NBA Playoffs: Kobe and LeBron Destined to Meet in the Finals?
Is it meant to be? Will arguably the two best players in the NBA meet on the league's biggest stage?
Well, it looks like the odds are in favor of such an occurrence. But in this article, I will show how a few teams have a slim chance of derailing a Kobe-LeBron show.
Portland has a lot of young talent. Also, they had many notable wins during the regular season; they beat Western powers like Utah, San Antonio, Denver, Phoenix, and the L.A. Lakers.
If they want to make it to the Finals, they have to take care of the Rockets, who are an experienced bunch. Against Houston, the Blazers must play better defense; they can't take the series with the Rockets continuing to shoot 59 percent.
But overall, my biggest concern is that they have no postseason experience whatsoever. Hopefully, the young players won't break down, and they'll continue to play like they played during the campaign.
4. San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs have played championship basketball throughout this decade adn continue to do so. I don't think you can count out a team that has such great talent and has won four titles in 10 years.
Tony Parker has been playing the best basketball of his career this season. However, the out-for-the-season Manu Ginobili was a huge part of San Antonio, and without him, some other young players like Roger Mason Jr. will have to step up even more.
This is where it gets tricky: The Celtics have an incredibly talented team, but I do not think that they are they same team without KG. I think we can all agree that if Kevin Garnett was not on the 2008 Boston Celtics, they would not have won an NBA Championship.
They still are very talented without the "Big Ticket" and have many knock-down shooters and explosive players, but one must be concerned with their post defense. I just don't think they can can defend somebody like Dwight "Superman" Howard or "Big Z" Ilgauskas.
2. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets made one of the best trades in recent memory by acquiring "Mr. Big Shot," Chauncey Billups. He does so many things for the Nuggets: He can shoot the jumper, drive to the basket, distribute the ball, and nail free throws like no other.
Denver also has a certain superstar who almost averaged 20 and 10 this season (Carmelo Anthony), plus solid bigs like Nene and Kenyon Martin. I'm worried about this team's experience level, though.
It is highly unlikely that somebody can knock out one of the two best teams in the NBA, but in my opinion, this Orlando team would be the one with the highest chances of making the Finals besides the clear favorites.
Dwight Howard has had an MVP-type season and is the best center in the NBA. Orlando's three-point shooting hasn't been terrific recently, but they still have some of the best shooters in the NBA and can recover.
There are two things missing from the Magic: an experienced point guard who can lead his team and somebody who can take over when they're down by 10 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
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