The NBA’s premier matchup is tonight. So how does our faithful Lakers follower feel the Boston vs Los Angeles matchup will play out? Well, some might call it a surprise.
The NBA dream matchup soiree continues tonight as the Lakers roll into Boston, after winning four road games in a row. In a stint that has given us Cavs vs. Magic, Kobe vs. The Garden (Sorry, replacing Knicks with Garden truly undermines dramatic effect considering The Knicks have only managed 21 wins this season), Lebron vs. The Garden (again), and Lebron in the Garden vs. Kobe in The Garden in the ultimate media fantasy matchup (consider how bad an NBA team has to be when two star players are billed as taking on your arena, rather than your team).
Tonight, former Jayhawk great Paul Pierce has an invite to the party.
And everyone should expect him to make a splash.
The Lakers are the best team in the NBA. In fact, the only team that can beat Los Angeles in a seven game series would be The Orlando Magic, that being due to The Magic’s propensity for shooting three’s and LA’s reluctance to guard that estranged line. That being said, The Celtics remain a force to be reckoned with and, well, they are at home. Home being The Boston (TD Banknorth) Garden, you know, The Garden that actually matters these days.
The Lakers are wrapping up an East Coast road trip, a road trip that has seen their defensive sets yield 110 PPG to opponents holding an astounding combined winning percentage of 359%. And oh yeah, they lost Andrew Bynum, who was the NBA’s player of the week before Kobe tumbled into his knee, putting him out 8 to 12 weeks. Bynum is a proven difference maker, even when his numbers aren’t great. Opponents are much less likely to slash to the basket with the big man hovering and emulating Kareem’s teachings. Expect Rondo to have his way in the lanes most of the night.
Pierce showed us what he is capable of doing to The Bynumless Lakers last year in Game 6 of The NBA Finals, which is clearly a game that has resonated with LA for the past seven months. I have in-fact, decided against celebrating St. Patrick’s day this year: That’s resonation, folks. Pierce will attack early and often tonight, forcing Phil to make a compromising decision as to whether or not he risk Kobe’s five fouls in defending Pierce, or hope Ariza can step in and cause problems for Pierce. Boston is likely planning a healthy diet of three point shots tonight, which, as I mentioned before, poses an enormous problem for The Lakers defensive sets. The Lakers have yet to acknowledge the existence of the three point line when defending teams (they’d be a shoe-in to win the ABA championship pre-68′). Ray Allen must be salivating this afternoon. I also don’t expect Boston to lose two regular season games to LA this year. Leprechaun nation would never let such a travesty happen. Plus its like 15 degrees in Boston today, these people need something to cheer about.
Why doesn’t this change my NBA Finals thoughts? Because Bynum tore his MCL. This is an injury that historically has few complications. He will be back for the playoffs and the Lakers should roll to NBA Finals glory. And all the universe shall return to a balanced, healthy being. But no matter who wins the matchup, fans and the League alike come out winners. It’s a premier matchup, inclined to revive old storied matchups. It’s passionate and unyielding with its brutal energies that sweep across either home venue. Its an excuse to not go see He’s just not that into you with your wife. Its a must see. Not to be missed.
Well, that’s my thoughts, as hard as they were to write up, I have to take the mature, journalistic path. That said, I need to go, there is a stuffed green Leprechaun perched up on toothpicks in the conference room awaiting a good old fashioned, ritualistic burn.
Cory Hedgepeth is a columnist for TheShiver.com. He currently resides in Huntington Beach, California. He can be reached at coryhedgepeth@gmail.com or his Facebook.
