Fall of the Lakers

The Lakers dismantled the Jazz in five games. They are currently pushed to the limit by the Rockets but I'm pretty sure that the Lakers will go out with a lot of poise and class to dismantle again the shorthanded Rockets. Then what?

The Lakers I think proved to us how soft they are especially in the big bad west. Although they were never seriously troubled by the Jazz, they struggled mightly against these pesky Rockets. Aaron Brooks continually penetrates down the middle and find wide open guys. Scola has bullied a couple of 7-footers. Battier has done a wonderful job against Kobe. And Artest has been the heart and soul of these undermaned Rockets team. The Rockets will eventually ran out of gas but it is truly a wonderful run considering that they have lost two of their best players and a starting point gaurd via trade in the middle of the season. While in the case for the Lakers, they have proved in the regular season that they are on a mission to go back to the NBA finals. However, in the postseason, it does not look that they will pose a serious threat to however they will meet in the finals (likely the Cavs) or even in the western conference finals. I believe that once the Lakers meet the Nuggets, they will be bullied out of the west finals earlier than they might have imagined.

I think that the Nuggets have proved that they have a solid defender who can stay with Kobe at all times on Jones, while the trio of Martin, Nene, and Anderson has been as solid as rock in the entire postseason. The Lakers trio of Gasol, Bynum, and Odom has been anything but soft. They have been considered the top trio of big men in the entire NBA but they have been dismantled by a pesky Argentinian and a couple of undersized powerforwards. They have not posed a serious threat on the offensive end aswell and they have not done a good job on the boards. I also think that the battle between Ariza and Anthony will be a good matchup but Anthony will easily overpower Ariza thus create open opportunities to his teammates. Although I think that the series will be pushed to the limit, the difference maker will not be Kobe (even though he is the most dangerous player in the west) but Billups who has consistently proven that he is indeed Mr. Bigshot. He strives under pressure and he knows best how to win an NBA championship. He did it before beating the much stronger Lakers in 2005, he will do it again four years later against a much softer batch of these Lakers in the Western Conference finals where the stage will lead to the matchup between two great friends. Melo and Lebron.