# Can the Lakers beat the Magic or Cavs?



## Piolo_Pascual (Sep 13, 2006)

I think it will be an Orlando/LA series but for the sake of fairness ill leave the Cavs in this conversation for the meantime. But really, lets talk aboutLA's chances in beating Orlando.



The Magic scares me the most. They are the # 1 rated defensive in the league. They have a premier big man and a reigning DPOY. They have big time clutch players in Hedo and Lewis and the Lakers being the inconsistent defensive team that they are seems to be unfavorable when it comes to defending the three point line. Additionally, Pietrus and Lee are very good defensive players. I would say they will give Kobe fits similar to what Houston did. They are also a very good road team, so in a way the Lakers HCA is negated by this fact IMO. I look at them and they eerily seem to share a few characteristics from Boston of last year. 



So, in all honesty, how do you like our chances against Orlando or even Cleveland if you may?


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## AgeOfCJ24 (May 29, 2009)

I think that whoever we play whether it be Orlando who should be able to win this series or Cleveland that the Lakers will be able to win the series. Let's not forget that last year we were playing a team with 3 future hall of famers and that LA didn't have Bynum. So I think we are more mentally tough and we have all of our talent so we should be able to win the Championship.


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## Ballscientist (Nov 11, 2002)

Magic is a better team. J Nelson will be back soon.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

I'd rather the Lakers play the Cavs......

Could you picture Gasol guarding Howard right now? Yikes.. Bynum's playing better as the playoffs progress but he's no where near what he was before the injury so he'd probably just foul out against Howard.

Add to the fact that Orlando is a scary three point shooting team... An area defensively thats always given the Lakers trouble. 

That being said, both teams would be tough. Lakers can be either though.


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## clien (Jun 2, 2005)

gasol is a lazy defender, i fear what howard would do to us


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## DANNY (Aug 9, 2005)

i like our chances against both team but agreed with darthbryant. rather play the cavs than the magic.

pau played well against howard during the regular season but thats before the league found out he had a decent set of post moves. its going to be very hard to stop him from getting his share of points.

only positive i see is that the magic dont have a pg that can kill the lakers. even if nelson comes back, he won't be 100%.


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

The Magic can effectively run pick n' roll and find open shooters. These are two things we tend to struggle greatly defensively. The only positive to playing the Magic over the Cavs is the homecourt advantage.


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## Piolo_Pascual (Sep 13, 2006)

I dont know if HCA matters much with Orlando. They beat Philly and Boston at their turf in elimination games and they almost won 2 games at QL. Im more curious with the matchup. Who guards Hedo and Shard? Will Phil stick with a Pau and Dwight match-up if Bynum gets into foul trouble? Will Powell see some minutes against Gortat?


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## lakeshows (Mar 17, 2009)

I think the Lakers would be the favorites against either one of these teams. I don't think either one of the teams can stop the Lakers. The only shot is for the Magic if Pietrus check Kobe effectively without needing a double. I don't think the Cavs would have a chance becasue they have no inside presence. The only way to beat the Lakers is beat up their bigs a little and play amazingly tight D. That's what Boston did last year, and what the Rockets almost did.

I'll be watching and this will be Kobe's chance to cement his legacy.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

I really think the Magic are going to shoot us to death. On the otherhand, Kobe is going to get warn down having to go down the stretch dealing with lebron each night.


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## Lynx (Mar 6, 2004)

Match up wise, Cavs would be better suited for us. Closing out shooters is one of our major weaknesses, and shooting is Orlando's primary strength. If Magic does make it to the Finals, then Odom needs to start at PF, and Bynum should come of off the bench. Gasol and Lewis match up also favors Orlando.


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## Piolo_Pascual (Sep 13, 2006)

Cris said:


> I really think the Magic are going to shoot us to death. On the otherhand, Kobe is going to get warn down having to go down the stretch dealing with lebron each night.


Agree. Pick your poison as they say. Id pick a one man battle with Lebron though.




Lynx said:


> If Magic does make it to the Finals, then Odom needs to start at PF, and Bynum should come of off the bench. Gasol and Lewis match up also favors Orlando.


Wait, confused here. So who are you suggesting to guard Dwight?


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## Lynx (Mar 6, 2004)

OMGBaselRocks said:


> Wait, confused here. So who are you suggesting to guard Dwight?


Gasol.

Odom with his length would be able to keep Lewis at Bay.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

Not worried about either team. 

Howard will have trouble defending against our precision offense he can be in only one place at once and as soon as we draw him away we'll get cheap basketa all game long rather putbacks or cuts to the basket. 

