NBA Playoffs 2010 - Page 107

On June 01 2010 01:41 Lefnui wrote:


That would be the best approach. I think that people overrate Rondo. It's true that he's strong at penetrating, passing and creating opportunities for his teammates. But he has absolutely no ability to shoot. It's amazing some of the shots he is unwilling to take. I've seen many instances in which Rondo is wide open on the perimeter with his defender 6-8 feet back just daring him to shoot and he refuses to. It's just ridiculous that any player, even a center, would have such little confidence in their shooting ability. I have no idea why certain teams play him in a default, tight man to man style. He should be treated like he's Shaq five feet out from the three point line. I think that he could be nullified then.

It would also allow Kobe to act freely as a help defender, which he is so skilled at.

On June 01 2010 04:14 Holcan wrote:




One of his most notable aspects is his determination to not allow himself to be the sole benefactor on offense, now im not saying he is a good jump shooter, and this defensive strategy isnt correct, im just saying that the reason he denies taking those shots is because its his job to facilitate and make other players look better than they actually are.

He has the ability to shoot a moderate %, he would just rather have paul pierce, kg, or allen shooting jumpers, or getting one of the big bodies moving towards the cup.

On May 31 2010 05:27 XaI)CyRiC wrote:
Rondo will almost certainly end up being guarded the way Westbrook was, i.e. Kobe defending him and daring him to shoot from the perimeter. They've done it before, so I'd expect it again. It'll come down to whether Rondo will be able to knock down perimeter shots, but I think that the Lakers will live with them even if he does start making them.

Fisher is capable of chasing Ray around, particularly in fighting through all the screen action that Boston likes to run for him. He'll get beat from time to time because Ray is still faster and more athletic, but he should do a good enough job of chasing him off the 3pt line at least.

I really like Artest guarding Pierce. Back in his Pacers days, Artest used to shut Pierce down like no one else. It was to the point that you'd sit Pierce if you owned him in fantasy basketball whenever he faced IND. Pierce isn't very quick and uses his craftiness and physicality to score, which I think Artest can deal with very well. On the flipside, Pierce can probably guard Artest about as well as any SF can with the similar amount of speed, size and strength. However, if both end up shutting each other down, the Lakers win because BOS relies heavily on Pierce's ability to score.

The battle in the paint will be interesting as KG and Pau are both some of the most versatile bigs in the league. Pau has some size on KG and KG has slowed, but KG is a much better defender and is still quicker and more athletic. Should be interesting to see how it goes, particularly since I think Pau has gotten tougher since two years ago and will be more ready for the physicality.

If Bynum were healthy, I'd give him a definite edge over Perkins, but with his injury the Lakers should just hope that he can match Perkins. Both are only expected to defend, rebound, and convert easy baskets that their teammates set them up for.

One thing that may be interesting is to see how well Tony Allen takes the role that Posey did two years ago in being the primary defender on Kobe when they need to slow him down. I remember him doing well in the regular season, but the playoffs are a different beast, particularly Kobe in the playoffs. Boston will again have to rely on some really good team defense because I don't think either of the Allens are good enough defenders to defend Kobe well. Kobe will be more ready for Boston's defense this time around, and has become more trusting of his teammates. We'll see if he's able to effectively draw double teams and find open teammates like he has been during this postseason.

On June 01 2010 06:48 Ace wrote:
Rondo not shooting isn't a huge disadvantage. Remember the Celtics have 3 future HOFs that can each iso. If it was that much of a problem I think by now someone would realize how to punish them 4 games in a series and knock them out. People have been saying this for 3 years now but no one has shown an answer for it. Imo do what the Lakers tried to do too late in that 08 series: know Rondo may not shoot, but don't always leave him open. Play for the drive. You don't leave people open because of the perception they may be terrible: at some point they'll start hitting and you'll be sorry.

On June 01 2010 04:41 Lefnui wrote:

I disagree. Although he's a generous player who makes his teammates better I don't think that's the reason he is unwilling to shoot from the perimeter. If you're a poor perimeter shooter who's being covered tightly, then by all means give someone else a touch. But if you're wide open, with your defender at least five feet back, you must be willing to shoot with confidence. There are many instances in which I've seen this, including the 2008 finals. He seems completely unwilling to shoot at moderate distances, let alone from deep. If he was a center it wouldn't make such a difference, but for a guard it's a huge disadvantage to the team.

On June 01 2010 12:44 Ace wrote:
Just want to mention that if Kobe beats this Boston team I'm going to say he definitely deserves to have more MJ comparisons. Hopefully it'll stop all the Kobe/Lebron talk.

'We just wet the bed,' said Kobe Bryant, who should never again be compared to Michael Jordan

On June 01 2010 13:32 igotmyown wrote:


Don't start that nonsense again.
---
This is such a terrible pre-finals discussion. Obviously Rondo doesn't have the greatest outside shot. Obviously the Lakers tried to exploit it last finals, and were down 40 in their must win game 6. It's not like it's some secret that no coach has ever thought of trying to use in their favor.

On June 01 2010 13:44 CSN wrote:
lebron is already the best ever to play the game. kobe and jordan cant compare.