Falloutjr
Banned
Yes, we all know about the big 3 in Miami. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh. But if you compare them to the Lakers, you'll see that it's closer than it would appear. Let's take a look at the starting 5 first.
PG: Derek Fisher vs. Mario Chalmers
Obviously, the edge goes to Fisher here. Fisher is more experienced, a very talented defender, and has the leadership to handle the ego of Bryant and garner his respect. Chalmers is a young guy. How is he gonna respond when he has only one ball to give 3 superstars who were ballhogs at best on their respective teams? Not to mention that LeBron and Wade were primary ballhandlers on their teams anyways. 3 people can't all be holding the ball. LeBron's off the ball skills are poor and Wade's isn't much better.
SG: Kobe Bryant vs. Dwyane Wade
Slight edge to Bryant here. Bryant has a better mid/3-point shot than Wade, and Bryant has the focus to make shots when he's being guarded extremely well. Very close, but still goes to Bryant.
SF: Ron Artest vs. LeBron James
LeBron, no explanation needed.
PF: Pau Gasol vs. Chris Bosh
This one is a bit closer, but I think Pau is the better overall player. Bosh got 24 ppg and 10 rpg because there was no one else there to pick up his slack, he was the only guy who could score in Toronto. Pau has phenomenal defense and a good mid range game. Bosh is too much of a mental midget, I don't think he can thrive in Miami with James and Bosh
C: Andrew Bynum vs. Zydrunas Ilgaulskus
This one definitely goes to Bynum. Bynum is coming off an injury, but he's still a top 3 center in the league. Z in his prime was a top 6 center, and he's far past his prime. Better range, but not much else in his favor. Best suited to draw bigs from the lane and let the other superstars get better drive opportunities.
Bench:
I like the bench of the Heat. They have veteran presence, they have solid rebounders, good defense, good shooting. Still lack a quality backup PG, which can be a problem, as shown by the Magic a couple years back. Still not feeling their center-by-committee plan. Big Z, Haslem, and Howard are good bench players and roleplayers, but they're not starter level players, with the exception of maybe Haslem, who is undersized to play C. Bosh has shown no interest in playing against centers and their interior defense will be poor at best this season.
I also like the Lakers bench, not quite as much as the Heat, but I do like it. They also have versatility. They have a good backup PG in Farmar, have good shooting, and have a starter caliber PF in Lamar Odom, who, when on his game, is just as good as Gasol.
There are still flaws with the Heat that will keep them back until addressed. The two most important positions in this game are PG and C, both of which the Heat lack. Poor interior defense and poor off-the-ball skills will being their PPG down. The mere fact that they simply have more talent than most teams will result in a lot of wins. I still see them being a 65 win team, but I don't see them getting through the Lakers. They're too big, and they are versatile enough to go three bigs, which is the major flaw of the Heat.
My prediction: Lakers beat Heat in Finals, 4-2.
PG: Derek Fisher vs. Mario Chalmers
Obviously, the edge goes to Fisher here. Fisher is more experienced, a very talented defender, and has the leadership to handle the ego of Bryant and garner his respect. Chalmers is a young guy. How is he gonna respond when he has only one ball to give 3 superstars who were ballhogs at best on their respective teams? Not to mention that LeBron and Wade were primary ballhandlers on their teams anyways. 3 people can't all be holding the ball. LeBron's off the ball skills are poor and Wade's isn't much better.
SG: Kobe Bryant vs. Dwyane Wade
Slight edge to Bryant here. Bryant has a better mid/3-point shot than Wade, and Bryant has the focus to make shots when he's being guarded extremely well. Very close, but still goes to Bryant.
SF: Ron Artest vs. LeBron James
LeBron, no explanation needed.
PF: Pau Gasol vs. Chris Bosh
This one is a bit closer, but I think Pau is the better overall player. Bosh got 24 ppg and 10 rpg because there was no one else there to pick up his slack, he was the only guy who could score in Toronto. Pau has phenomenal defense and a good mid range game. Bosh is too much of a mental midget, I don't think he can thrive in Miami with James and Bosh
C: Andrew Bynum vs. Zydrunas Ilgaulskus
This one definitely goes to Bynum. Bynum is coming off an injury, but he's still a top 3 center in the league. Z in his prime was a top 6 center, and he's far past his prime. Better range, but not much else in his favor. Best suited to draw bigs from the lane and let the other superstars get better drive opportunities.
Bench:
I like the bench of the Heat. They have veteran presence, they have solid rebounders, good defense, good shooting. Still lack a quality backup PG, which can be a problem, as shown by the Magic a couple years back. Still not feeling their center-by-committee plan. Big Z, Haslem, and Howard are good bench players and roleplayers, but they're not starter level players, with the exception of maybe Haslem, who is undersized to play C. Bosh has shown no interest in playing against centers and their interior defense will be poor at best this season.
I also like the Lakers bench, not quite as much as the Heat, but I do like it. They also have versatility. They have a good backup PG in Farmar, have good shooting, and have a starter caliber PF in Lamar Odom, who, when on his game, is just as good as Gasol.
There are still flaws with the Heat that will keep them back until addressed. The two most important positions in this game are PG and C, both of which the Heat lack. Poor interior defense and poor off-the-ball skills will being their PPG down. The mere fact that they simply have more talent than most teams will result in a lot of wins. I still see them being a 65 win team, but I don't see them getting through the Lakers. They're too big, and they are versatile enough to go three bigs, which is the major flaw of the Heat.
My prediction: Lakers beat Heat in Finals, 4-2.
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