2011 NBA Playoffs: Lakers Have Extremely Favorable Matchup Against Mavericks

Folks, this might be over as soon as it starts. 

After defeating the upstart New Orleans Hornets in six games, the Lakers now face the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Although Dallas finished third in the West this year with 57 wins and were levels ahead of the Hornets in the regular season, this matchup may be so favorable for the Lakers that it may only last four or five games.

Let's break it down.

The Lakers struggle against teams that are strong at point guard. This is why the Hornets gave the Lakers fits. Derek Fisher is not known for his defense, especially at his age. Fast, quick point guards exploit this weakness. This is why Chris Paul had field days against the Lakers in the first round. 

However, Dallas' point guard is Jason Kidd. Although he has a high basketball IQ and is an unbelievable distributor, he has reached the twilight of his career. He no longer has the legs that he once did and this is a great advantage for the Lakers. It won't be difficult for the Lakers to contain Kidd. Mavericks backup point guard J.J. Barea has also historically struggled against the Lakers, never scoring more than 12 points in the last six meetings. 

Not having to face a guy like Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, or Rajon Rondo will be a huge reason why the Lakers will win this series easily.

The next major problem for the Mavericks is that they don't have anybody that can stop Kobe. Which team does though? But for the Mavericks it's a detrimental issue. Rodrigue Beaubois is definitely not the answer to this situation.

And if Kobe's ankle hinders his gameplay, the Lakers can always go down low and this is the main reason why they will dominate. 

Andrew Bynum.

Forget that the Lakers already have one 7-foot specimen in Pau Gasol, who has turned the corner and is playing much more physically in the last few games. The Lakers other monster is Andrew Bynum. His 18-point performance which lead to the blowout against the Hornets in Game 6 is another example of how easily the Lakers can win games when Bynum dominates. Bynum was up against former first-round pick Emeka Okafor in that series and he dominated him.

In this series, he goes up against Tyson Chandler. With all due respect to Chandler, his physicality does not match Andrew Bynum's. Also, Chandler's offensive talent is limited compared to Bynum's.

The Lakers will definitely have to worry about Dirk Nowitzki. But Dirk is a guy who is more reliant on his outside game. He's a finesse power forward like Gasol. This will give Gasol a break. He doesn't have to go up against a tough, physical power forward who will wear him down. He's pretty much going up against a guy like himself. Not to say that Dirk Nowitzki is soft, but guarding Kendrick Perkins down low is a lot more challenging for Gasol, and it makes him uncomfortable. 

All of this and no mention yet about the Lakers X-factor players. Ron Artest had a phenomenal series against the Hornets on both sides of the ball. He has proven that when playoff time comes around, his game elevates. He showed this last season in the final two rounds and he is showing it again this season. He will undoubtedly continue his tough physical play on defense and give the Mavs fits. 

The Mavs' bench is very solid, with veterans like Peja Stojakovic, Shawn Marion, and Jason Terry. However, the Lakers match it with the sixth-man of the year Lamar Odom, who averaged 12 points in the first round, and a highly skilled defender in Matt Barnes. Barnes will be huge for the Lakers when they have to guard Jason Terry, and he'll give Kobe a break. 

Finally, the Lakers already received a scare. Complacency probably set in during both of those losses against the Hornets. They are 100 percent focused now. We saw it last year, too. After the Thunder sent their series against the Lakers to six games, the Lakers responded with a four game sweep of the Utah Jazz. The Jazz were also a team that the Lakers matched up very well against so it really wouldn't be a surprise if we see another sweep or quick series here against Dallas. 

Overall, the fact that the Lakers don't have to deal with a slashing point guard, their huge size advantage, and solid play from X-factor players like Ron Artest and Lamar Odom will help the Lakers make this a quick series. In the Hornets series, New Orleans made the Lakers uncomfortable because it was a bad matchup. Chris Paul ate up Derek Fisher. Carl Landry and Emeka Okafor showed they were a force to be reckoned with down low. And Trevor Ariza was out on a mission against his former team. 

This time around the Lakers play a team whom many thought wouldn't even make it past the first round. The Lakers should play each and every game with 100 percent effort and with no complacency so they can finish it off early. 

Rest will be important for a possible showdown against the Thunder in the Conference Finals!