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Derek Fisher vs. Rajon Rondo Derek Fisher: 9 PPG, 3.2 APG, 2.2 RPG, and 81% FT in 11 seasons—and solid, veteran leadership. Rajon Rondo: 8.7 PPG, 4.8 APG, 4 RPG, and 63% FT in three seasons...

Lakers or Celtics: Who Has the Better Starters?

by Prasaad Ayyanar (Contributor)

36

928 reads

Opinion

December 04, 2008


Derek Fisher vs. Rajon Rondo

Derek Fisher: 9 PPG, 3.2 APG, 2.2 RPG, and 81% FT in 11 seasons—and solid, veteran leadership.

Rajon Rondo: 8.7 PPG, 4.8 APG, 4 RPG, and 63% FT in three seasons.

Though Rondo's numbers are comparatively better, Fisher has three championship rings, been to the Finals five times, whereas Rondo is fresh off of his lone Finals experience.

Lakers by one.

 

Kobe Bryant vs. Ray Allen

Kobe Bryant: 25 PPG, 4.6 APG, 5.3 RPG, and 84% FT in 11 seasons.

Ray Allen: 21 PPG, 3.8 APG, 4.5 RPG, and 89% FT in 11 seasons.

Bryant’s three rings trump Allen’s single ring. Additionally, Bryant is a 10-time All-Star and plays at the level of Michael Jordan. Allen is only an eight-time All-Star.

Lakers by two.

 

Andrew Bynum vs. Kendrik Perkins

Andrew Bynum: 8 PPG, 6 RPG, 1.4 BPG, and 66% FT in four seasons.

Kendrick Perkins: 5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.2 BPG, and 62% FT in five seasons.

So I give Bynum more points and the Lakers command the lead.

Lakers by three.

 

Kevin Garnett vs. Pau Gasol

Paul Gasol: 19 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 3.1 APG, and 73% FT in nine seasons.

Kevin Garnett: 20 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 4.4 APG, and 78% FT in 14 seasons.

KG’s stats are way better than Gasol’s stats. Garnett, like Bryant, is a 10-time All-Star, which beats Gasol’s single appearance in an All-Star game.

Lakers lead, 3-1.

 

Paul Pierce vs. Vladimir Radmanovic

Vladimir Radmanovic: 9.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.1 APG, 38% 3PT, and 76% FT in nine seasons.

Paul Pierce: 23 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 3.9 APG, 36% 3PT, and 79% FT in 11 seasons.

Without a doubt, Paul Pierce is a much better player than Vladimir Radmanovic.

Lakers lead, 3-2.

 

In conclusion, the Lakers starters are better than Boston, by a final margin of 3-2.

Also, we all know that with Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar, Trevor Ariza, and Sasha Vujacic starring as the bench mob, they’re much better than the Celtics' bench, who are without James Posey.

With both teams losing only two games this season, and me waiting for Christmas day, I give the Lakers the edge, and name them “Best Team in the League.”

Author Poll

DO you think Lakers are better than celtics this year?

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Author Poll Results

DO you think Lakers are better than celtics this year?

  • Yes

    44.4%

  • No

    55.6%
  • Total votes: 108
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36 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Justin Doubleday 7 months ago

    I think its completely ridiculous to say that Derek Fisher is better than Rondo now. I don't care if Fisher has more rings, all that matters is that Rondo already has one, only 2 years into the league. And in his third year, he's starting to show his potential. After a slow start, he's on fire now, culminating with his insane triple double last night: 16 points, 17 assists, 13 rebounds, 3 steals. Derek Fisher is not better than Rondo by any stretch of the means.

    Oh, and I would put Bynum over Perkins too, but remember than Perkins owned him in both regular season matchups last year.

