I can’t believe I actually called this one right!
Boy, we look like a completely different team when Allen is hitting his shots. Rondo and Garnett and Perkins call all be mediocre and it doesn’t matter. That’s the nice thing about having the big three. They don’t all have to be on every night. Any two will do. For the most part, my analysis last week still holds, so I won’t add much.
I’m glad we’re playing Los Angeles. Not because of the historical Lakers-Celtics stuff, though that is a bonus. I think we have a better chance against them than we do against San Antonio. Fundamentally, the Lakers are a one player team, similar to Cleveland. Sure Pau Gasol is a great player. But if you can shut down Kobe, you shut down the Lakers. There are no other huge weapons to speak of. The Spurs have two or three big players depending how you count. You can triple team Duncan, but someone else will show up and kill you. Who’s going to do it on the Lakers?
Against Cleveland, you shut down LeBron you shut down the team. Sure Ilgauskis might hurt you, Wallace might hurt you, but you’ll take your chances with them. Similarly, I’ll take my chances with Odom, Walton, and Derek Fisher. (And remember that LA won game 4 under shaky circumstances. I think they still would have won, but it was not truly a 4-1 victory, it probably would have been a 4-2 victory like ours.)
Of course, this all assumes that we can shut Kobe down. Even the best defensive team of the decade is going to have a big challenge with that. Holy cow that guy is amazing.
Jordan never won without Pippen.
The best player doesn’t lose too often. Jordan won all of his finals, Shaq won all but one (the Pistons beat them), I think Duncan has won them all. Olajuwon was probably the best player on the floor during the Rockets’ title runs. Besides the Pistons from a couple of years ago, I think you have to go back to the 80s Pistons, when they beat the Magic-led Lakers (assuming Magic was better than Isiah). Before that, you’ve got to answer the question of whether Magic was better than Bird…
Did Jordan ever win the finals without Pippen? (And is Pau Gasol Kobe’s Pippen?)
“How many times does the team with the best player on the floor lose the Finals? ” Great question. I’d love to know the answer. Remember that you can’t use whether they won a championship to decide if they’re great.
I remember those same “one player team” hopeful thoughts during the Jordan era, when he took great pleasure in knocking the Knicks out of the playoffs every damn season. How many times does the team with the best player on the floor lose the Finals? Pistons over Lakers a few years ago, I guess, but it doesn’t happen often. And, oh yeah, there’s Phil Jackson, who has a ring for every finger and is now working on his toes, versus Doc Rivers. Hmmm, who has the advantage there? Anyway, I just want to see a good series. I ain’t got a horse in this race — my horse is hanging his head in disgrace at the far end of the barn.