Cavs will be coming to Staples on Christmas day. I know I risk being dubbed the ultimate Lakers homer, but I like the Lakers over the Cavs.
I know I complained early in the season that the Lakers were squeaking by in a lot of games where they should have been winning more convincingly (they’ve already had 3 overtime games this season and minus a few clutch Kobe performances their record isn’t nearly as impressive). My other gripe against the Lakers record is well documented – they have played a disproportionate number of games at home.
All the negatives aside, at this juncture, the Lakers’ “A” game is on a different level than any other team’s in the league. On the season, Kobe is shooting an eye popping 48% from the field. When contrasted versus last year Artest has obviously had a big influence on the Lakers’ improved defense (he’s also helped lower the burden placed on Bryant on that end of the court). Gasol is still putting up tremendous numbers (17/12). Finally, for the 4th year in a row, Andrew Bynum is better this year than last year, although I wish he’d be more dominant on the glass!*
In the end, Both Kobe and Lebron will get their touches and score their fair share of points. For the Lakers, I think the game is going to be won by strong performances out of Odom and Bynum. I believe they’ll both put above average box score numbers in the Points, Rebounds and Blocks categories.
My Call: Lakers win by 7.
*He was rebounding out of his mind when Gasol was out at the beginning of the season.
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The Lakers always seem to play to the level of their opponents. No doubt they will be ready for LeBron, Shaq and the rest of the Cavs. One point about the Lakers “easy” early schedule. Although they have played a lot of homes games, they have played a lot of good teams early. The Lakers strength of schedule is ridiculously high considering that every team they play, they usually beat, which means they should have a worse record. See this post for more details: http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2009/12/2/1182718/17-of-21-aint-all-its-cracked-up
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