Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant and the Lakers' Five Toughest Playoff Matchups
Now 9-1 since the All-Star break and trailing the Dallas Mavericks by just a half-game for the No. 2 seed in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers appear to finally be firing on all cylinders.
With just 15 games remaining, LA probably needs to finish 13-2 to have any chance of beating out Boston for home-court advantage over the East in the Finals.
It's perfectly reasonable to assume the Lakers can close the season out on that type of run, however, the recent ankle injury to Kobe Bryant could make things much more difficult.
The Lakers play 11 of their final 15 games at home, so the schedule certainly allows them an opportunity to get to 60 wins.
With the playoffs just one month away, we've decided to take a look at the five toughest matchups the Lakers could be faced with in the postseason.
5. Dallas Mavericks
1 of 5
Saturday's win over the Mavericks was easily the Lakers biggest win of the season because not only did it pull them to within a half-game of the Mavericks for the No. 2 seed in the West, it also gives them the opportunity to win the head-to-head tiebreaker if they can beat them at Staples on March 31st.
This season, the Mavericks have displayed a newfound commitment on the defensive end. Bringing in Tyson Chandler gives the Mavericks a defensive-minded, shot-blocking center that can help make things a little more difficult for Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol inside.
However, that seems to be less and less the case as Bynum continues to get healthier and assert himself offensively. In Saturday's win, Bynum had 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 15 rebounds while playing a team-high 37 minutes. Chandler played 35 minutes and contributed just four points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Dirk Nowitzki is certainly a tough matchup for any team, but he isn't exactly a defensive-minded big man who is going to slow down the likes of Bynum, Gasol and Lamar Odom.
The Mavericks do have some decent depth with Sixth Man of the Year favorite Jason Terry and his ability to score 25 points on any given night. They have also witnessed the rebirth of Shawn Marion, who had 25 points and 12 rebounds against the Lakers on Saturday.
For Dallas to have any chance of knocking off the Lakers in the second round, they must have home-court advantage; even then, it seems highly unlikely that they will be able to slow down a team on a mission to three-peat.
4. San Antonio Spurs
2 of 5
The Spurs fell to No. 4 on our list after they were completely embarrassed at home by the Lakers on national television, 99-83. The score wasn't nearly that close, as the Lakers led the game by 30 points in the second half.
The Spurs can potentially be a tough matchup for the Lakers for a couple of reasons. They boast an elite point guard in Tony Parker, giving them a huge edge at that position over Derek Fisher and Steve Blake. They also have some nice depth with players such as George Hill, Gary Neal, DeJuan Blair, Matt Bonner and Antonio McDyess.
Manu Ginobli is also having an incredible season and can sometimes frustrate Kobe into an off-shooting night with his cheap defensive tactics.
I think the main reason why the Spurs don't scare the Lakers is the simple fact that the inside combination of Bynum and Gasol is significantly better than Tim Duncan and DeJuan Blair. And as we all are well aware by now (since Kobe had reminded us a thousand times this year), the playoffs will come down to defense and rebounding.
And with the Lakers' size inside, especially with a dare-I-say-dominant Andrew Bynum, who can realistically match up with the two-time defending champs?
3. Chicago Bulls
3 of 5
At 47-18 overall and trailing the Celtics by just a half game game for the top seed in the East, I think it's time to finally start giving the Chicago Bulls the credit they deserve.
For whatever reason, we've been slow to acknowledge this team as one of the league's elite, most likely because they haven't there in so long.
This is a team that went 41-41 the last two seasons, barely sneaking in the playoffs as a No. 7 seed and a No. 8 seed. But who can forget two years ago when they took the Celtics to the brink of elimination in the first round by forcing a Game 7 in Boston?
Derrick Rose averaged nearly 20 points per game in that series as a rookie and he's quite possibly the best point guard in the game today. Much like Tony Parker, the Lakers have absolutely no answer for Rose and this gives the Bulls a major advantage.
Combine this edge with the fact that the Bulls are tied with the Celtics for the league lead in points allowed, giving up just 91.3 points per game, you can see why this team will be a very difficult out come April.
Tom Thibodeau brought his defensive blueprint from Boston with him to Chicago, and with guys like Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer inside, the Bulls are making life very difficult for their opponents. Not to mention the fact that Luol Deng is having one of the best seasons of his young career, averaging 17.6 points per game.
The Bulls will have a tough road to get to the Finals, likely having to defeat Miami and Boston back- to-back, but if they do make it that far, you can guarantee Phil Jackson and the Lakers will not take them lightly.
2. Miami Heat
4 of 5
The Heat are the only team to beat the Lakers since the All-Star break, wining 94-88 in Miami to complete the two-game season sweep. The Heat played liked their season depended on it (because it did), and they were able to stop the bleeding of a five-game losing streak.
They benefited greatly from three straight no-calls at the end of the game, but such is life on the road in the NBA.
The Heat are going to be difficult for anyone to beat four times because they boast two of the top five players in the world in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who along with Chris Bosh combine to average 70 points per game.
The Heat are a tough matchup for the Lakers because they love to play "small ball," and if they are able to dictate the tempo of the game by imposing their will and forcing their opponent to play their style of ball, you can't win.
I don't think the Heat will be able to beat the Celtics (and maybe not the Bulls) in a seven-game series because the playoffs are played at a much slower pace in a half-court setting where every possession is critical.
Although the Heat play outstanding defense as well, they are still a year or two away from being able to compete for a title due to their lack of an offensive post game inside. If Udonis Haslem is able to return for the playoffs, he will certainly help, but they simply don't match up with the Lakers' stable of giants.
1. Boston Celtics
5 of 5
Come on, who else did you think I was going to put here? There is no greater motivation than losing a Game 7 in the NBA Finals to your greatest rival. Not only did the Celtics have a 3-2 lead in the series, they led by 13 points in the second half of Game 7, before falling 83-79.
After fuming all offseason, the Celtics are 47-17 this year and have made it clear they want revenge. They have every intention of playing Games 6 and 7 in Boston this June and have a three-game lead over the Lakers for home court with just 18 games remaining.
They traded for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic, giving them two more scoring options to try to close the gap on the Lakers when it comes to offensive firepower. The Celtics' balanced attack now gives them seven players who average in double figures, making them nearly impossible to guard.
However, with their recent trade of Kendrick Perkins, the Celtics don't match up with the Lakers at all up front, and it's easy to picture Gasol and Bynum dominating this team on the offensive glass. Playing without Perkins in Game 7 of the Finals last year, the Lakers grabbed a ridiculous 23 offensive rebounds, while Boston managed just eight.
I still give the Lakers a slight edge in this matchup when considering the size factor and the fact that Kobe can rest on defense for the most part while guarding Rajon Rondo, who has yet to prove he can knock down an open jump shot consistently.
I think this will be your 2011 NBA Finals and I think the Lakers will prevail four games to two.