The cavs are great defensively when you have players on the court they don't have to guard when you put 5 threats on the floor their defense gets spread out and collapses. 

Kobe will neutralize Lebron and the rest of our team is just better.


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## ceejaynj (Oct 9, 2005)

I think we can beat both teams. If we play Orlando, the key to defending Dwight Howard is to deny him good positioning down low on offense...since he really doesn't have any kind of shot, and box him out...since he gets a lot of put-backs. This will be tough for our finesse bigs. DJ could see minutes against Orlando...as foul trouble for our starting bigs will most certainly be unavoidable. If we play the Cavs, our bigs fair much better against Ilgauskas...since he is a lethargic and slow moving big. However, because he can hit the outside shot...he will pull our bigs away from the hoop and hurt our help defense and defensive rebounding. So we will be challenged in the post against either team.


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## JerryWest (Jun 24, 2002)

How many points would Nelson average on Fisher if he comes back? 35 ppg on 50% shooting? 40 ppg?


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## thegza (Feb 18, 2003)

Guys, you think Howard will be as effective on offense with our front court? He wasn't nearly as effective when Kendrick Perkins was guarding him instead of Z. Also, we would have to insert Odom for a lot of minutes to guard Lewis.

I think the Magic are a "tougher" match-up for us but I do NOT want to see LeBron in the finals, period.


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## JerryWest (Jun 24, 2002)

As for the original question, the Lakers have the talent to beat both teams, although I would prefer to play the Cavs by a wide margin. Ariza can make LeBron work. Additionally, since the Cavs offense is pretty much, give to the ball to LeBron and see what happens, we don't have to worry about the Cavs PGs driving to the basket for a layup drill on Fisher as much.

Let's say Nelson is injured. Alston would probably average 30 on Fisher  Bring on the Cavs instead.


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

Howard crushed the Lakers this season.


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## Piolo_Pascual (Sep 13, 2006)

Orlando is going to P&R the Lakers to death.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

OMGBaselRocks! said:


> Orlando is going to P&R the Lakers to death.


When they are not doing that. Get the ball to howard and kick the ball out for threes times a thousand.


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## Lynx (Mar 6, 2004)

Bartholomew Hunt said:


> Howard crushed the Lakers this season.


Just one game at home against Lakers.

Lakers lost both games under 10 pts. Also, we still had Vlad, Mihm on our roster.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Lakers will have to make sure and contain the three point shooting, more than Howard.

Howard is going to get his points.... He's a monster.. The best we can hope for is Bynum doesn't foul out by the first quarter and just at least slow down Dwight, cause no one's gonna stop him. 

It's the three point shooting the Lakers are going to have to step up against. No secret how poorly the Lakers defend the outside, and a team like the Magic look to exploit that.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Another question I have is.. We may not have an answer for Howard...

But who is going to stop Kobe on the magic?


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## Lynx (Mar 6, 2004)

Darth Bryant said:


> Another question I have is.. We may not have an answer for Howard...
> 
> But who is going to stop Kobe on the magic?


Hedo and Pietrus


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## HB (May 1, 2004)

ceejaynj said:


> I think we can beat both teams. If we play Orlando, the key to defending Dwight Howard is to deny him good positioning down low on offense...since he really doesn't have any kind of shot, and box him out...since he gets a lot of put-backs. This will be tough for our finesse bigs. DJ could see minutes against Orlando...as foul trouble for our starting bigs will most certainly be unavoidable. If we play the Cavs, our bigs fair much better against Ilgauskas...since he is a lethargic and slow moving big. However, because he can hit the outside shot...he will pull our bigs away from the hoop and hurt our help defense and defensive rebounding. So we will be challenged in the post against either team.


The Lakers are in a world of hurt. Gasol and Bynum cant guard Dwight. He's too strong and quick for both. Then there's the perimeter to worry about. They just have way too many weapons. The Lakers would have fared better against the Cavs.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Lynx said:


> Hedo and Pietrus


I assume this is sarcasm...? 

My sarcasm detector is broken so..


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

Guard Howard one on one and stick with the shooters.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Bartholomew Hunt said:


> Guard Howard one on one and stick with the shooters.


I agree.. Howard will get 30 a night, but so will Kobe.

All that matters is Lakers prevent the Magic from raining in the three's.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Darth Bryant said:


> I assume this is sarcasm...?
> 
> My sarcasm detector is broken so..


They are going to let kobe go off, and try to stop everyone else. Exactly the same as against the cavs. Except hopefully our supporting cast realizes we're playing at staples and not in Florida for game one.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

Cris said:


> They are going to let kobe go off, and try to stop everyone else. Exactly the same as against the cavs. Except hopefully our supporting cast realizes we're playing at staples and not in Florida for game one.


this won't work because we have players who can post up in Pau, LO and Bynum. 

