Sharing my trip

So I've decided the best way to share my trip to Hong Kong with all my family and friends back home is to post it to this blog. Hope you all enjoy!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

2008 NBA Playoffs: Conclusion

With the end of the NBA playoffs, I've decided to come out of hibernation for a bit and just write some thoughts about the Finals.

To be honest, I was about 75/25 in favor of the Celtics winning the series when it started (mostly because of the 2-3-2 format), but I was pretty hopeful that the Lakers would win by pure willpower from Kobe Bryant (which actually never really showed up). Instead, it was the Celtics, with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen playing out of their minds (honestly, whenever Allen caught the ball and shot, I knew it was going in), taking the championship, with the Finals MVP going to Paul Pierce, deservedly so. I'm pretty happy that guys like Kevin Garnett, Allen, Pierce, PJ Brown, and others finally got their championship rings (not so much that they got them in Boston, but more on that some other time). It's not like the Michael Jordan era, when an entire generation of great NBA players didn't get a championship because MJ just had to get 6 (and Hakeem was lucky when they forced MJ to quit playing for two years and go play baseball). Guys like Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, and so many other great players that never won championships.

But, let's hope the Celtics get one and that's it, because I won't be able to stand 100,000 obnoxious Celtics fans screaming at me daily about how awesome their team is (and obnoxious is being kind). I do believe, though, that the Lakers will come back better than ever next year, and they will take down everyone. The main reasons the Lakers lost is because:

1. They had no rebounding, shot-blocking, post presence, or defensive toughness in general. Who is to blame? 100% on Pau Gasol. He's soft like a pillow, and continually gets beat up and cries about it on the court. How about you man-up and bang some bodies, Gasol? Be a man, hit the weights, and hurt somebody out there. Also, Andrew Bynum will be coming back next year, and even if he isn't as much of a force as he was the beginning of this season, he'll still be a big body to put a hurtin' on opponents.

2. They had nobody who could defend Paul Pierce. Why is this? Because he's either too strong (for guys like Kobe, Sasha Vujacic, and Trevor Ariza) or too quick (for guys like Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmonovic, or Rony Turiaf). How do they solve this problem? Ron Artest just so happens to be able to opt out of his contract this year, and Artest is one of the biggest, strongest, and quickest wing defender's in the league. Plus he also brings another scoring threat alongside Kobe. Just some food for thought.

3. They cracked under the pressure. The Lakers are very young, with everyone except Kobe and Derek Fisher never having been this deep in the playoffs. This will remedy by itself, with another year under Phil Jackson and this year's experience, they'll be ready come next June.

The Lakers do have a couple of contract issues (they're about 16 mil over the cap), and bringing in Artest will probably add around 8-9 mil, so they'll have to shed some contracts (anyone want some VladRad or Luke "SonofBill" Walton?), but I definitely think they should keep Lamar Odom. He's a great facilitator in their offense, and if he bulks up in the offseason, he'll be perfect in the center position in the triangle offense. So here's my projected lineup for the Lakers next year if all goes according to my plan (starters listed first):

PGs - Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic

SGs - Kobe Bryant

SFs - Ron Artest, Trevor Ariza

PFs - Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Rony Turiaf

Cs - Andrew Bynum, DJ Mbenga, Chris Mihm

And they go throw many variations of these positions out on the court, going huge with Artest, Odom, Gasol, Bynum, and Bryant, or going small, with Fisher, Vujacic/Farmar, Bryant, Artest, and Odom. Needless to say, the Lakers will have the best lineup, 1-12, of any team in the league. Honestly, the only throwaway guys on this team are Turiaf (energy guy with a decent mid-range jumper, but not quite tall enough and not quite fast enough), DJ Mbenga, and Chris Mihm (random big guys with little or no basketball skills). Here's my prediction: Lakers take it in 09. Till next random occasion when I choose to write.