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    • Brendan Mahoney 7 months ago

      That's just stupid. Rondo is way better than Fisher, who cares about his three rings, Rondo already got one at 22 beating who in the finals? Oh D. Fisher. Rondo consistantly shuts down opposing PG's, only having trouble with Billups and D. Williams. I wouldn't be the least bit suprised to see that trouble vanish now that this year Rondo is playing well, using hi god given speed and excellent ball-handling skills. Fisher better than Rondo, come on thats just stupid. Do a little research Ayyanar.

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  2. Joel Creager 7 months ago

    Rondo is WAAAAAY better than the Fish Flopper, but the Lakers are probably deeper.

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  3. dd bb 7 months ago

    Hey the Laker player's have more rings wow, however they no nothing about playing defense. When the pressure is on the will wilt! In addition, how many rings has Kobe won since Shaq has left the Lakers, I believe it is zero. Furthermore, until they can beat the Celtics in the finals they will be nothing but a fashion show.

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  4. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    we will have to see whether rondo is a good leader and not a flopper till the season ends..i just thought at this point based on stats Fish has slightly better edge over rondo.

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    • Justin Doubleday 7 months ago

      And why the hell did you go by career stats? What some guy did three years ago has nothing to do with what he's going to do in the future.

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  5. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    i dont think celtics will make it to the finals this year with KG getting older...i think its cavs-celts in eastern conference finals and lakers-hornets.And you know who will win the championship..lakers cavs 4-2.just cant wait to see kobe winning without Shaq and having all those who think kobe no rings without shaq is baseless..

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  6. Brian Hutchison 7 months ago

    Lol at you thinking Derek Fisher is better than Rajon Rondo.

    That's all I wanted to say.

    Go Boston

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  7. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    and you also think KG is better than pau...seriously??lol

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    • Joey Mills 7 months ago

      As a huge Lakers fan I have to say....Kevin Garnett is wwaaaaayyyyy better than Pau Gasol. Sorry, but its the truth. And Fisher can shoot better than Rondo and is better in the clutch so that is why he won that matchup, but Rondo will be way better than him next year. But we also have Farmar.

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    • Shan 7 months ago

      Definitely true, KG makes Pau look like a hair model....

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    • Justin Doubleday 7 months ago

      You seriously think Pau is better than KG, Prasaad? Wow buddy, you shouldn't be knocking anybody for their opinions. You probably shouldn't be seriously commenting.

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  8. Jabot Singleterry 7 months ago

    Being a Boston fan, I'd have to go with Boston for three big reasons: Garnett, Peirce and Allen.

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  9. Shan 7 months ago

    the real question should be who has the better bench...

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  10. Rob Costa 7 months ago

    If they both get to the Finals, wait 'til everyone sees the difference between Rondo and Fisher at that time. It's gonna be a staggering mismatch. Rondo's growing more confident week by week and his development thru the first 20 games this year is almost frightening. 16 points, 13 rebounds and 17 assists last night...are you kidding me? And I'm supposed to believe 34 year-old Derek Fisher is gonna keep this guy from getting to the hoop, whenever he wants, come June? Fisher's got no chance. This will be a bad mismatch on Christmas Day and an even worse one by the Finals.

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  11. Shan 7 months ago

    Farmar and Rondo is a better matchup

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  12. Gaz V 7 months ago

    I have to add my two cents on this, too.

    Rondo can run rings around old man Fisher. To suggest otherwise is to ignore last year's Finals as well as what each has done so far this year against their opponents. The only area in which Fisher has an advantage is his perimeter shooting, but Rondo more than makes up for that by his ability to push the ball up the court and exploit holes in the defense to create easy scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates.

    Also, those who think Bynum is better than Perkins need only look to the 23 November matchup last season in Boston, when both were healthy. See stat lines below:

    Bynum: 4 points (2 of 7), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls.
    Perkins: 21 points (8 of 10), 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 3 turnovers, 1 foul.

    The two centers met again on 30 December in LA, but Perk's shoulder was troubling him then:

    Bynum: 8 points (2 of 2), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 6 fouls.
    Perkins: 7 points (3 of 6), 7 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls.

