Lakers/Kings First Round Playoff Preview
Feb 10, 2014 0:24:53 GMT
Post by Jestor on Feb 10, 2014 0:24:53 GMT
Pacific Foes Face Off
The Lakers will rely heavily on Andrew Bynum
Although they had hopes of winning the Pacific and awarding Jestor his first ever division crown, the Los Angeles Lakers instead finished second behind the team-oriented Golden State Warriors and captured the #3 seed with a 53-29 record. They'll have homecourt advantage over the #6 seed Sacramento Kings, who lost their #5 seed with HCA against Denver on the very last game of the regular season. The odds would seem to favor the Purple and Gold at first blush, but is that actually true?
Point Guard
Ty Lawson vs. Jeff Teague
Lawson developed as the season wore on, eventually blossoming into an 18.9, 5.5 assist, 2 steal a game player, shooting 45.8% and 36.1% from long range and stopping 94.4% of drives while forcing 3.6 turnovers a game. Although Andrew Bynum draws all the accolades, it's Lawson who really drives the team, as is typical for a Jestorball franchise. He's a free agent, but you can guarantee the Lakers will throw a maximum contract at him and call it a day.
Teague doesn't have the hype or the reputation that his counterpart does and his 15.9 points, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals are much modest, as is his 1.7 A/TO ratio to Lawson's 2.0. But what he does have is a better shot - 50.5% and 37.5% downtown respectively, and strong defense in his own right - 90.9% of drives stopped, 2.1 TOFC, 0.8 PA/SF to Lawson's 0.9. It's going to be an interesting matchup, but the overall talent just favors the home team here.
Advantage: Lakers
Shooting Guard
Allen Iverson vs. Manu Ginobli
The Answer proved to quite literally be the answer for the Lakers' early-season SG woes, averaging 9.1 points and 0.8 steals on the season with 52 starts. 49.5% shooter, 35.1% from 3 point and 84.8% drive stop rate. He's very much the fifth starter of all the starters, but the 36 year old will do his damnedest to finally get that championship gold.
It's the battle of the highly decorated veterans here, as the 34 year old Ginobli brings his 6'6 height to bear against Iverson's small 6'0 frame. The Argentinian played a much bigger role in his team's success, averaging 15.6 points, 4.8 assists and 0.8 steals, shooting 48.1% and 40.1% from downtown. He was solid defensively as well, with an 87.9% drive stop rate and 0.8 PA/SF. No question who the bigger and better is here, and if the Kings want to have a prayer of an upset, they'll need Ginobli to step up in a major way.
Advantage: Kings
Small Forward
Danny Green vs. Terrence Jones
Green struggled with his shot early in the year, but eventually smoothed it out to 12 points and 1.3 steals a game, shooting 42.2% and 39.6% from 3 point range. Showed off his ultimate 3 and D skills by stopping 88.8% of drives with an incredible 0.7 PA/SF and forcing 2.6 turnovers. He can't go back to his chucking ways on this stage, however.
Jones took over after Wilson Chandler's injury and never surrendered the starting spot after that, averaging 6.7 points and 0.9 steals per game. Doesn't seek to score a lot, but when he does, it's accurate, to the tune of 50.8%. Terrible at stopping drives (26.9%) but he has an 0.8 PA/SF, and considering Green hangs around the perimeter, this isn't going to be so much of an issue. On the flip side, Jones is Sactown's AI in terms of fifth starter status.
Advantage: Lakers
Power Forward
Chris Bosh vs. Josh Smith
The Dinosaur is perhaps the most underrated player of the Lakers' Big Three, but ignore his 15.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals at your own peril. Bosh shot 51.3% on the season, stopped 90.9% of drives with a 0.8 PA/SF ratio, and forced 2.4 turnovers a game. Yes, he's overpaid relative to his raw counting stats, but when the team was without Bosh, they struggled their way to a .500 record when they expected to challenge for the division. Since having him back, they've flourished.
