Posts Tagged ‘Deron Williams Carlos Boozer’

Finally, the Lakers figure out who they play on Sunday. All the talk has been that with Utah mostly healthy, the Lakers wouldn’t want to meet them in the first round. There was a lot of talk that the Lakers might intentionally lose their last game of the season to avoid meeting Utah. There was talk that the Lakers would rather play Dallas on Sunday.

All that talk went away last night when the Lakers handed Utah a 112-125 loss to end the season. Jerry Sloan may have had the best quote of the night, per Yahoo! Sports:

“We didn’t give them much of a battle and knowing that we’re going to have to play them again, it looks pretty bleak,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “Hate to say that, but it’s one of those things.”

I hate hearing coaches saying stuff like that, but it’s music to my ears coming from a Lakers opponent. All the facts about the Lakers being “soft” have finally turned into rumors and misconceptions, especially with big Drew in the middle clogging up the lane, Trevor Ariza manning the wing, and Kobe and Shannon Brown locking down the perimeter.

Little is known about Shannon Brown other than the fact that this kid has amazing athletic ability and is a great (but not lockdown) defender. He’s jumped around between several teams, but seems to have found a home in LA, much like Trevor Ariza did last year. He’s been stellar on defense, and evidenced by his highlight reel blocks, and has been solid on the opposite end of the court. According to Phil Jackson, Brown looks to get more burn in the Playoffs as the Lakers will be facing PGs that are too strong for Jordan Farmar, and too fast for Derek Fisher. Take Ariza and shrink him down, and you have Shannon Brown. He’s the defensive minded PG that the Lakers have been looking for.

These Lakers will prove to be much tougher on the defensive end than last year’s squad. Bynum will be inside manning the painted area and blocking or altering shots. Gasol has incredible length which will be a problem for players like Boozer and Milsap. Ariza will play the passing lanes like he always does. Kobe of course, will be doing his thing. He’ll play his one man zone, and generally leave his guy open for shots but occasionally make an incredible defensive play. Farmar and Fisher may have problems, but Shannon Brown will fill in the gaps.

I don’t think anyone is more excited about this matchup than I am, especially after Deron Williams showed his bonehead side by trying to set a hard screen on Bynum last night and just bouncing off. It’s gonna be like the Showtime days again with Stockton and Malone vs Magic and Kareem. Except this time it’ll be Williams and Boozer against Kobe, Pau, and Bynum… and don’t forget about Odom off the bench. See you Sunday.

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