    Consider also that Perkins has improved immensely since then, while Bynum is only getting back to where he was before the injury.

    Overall, the only area where the Lakers have a clear advantage is with the Bryant/Allen matchup, but even that disappears when Ray Allen gets hot, like he did last night in dropping a lazy 31 points on the Pacers on 11 of 18 shooting (6 of 9 from beyond the arc) while also holding Granger below his season scoring average (something Bryant could not do the night before).

    I can see the Bynum/Perkins matchup as possibly a draw. But in the remaining three matchups, the Celtics hold a decisive advantage which few would debate.

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  13. Gaz V 7 months ago

    Perhaps the main advantage the Celtics starters (entire team?) enjoy over the Lakers is the simple fact they play much better team defense. Sometimes the whole is greater than the parts...(even though the parts the Celtics have hold an advantage in individual match-ups, too).

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  14. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    Justin i do know KG is better than Paul and thats y i rated KG more than Paul but jsut for the argument sake when rondo is compared to Fish who has accomplished a lot in NBA,and as a huge laker fan i compared paul with KG..sorry!!

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  15. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    Lets wait till christmas to see who is better than who....

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  1. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    Gaz V ..if you can argue Ray allen and kobe bryant and who gets hotter and not...the whole NBA world knows Kobe is 200% better than Ray allen..i love ray allen ..his perimeter shooting and his free throw is amazing than Kobe bryan but he can never be compared to Kobe..Yeah perkins had a slight edge but with the talent that bynum had he deserved the expensive contract while perkins jsut earnign 25% of what bynum earns though money doesnt speak much,but it plays a major role in identifying who is better why teams pay more to good players..

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    • Gaz V 7 months ago

      I agree with you that Bynum is overpaid, if that is the point you are trying to make. Mark my words, the Lakers will regret offering him such big money somewhere down the track, just like the Wizards are bow regretting the HUGE contract they offered the injury-prone Arenas over the summer. Arenas is yet another in the long-list of overpaid players who rarely step on the floor.

      You can't look at the money a player earns to determine his ability. Did you know that Stephon Marbury, who the Knicks have sat on the bench most of the season, is the 2nd highest paid player in the NBA this year? Does that mean he is better than all but one other player in the NBA?

      Come on, your argument is weak. Perkins has owned Bynum in their head-to-head matchups so far and that won't change this season. Perk has quickly developed into an feared, physical interior defender who can now avoid foul trouble (something Bynum is still struggling with). He has also greatly improved his off-the-ball movement on the offensive end, so he is nearly always in position to grab an offensive rebound or receive a Rondo or Pierce dish for an easy dunk when they drive to the basket.

      My point about Ray Allen and Bryant is that when Allen gets it going he can be just as unstoppable. Now that his ankles have fully recovered from the 2006-07 surgery, Allen is taking the ball to the basket much more frequently and slamming it home. That makes guarding him very difficult at times. If you don't play him tight on the perimeter, he punishes you with a three (6 of 9 against the Pacers). But if you do play him tight on the perimeter, then he quick steps past you and drives the lane for contact (where he will make 90% of his free throws) or an easy bucket.

      If you want to keep believing that Bryant is twice as good as Allen, then I will try not wake you. Maybe in that dream the Lakers learn how to play team defense, too.

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  2. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    alryte Boston fans...lets wait and see and talk about whether perk is better than bynum after Christmas...lets hold that bynum perkins debate...but on any given bryant is twice or thrice better than allen..and NBA fans know who is dreaming and who is not if the talk is about allen better or unstoppable than bryant?? Yeah marbury is a good player but its just that his attitude and team chemistry is bad..Also who else got paid liek bynum at his age?I just woke up and wrote this..may be you wrote yours sleeping..lol!