Smith's a polarizing figure, but few can doubt his counting stats this season - 15.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. But that came at 43.8% shooting, an alarming inefficiency for someone playing the big man slot. He did well defensively, with 84.7% drive stop rate, 0.8 PA/SF and 3.2 TOFC a game. This may be the matchup that decides the series, as both players have their strengths and their weaknesses, and it should be a thrilling duel to watch play out.
Advantage: Even
Center
Andrew Bynum vs. Kevin Garnett
21.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 1.5 blocks on 53.9% shooting. The reason his numbers are so low? The Lakers run conservative minutes for their starters during the regular season, and Bynum averaged just 30.8 minutes a contest. That and the team's shooting accuracy are what denied Bynum his double-double. He looked shockingly weak defensively however, stopping less than 30% of drives with a pedestrian 1.0 PA/SF ratio and forcing just 2.1 turnovers for a player who's supposed to be one of the most complete in the league.
KG definitely looked like he lost a step, but still averaged 12.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks, shooting 48.9%. 79.6% drive stop rate, 1.0 PA/SF and 2.7 TOFC clearly demonstrate that the 35 year old can still very much be a factor on both ends of the floor, but he draws a tough assignment in a bigger, younger opponent.
Advantage: Lakers
Bench 15+ MPG
Eric Maynor, Richard Hamilton, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ronny Turiaf, Kendrick Perkins
-Maynor has a 4.2 A/TO ratio and Aminu greatly improved his shooting as the season wore on, similar to Green. Every one of the perimeter players has stopped 74.9% of drives or better. Perkins will skip Game 1, but should be back for Game 2. Turiaf shot a team high 59.4% and is one of the front office's most cherished players.
Nick Young, Zach Randolph, Norris Cole
-Young brings a little 3 point pop (33.2%), but overall, this is one of the weakest benches in the league. Randolph's inefficient and while Cole brings some defense, he's not fit to run the floor.
Advantage: Lakers
Overall Outlook
While Sacramento can at least make things interesting with their starting five matched up against the Lakers, their lack of legitimate bench depth compared to Los Angeles's wealth of options means that it's a no go for them in terms of pulling the upset. Prediction: Lakers in 6
The Lakers will rely heavily on Andrew Bynum
Although they had hopes of winning the Pacific and awarding Jestor his first ever division crown, the Los Angeles Lakers instead finished second behind the team-oriented Golden State Warriors and captured the #3 seed with a 53-29 record. They'll have homecourt advantage over the #6 seed Sacramento Kings, who lost their #5 seed with HCA against Denver on the very last game of the regular season. The odds would seem to favor the Purple and Gold at first blush, but is that actually true?
Point Guard
Ty Lawson vs. Jeff Teague
Lawson developed as the season wore on, eventually blossoming into an 18.9, 5.5 assist, 2 steal a game player, shooting 45.8% and 36.1% from long range and stopping 94.4% of drives while forcing 3.6 turnovers a game. Although Andrew Bynum draws all the accolades, it's Lawson who really drives the team, as is typical for a Jestorball franchise. He's a free agent, but you can guarantee the Lakers will throw a maximum contract at him and call it a day.
Teague doesn't have the hype or the reputation that his counterpart does and his 15.9 points, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals are much modest, as is his 1.7 A/TO ratio to Lawson's 2.0. But what he does have is a better shot - 50.5% and 37.5% downtown respectively, and strong defense in his own right - 90.9% of drives stopped, 2.1 TOFC, 0.8 PA/SF to Lawson's 0.9. It's going to be an interesting matchup, but the overall talent just favors the home team here.
Advantage: Lakers
Shooting Guard
Allen Iverson vs. Manu Ginobli
The Answer proved to quite literally be the answer for the Lakers' early-season SG woes, averaging 9.1 points and 0.8 steals on the season with 52 starts. 49.5% shooter, 35.1% from 3 point and 84.8% drive stop rate. He's very much the fifth starter of all the starters, but the 36 year old will do his damnedest to finally get that championship gold.
