Lakers-Bulls: A Preview

Tonight, the Los Angeles Lakers meet for one of their two annual meetings with Chicago Bulls. Last year, Lakers took both games from Bulls and collectively have won last four of their five meetings. 

Games between these two teams are always intriguing, as one team had the greatest player of all time, and other has the player who some thinks might pass him one day. All in all, it should be a good game to watch, with a few interesting matchups.

First, let's take a look at both teams progress in this young season, and then we'll move on to the individual matchups.

Chicago Bulls

They currently stand at 5-5 mark. But don't let that fool you. This team has been playing good ball and are better than what their record is showing. Their losses have came at the hands on teams Boston, Orlando, Cleveland (twice), and Atlanta. Three of five losses are with less than 10 points and two of the losses are five points or less.

This team could easily be sitting at at 7-3 mark. This team is led by a promising young point guard Rose, coupled with some veteran players like Gordon, Deng, and Gooden.

Los Angeles Lakers

They currently stand at a 7-1 mark with their lone loss coming at the hands on Detroit Pistons last Friday. Some thinks of them as the best team in the league, and definitely a front-runner to win the championship this year. This team has the best player in the league in Kobe Bryant, who has the help of veteran players like Gasol, Fisher, and Odom. 

This teams probably has the deepest bench in the league, as they can go 12 deep any given day. Heck, one of these night, they might even let Jack Nicholson play last few minutes of a blowout game. All in all, this team is stacked from top to bottom, with at least two deep on any position.

Let's break the individual matchups that will be seen today.

PG:  Derek Fisher vs. Derrick Rose

This one is definitely one of those "old dog vs. young blood" type of battles. Fisher is as smart of a role player as there is in this league, and Rose is as promising of a young point guard as this league has seen in a while.

One has all the court vision, athleticism, and play-making abilities you want in one, while the other one great at playing sound man-to-man defense and great team defense. Their jobs are completely different for their respective teams, as Rose tries to break the defense down with dribble and dish or look for his own shot if nothing is available.

Fisher, on the other hands, brings the ball up the court and passes it into the post to Bynum or Gasol, and then let the offense run through them and wait for a kick out from them for an open jumper or a three.

Rose wont have to worry too much about guarding Fisher and chasing him around all day, so he should have lots of energy left for the offensive side of the game.

SG: Kobe Bryant vs. Ben Gordon

Gordon has been on a tear as of late. He has had some good offensive games that has helped bring some W's to his team. He is averaging a team high 21.3 ppg with 47 percent FG percentage and 41 percent from downtown.

On the other side though, he has to worry about the best and complete offensive player in the game in Kobe Bryant. Good thing for Gordon, Kobe shot has been off a little this season, but I don't know how much you can rely on that, as he can get hot in a hurry. 

Also, Kobe (when he wants to) can play best man-to-man defense on his opponent and has been putting forth the effort to play more lock-down defense on opponent's guards. 

So look for Kobe to chase Gordon all around the court, trying to harass him and use his strength and length to make Gordon take some difficult shots.

SF: Vladimir Radmanovic vs. Luol Deng

Deng probably has the toughest job on anyone today. Not only will he relied on to put some points up on the board, but he will be asked to chase around Kobe on offense for the better part of the game. 

Don't look for him to back down though, as he has made Kobe's nights difficult on more than one occasion in the past. Vlad will be asked to do what he does best and that is shooting the ball. 

He is in the starting lineup for one reason, and that is to stretch the floor with his three-point shooting and making or missing, teams have to honor him by staying up on him instead of doubling up on Gasol or Bynum down low.

PF: Pau Gasol vs. Drew Gooden

Gooden will be asked to keep the Spaniard off the boards and try to keep him away from the block, as he has a good post move and can shoot with the either hand. Teams rather have him take the 15-footer with a hand in his face rather than keep him on the block and try to stop him there.

Gooden plays solid defense and is good on boards when he is on the floor. 

He will be called upon to slow down Gasol. If he can't keep his men in check, look for the Lakers to go to Gasol down low early and often, as they have been going away from it for a few games now.  This matchup might determine how this game goes.

C: Andrew Bynum vs. Joakin Noah

Bynum is an emerging star player who is the future of this Los Angeles team. But his game is not quite polished yet. His main job is to anchor this team's defense and get rebounds. Most of his scoring comes from put backs or if he gets a deep post on his man. 

He can score from either hand in the post with his soft touch and has been showing a little 10-15-ft. jumper this season. Noah game is a good rebounder in the limited time he is one on the floor. His job will mainly be to keep Bynum off the boards and away from those lobs he receives from his teammates.

Bench

This is where the battle might be decided, although I do believe Chicago does have one of the better benches in the Eastern Conference (at least on paper). Lakers, on the other hand, probably the deepest bench in this league (I am sure some Utah fans might disagree).

Chicago has Thomas, Nocioni, and Hughes coming off the bench, and any of them can be a starter on just about any team. Hughes can be a very productive offensively if his shot is falling. Thomas will share some of the burden of Gooden and Noah on the front line. And Nocioni plays starter like minutes and his main assignment will be to help Deng harass Kobe all game long.

Lakers have Farmar, Ariza, Odom, and Sasha as main four guys. But they do have the luxury of playing players like Luke Walton or Chris Mihm if everyone gets in foul trouble.

Lakers bench, known as the Bench Mob or Minute Men (depending on whom you ask) looks to speed up the tempo of the game and get out in the open court. If Chicago can't keep these guys in check, this game might be over early.

Final Verdict

Chicago will be able to stay in this game if they can tighten up their defense against Pau and Kobe, and they do have the capability and the men needed to do the job. The key will be how good the bench play will be of both teams.