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    • Mike Bibby 7 months ago

      if kobe is 2 or 3 time better then allen... then pierce is 8 or 9 time better then radmanovic...an garnett is 7 or 8 time better then gasol...an rondo is 5 or 6 time bettr then fisher ne nite

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  3. tuka tuka 7 months ago

    Fisher > Rondo? That may just be the funniest thing I read all day. Thanks for the laugh!

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  4. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    No Problem tuka atleast i made you laugh by making you feel that you know less about basketball..read my stats..jsut because rondo is having gr8 year doesnt mean he is better than fisher...I didnt say fisher is better than jason Kidd..its JUST RONDO!

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  5. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    Mike what did allen achieve in his career that bryant didnt achieve..but unfortunately i have 100 things to say what bryant achieved that Ray Allen just watched...
    Oh yeah ofcourse Paul Pierce is 10 times better than Vladimir Radmanovic though i am laker fan..fact is a fact..Rondo is a kid having a fantastic year thats all..that doesnt mean he is better than fisher.

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    • Mike Bibby 7 months ago

      rondo improve evry seeson so far,,, fisher is on decline.. . rondo was better then fisher LAST year an he's much better then fisher this year

      u miss my point on allen-bryant... u cant say a 10 time allstar is 2-3 time as good as 8 time allstar... both players will be hall o fame...bryant is better but not worth 2 or 3 ray allen. u embarrus urself

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  6. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    Alryte anywas u miss my point too n i m not embarassed!!....i give up..Rondo is better than fisher after all celtics fans throbbing on me

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  7. Alex Sullivan 7 months ago

    Is this article serious?
    I'd like to start by saying Rondo (twelve years younger and will get better) can take control of games. His stats are better. He is younger and faster. He is in the top 5 as a league leader in steals per game. Derek Fisher doesn't rank in the top 100. Success at the point guard position isn't measured by rings but is measured more in offensive and defensive stats.
    "Also, we all know that with Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar, Trevor Ariza, and Sasha Vujacic starring as the bench mob, THEY’RE MUCH BETTER than the Celtics' bench"
    You can argue that Lakers have a better bench but saying "they're much better" is inaccurate. The Celtics bench can hold their ground and play in key situations such as Eddie House's 3 point shooting, Tony Allen's great defense, and Davis and Powe's physical bodies on the court.
    When Christmas day rolls around I predict a Celtic win. You have the Big 3, a confident and progressing Rondo, a physical Kendrick Perkins and role players coming off the bench. Since the Celtics blew out the Lakers in the final game of the Championship, the Celtics players have gained experience and confidence and their youth and teamwork will be key components in a Christmas win.

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  8. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    I just cant wait to write an article on Christmas day..i will hold my words till then...and BTW this article is very serious Alex..i would also like to see which celtic Bench players can defend ARIZA

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    • Justin Doubleday 7 months ago

      Tony Allen will handle "ARIZA" just fine. He did a good job against Kobe last year, so there's no reason he won't be able to guard ariza.

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  9. Prasaad Ayyanar 7 months ago

    hahaha justin..posey did a good job against kobe...with posey being out...i think there is no one who can guard kobe or ariza..boston is too old to handle guys like ariza r kobe..poor celtics..

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    • Justin Doubleday 6 months ago

      DO you even know who Tony Allen is? He played Kobe excellently in the last regular season matchup last season between the Celts and Lakers. Pierce did a good job against Kobe as well. With Tony Allen back to full speed after his knee injury two years ago, and Pierce losing weight in the off season, I think the Celtics have two excellent defenders to put on Kobe.

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  10. Dracula's Buttocks has teeth 7 months ago

    Why is there even comparison being drawn between these two teams?

    Celtics 131 Lakers 92

    Nuff' said.

    Oh, and ...Fisher better than Rondo?

    How's that angel dust you're smoking???

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  11. Ling Ge 7 months ago

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/90023-lakers-vs-celtics-finals-rematch-would-see-a-lot-of-greenagain

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