NBA Frog Preview: NBA Postseason, Part 2
There will be a part three coming soon, as I'm not going to bother writing something in advance based on the previous post-season accomplishments of the Celtics' roster.
WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS
Los Angeles vs. Utah
This series provides an interesting quirk with each team possessing a significant advantage over the other at a pair of positions. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, who are head and shoulders above their counterparts from Utah, Ronnie Brewer/CJ Miles and Mehmet Okur. While the distance between Gasol and Okur isn't that far, Gasol's all-around play (22.3 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and 2,8 blocks per game against Denver) and functionality in the triangle offense put him squarely ahead in this matchup of non-traditional centers. In fact, like in last year's playoffs, Okur struggled in Utah's first-round series against the Rockets. While his rebounding has picked up to 12.6 caroms per contest, Okur connected on only 36.8 percent of his field goals, well off his 44.5 percent mark for the season. In fact, Okur's postseason offensive numbers don't stack up well to his post-All Star numbers, when Okur posted marks of 17.0 points a night and 48.0 percent shooting.
Going for the Jazz, though, is their lethal combination of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, who are superior to Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom, respectively. Williams' size enabled him to have very successful results at the Lakers' expense this season, averaging 23.3 points and shooting 53.7 percent from the floor. Williams had a six-point stinker in one game, too, underscoring his ability to generally get shots he wants on a regular basis in this match-up. Boozer has had the occasional rough spots against the Lakers (a 6-for-15 game back in December) and his relatively poor offensive showing against Houston in the first round (16 points per game on 42.9 percent shooting) throw a tiny bit of doubt over his ability to score against the Lakers' length and size in the frontcourt.
Los Angeles and Utah ranked third and fourth in point differential over the course of the season with less than half a point per game separating the two squads. One statistic on a team-wide level that doesn't bode well for Utah is that the Jazz commit the most fouls in the league at 24 per game, leading to their opponents taking 30.1 free throws per game. Kobe Bryant will be shooting a lot of them. The Lakers took home victories in three of the four contests, including the only battle after the Gasol trade, which came in Salt Lake City, which bodes well for them.
PREDICTION: Los Angeles in 6.