And we have 2 pg's who can create their own shots in Farmar and Brown and Ariza is a slahser as well. 

Their defense against the Cavs stiffs on the perimeter won't work against us. 

Our bigs all can get 20 if let unguarded or lightly guarded. 

The Magic team is tailormade for the style we play. 

I will be bitterly disappointed if we don't win the title this season. More than any other time.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

jazzy1 said:


> this won't work because we have players who can post up in Pau, LO and Bynum.
> 
> And we have 2 pg's who can create their own shots in Farmar and Brown and Ariza is a slahser as well.
> 
> ...


I am not nearly as optimistic as you. However, I hope so.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

Cris said:


> I am not nearly as optimistic as you. However, I hope so.


Not taking anything away from the Magic but if we can't beat them then we should be broken up immediately.

we are as versatile as they are, no toughness issues to worry about,only execution things and Kobe being his normal clutch self and PJ making the right adjustments.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

If i'm the Lakers, I attack the rim and try to get Dwight Howard in foul trouble. Orlando might have still held Cleveland in check with Howard in foul trouble, but you guys have more weapons offensively. I think you guys take it in 7, but either way it should be an outstanding series.


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## Lynx (Mar 6, 2004)

Darth Bryant said:


> I assume this is sarcasm...?
> 
> My sarcasm detector is broken so..


Of course :bsmile:

I think Pietrus would be defending Kobe because of his length. Lakers were different team when they played Orlando 5 months ago. As I mentioned earlier, we still had Vlad, Mihm on our roster. Our advantage would be at PG position, Fisher, Brown and Farmar. 

I like our chances. We need to be alert, and close out perimeter. That's Orlando's bread and butter. They live and die with treys. Lakers have defended P&R well so far in the playoffs but it might get us into trouble early in the game since Bynum is slow on rotation.

I can't wait for Thursday. Go Lakers!


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## Piolo_Pascual (Sep 13, 2006)

im starting to have butterflies in this series guys. i mean of all the teams out there, we have to face one that is just as cold blooded in clutch situations. im seriously concerned on how are we going to cover hedo and shard. i mean, as you all know, we are quite possibly the one of, if not _the_ worst team when it comes to defensive rotations, it would be heartbreaking to see our guys fight for 42 minutes only to lose that last 2 because of their inability to defend the perimeter.



though we are a better team, i still cant forget how many winnable games the Lakers lost due to their failure to defend that one area.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

i feel confident we're going to win. i think a guy like hedo is really inconsistent, and he's gonna have a 6'8 ariza on him. personally i think he'll get back into a slump. and for shard, hopefully LO can handle him without getting burned (shard probably won't try to post up on LO too much). if we can take out of their big 3 guys, then the championship is ours to have.


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## BallStateCards (Oct 14, 2004)

I say throw a big guy on Howard, but don't worry about collapsing. He's not gonna be scoring 60 or anything, and even if he is, that's still better than leaving open the shooters. Ariza on Hedo is a favorable match-up to us, I think. Hedo will have his nights, but overall he's been extremely inconsistent. He got some buckets off of driving to the basket last series, but in this series there's a lot more size around that rim to meet him. Rashard might have his moments, but he's going to have an absolutely awful time guarding legitimate threats to post up in the paint. Pietrus isn't any more scary than Shane Battier. I think the match ups between Skip/Anthony Johnson and our own three-headed attack will really be something to watch. We have a good bench, and a boatload of experience in the playoffs, it's hard for me to imagine the Lakers NOT winning this series.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

jazzy1 said:


> Not taking anything away from the Magic but if we can't beat them then we should be broken up immediately.
> 
> we are as versatile as they are, no toughness issues to worry about,only execution things and Kobe being his normal clutch self and PJ making the right adjustments.


I am worried about them getting Howard started and then him kicking out and just burning us with an onslaught of threes. That and P&R/Pick and Pop. 

If they are off, if (and a big if) we can get the boards we're fine. If they are on, :uhoh:


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

we need Bynum and Gasol to play together a lot this series. When they play together, Bynum will have to get up and down the court quickly in transition, this is Howard's best move. Getting up court before the other team's center is there. Forcing them to use Lewis to gaurd Pau should be our strategy.

We are going to need our bigs to rough up Dwight. They have to go after him hard from the get go. My guess is we see Mbenga in this series just to lean on Dwight and take some hard fouls. Make him earn it at the line, not off dunks and putbacks.

On defense, if we get burned off penetration consistently, we are toast.


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