. Rashard Lewis
It's not even worth the 100 words to explain this matchup. It's the best scorer in the world versus a rookie from Western Kentucky. 10-0 L.A.
Small Forward: Trevor Ariza vs. Hedu Turkoglu
A couple of very interesting players squaring off. No two players have seen their stock rise higher over the past six weeks than Ariza and Turkoglu. The Lakers swingman has shown he can defend and be an effective scorer, while the Magic star has proved to be quite the clutch player. Orlando gets the edge because of all the skills of these two, none is greater than Hedu's ability to score. 7-3 Orlando
Power Forward: Pau Gasol vs. Rashard Lewis
One thing that makes sports so fun to watch and dissect are mis-matches. Not mis-matches like the Kobe-Courtney battle, but ones like this, where neither player is comfortable playing the other. Gasol is a natural center, but since he is (to put it nicely) not the toughest of players, he move to the four. Lewis is also far from tough, but as a shooter, he's only a PF because Turk plays the three. Whoever can dictate this matchup, either Gasol forcing Lewis into the post or Lewis bringing Gasol to the perimeter, will give their team a huge edge. 6-4 L.A.
Center: Andrew Bynum vs. Dwight Howard
I've accused him many times of being a lazy wimp in the past, but the facts are, when Superman Howard tries, like he did versus the Celtics and Cavs, there's no big man even close to his talent level. Bynum's job in this series will be to force Howard to work for rebounds, limit his easy dunks and then put the All-Star on the free throw line. Good luck. 8-2 Orlando
Bench: Lakers vs. Magic
Each team uses their bench for more than just a breather for their top players. The Lakers reserves include Lamar Odom - their second best all-around player -, Shannon Brown - a better PG right now than Fisher - and Luke Walton, who perfectly understands his role in the triangle offense. The Magic bring Mikael Pietrus, the man they'll most likely have stick Kobe during crunch time and another accomplished three point shooter, off the pine. L.A. gets the slight edge, because Odom has the ability to take over a game, something no Magic reserve can do. 6-4 L.A.
Coach: Phil Jackson vs. Stan Van GundyPlayoff records --- Jackson: 295-205, nine NBA Titles ; Van Gundy 34-23, never really won anything. 9-1 L.A.
Total Score: 40-30 L.A.
Prediction: Lakers in 6
Total Score: 40-30 L.A.
Prediction: Lakers in 6
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