L.A. Lakers, Boston Celtics: Is Their Postseason Experience Overrated?
The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are still considered by most to be among the teams capable of winning the 2011 NBA championship, but apparently not in the opinion of TNT analyst Charles Barkley.
Barkley had previously hinted that he thought the Celtics' decision to trade Kendrick Perkins was a fatal mistake, but during halftime of TNT's telecast of the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks, Barkley specifically said the Lakers' age had caught up to them and they would not win the title this season.
Fellow TNT analyst Kenny Smith agreed with Barkley and said that even though the Lakers have proven they have the ability to raise their intensity level in the postseason, he still didn't see the team reaching their goal of a three-peat.
Chris Webber mentioned that Barkley and Smith's predictions may have been a little hasty, considering the Lakers had won 17 of their first 18 games after the All-Star break, but his logic failed to sway the duo.
Barkley has been wrong a time or two during his time as an analyst, but he does raise an interesting point about the Lakers and Celtics.
The NBA playoffs begin this weekend, and neither the Celtics or Lakers appear to be anywhere near postseason form.
The Lakers had lost five games in a row before Tuesday night's victory over the San Antonio Spurs, and the Celtics have looked especially vulnerable as they have tumbled down to the third seed in the east.
The prospects of the Lakers and Celtics renewing their rivalry in this season's NBA Finals appear to be slim, but recent history has taught us to never discount the importance of postseason experience.
Last season, the Celtics limped into the playoffs, and some of their late-season losses were every bit as bad as some of the ones they have suffered recently.
But once the 2010 playoffs, began Boston looked nothing like the team that had ended the regular season with a whimper, and the perception that age had finally caught up to them was replaced with universal praise for their experience.
The Lakers lost seven of their final 11 games last season and entered the playoffs with an injured Kobe Bryant and plenty of doubt about their ability to repeat their championship of 2009.
But the Lakers were also able to draw on the strength of their experience and the understanding of what it takes to succeed in the postseason.
Of course, both teams had the luxury of an extremely talented core group of players, but their experience in the postseason was a major reason that the Lakers and Celtics faced each other in the 2010 Finals.
Both teams will once again rely on that experience to carry them through the 2011 NBA Playoffs, but the circumstances are different this season, and there are doubts that experience will be enough for the Lakers and Celtics this year.
For one, the rest of the league has improved greatly from last season, and the group of legitimate title contenders is much deeper.
Last season the only real teams who harbored any serious title hopes were Boston, Los Angeles, Orlando and Cleveland. This year, the Cavaliers have been replaced by Miami, who is also joined by Chicago, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and possibly Portland.
In order for Boston to reach the Finals this season, they will likely have to defeat Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks, and then LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Heat.
If the Celtics are fortunate enough to escape those series, the rejuvenated and conference champion Bulls will likely be waiting for them in the East Finals.
The Lakers road to the Finals is just as difficult with a first-round matchup with either Memphis or New Orleans looming, and a West title matchup that could include either the Spurs or the Thunder.
Complicating matters even further is the uncertainty over what effect potential roster upheavals could have for both the Celtics and the Lakers in the playoffs.
The loss of Perkins creates a void in the middle for Boston, and injuries to Nenad Krstic and Shaquille O'Neal leaves the Celtics extremely thin up front.
The aura of toughness that surrounded Perkins will be difficult for the Celtics to replace, not to mention his defense and rebounding.
The Lakers are also dealing with injury concerns of their own after center Andrew Bynum hurt his surgically repaired right knee yet again in the Lakers win over the Spurs.
The extent of Bynum's injury will be revealed by an MRI scheduled for today, but it certainly puts a damper on the Lakers hopes of achieving a three-peat.
The mood of the Lakers was somber after Tuesday's night's game, and it underscored the notion that if Bynum is unable to compete in the postseason, the Lakers may not even reach the Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers and Celtics still have talented core players, and the fact that they are the two most experienced teams heading into the postseason does give them a slight advantage, but will it be enough this season?