It's the battle of the highly decorated veterans here, as the 34 year old Ginobli brings his 6'6 height to bear against Iverson's small 6'0 frame. The Argentinian played a much bigger role in his team's success, averaging 15.6 points, 4.8 assists and 0.8 steals, shooting 48.1% and 40.1% from downtown. He was solid defensively as well, with an 87.9% drive stop rate and 0.8 PA/SF. No question who the bigger and better is here, and if the Kings want to have a prayer of an upset, they'll need Ginobli to step up in a major way.
Advantage: Kings
Small Forward
Danny Green vs. Terrence Jones
Green struggled with his shot early in the year, but eventually smoothed it out to 12 points and 1.3 steals a game, shooting 42.2% and 39.6% from 3 point range. Showed off his ultimate 3 and D skills by stopping 88.8% of drives with an incredible 0.7 PA/SF and forcing 2.6 turnovers. He can't go back to his chucking ways on this stage, however.
Jones took over after Wilson Chandler's injury and never surrendered the starting spot after that, averaging 6.7 points and 0.9 steals per game. Doesn't seek to score a lot, but when he does, it's accurate, to the tune of 50.8%. Terrible at stopping drives (26.9%) but he has an 0.8 PA/SF, and considering Green hangs around the perimeter, this isn't going to be so much of an issue. On the flip side, Jones is Sactown's AI in terms of fifth starter status.
Advantage: Lakers
Power Forward
Chris Bosh vs. Josh Smith
The Dinosaur is perhaps the most underrated player of the Lakers' Big Three, but ignore his 15.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals at your own peril. Bosh shot 51.3% on the season, stopped 90.9% of drives with a 0.8 PA/SF ratio, and forced 2.4 turnovers a game. Yes, he's overpaid relative to his raw counting stats, but when the team was without Bosh, they struggled their way to a .500 record when they expected to challenge for the division. Since having him back, they've flourished.
Smith's a polarizing figure, but few can doubt his counting stats this season - 15.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. But that came at 43.8% shooting, an alarming inefficiency for someone playing the big man slot. He did well defensively, with 84.7% drive stop rate, 0.8 PA/SF and 3.2 TOFC a game. This may be the matchup that decides the series, as both players have their strengths and their weaknesses, and it should be a thrilling duel to watch play out.
Advantage: Even
Center
Andrew Bynum vs. Kevin Garnett
21.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 1.5 blocks on 53.9% shooting. The reason his numbers are so low? The Lakers run conservative minutes for their starters during the regular season, and Bynum averaged just 30.8 minutes a contest. That and the team's shooting accuracy are what denied Bynum his double-double. He looked shockingly weak defensively however, stopping less than 30% of drives with a pedestrian 1.0 PA/SF ratio and forcing just 2.1 turnovers for a player who's supposed to be one of the most complete in the league.
KG definitely looked like he lost a step, but still averaged 12.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks, shooting 48.9%. 79.6% drive stop rate, 1.0 PA/SF and 2.7 TOFC clearly demonstrate that the 35 year old can still very much be a factor on both ends of the floor, but he draws a tough assignment in a bigger, younger opponent.
Advantage: Lakers
Bench 15+ MPG
Eric Maynor, Richard Hamilton, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ronny Turiaf, Kendrick Perkins
-Maynor has a 4.2 A/TO ratio and Aminu greatly improved his shooting as the season wore on, similar to Green. Every one of the perimeter players has stopped 74.9% of drives or better. Perkins will skip Game 1, but should be back for Game 2. Turiaf shot a team high 59.4% and is one of the front office's most cherished players.
Nick Young, Zach Randolph, Norris Cole
-Young brings a little 3 point pop (33.2%), but overall, this is one of the weakest benches in the league. Randolph's inefficient and while Cole brings some defense, he's not fit to run the floor.
Advantage: Lakers
Overall Outlook
While Sacramento can at least make things interesting with their starting five matched up against the Lakers, their lack of legitimate bench depth compared to Los Angeles's wealth of options means that it's a no go for them in terms of pulling the upset. Prediction: Lakers in 6