The Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs have had many exciting playoff series’ over the last eight years, and this one seems as though it will live up to past expectations.

Unlike most fans, I am very glad that we arent playing the Hornets because their speed and athleticism scared me a lot. Look no further than what Atlanta Hawks did with its speed and athleticim to the Boston Celtics… 7 games? No, thank you.

The Lakers match up great with the Spurs. They have big bodies who arent very quick and athletic, but know how to play fundamentally, can rebound, and can shoot the mid range jump shot. They have wiley veterans that can play defense and can shoot the ball, and after all that, they still have Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker who can get to the basket and finish with the best of them.

The Spurs, however, do not and will not have an answer for the Lakers. Tony Parker will be bothered by Derek Fishers size and strength, and when he drives to the lane, he will be met by two seven-footers. Manu Ginobli will likely be guarded by Lamar Odom which gives both teams advantages on two diferent sides. Lamar Odom wont be able to keep up with Manu Ginobili off the dribble, but Ginobili will undoubetbly be unable to guard Lamar Odom in the post. This will probably cause the Spurs to put someone bigger on Odom such as Fabricio Oberto or Kurt Thomas. In this case, Odom will just have to take them off the dribble.

Lamar Odom will be key for the Lakers in this series.

A match up that I am excited to watch will be Pau Gasol going up against Tim Duncan. They both are essentially the same type of player and both should do well guarding the other. Look for Gasol to face up 15 feet out against duncan and shoot the jumpshot as Duncan will give him the space because he wont want him driving to the basket.

I will also be looking for Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton to revive themselves in this series because they wont be faced up against defenders who are quicker than they are. This will essentially be the Lakers largest advantage, and also where the Hornets failed.

The New Orleans Hornets where unbale to play a slow halfcourt game which forced them to push the ball erraticly most of the time. The Lakers will not only be able to play a fast pace game, but will also be able to play an inside and physical half court game.

I fully expect the Lakers to take control of this series. Oh, and by the way, I totally forgot to mention….We have Kobe Bryant.

When Pau Gasol was first traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, everyone, including myself, was filled with joy. We now had a big man that could play big, could create his own shot with his repatoir of moves in the post, and could collect rebounds.

Pau Gasol has been great for the Lakers….on the offensive side, and to further that, when he plays against a physical defender, he cant even really do that much. His numbers in this years playoffs have been somewhat decieving. Besides his first game against the Denver Nuggets and his 18 point 10 rebound performance in one game against Utah, he has seemingly not done much in these playoffs. He isnt even converting on his freethrows, which was one of the key components to his game. But enough about offense, compared to most centers in the leauge, Pau’s offense is exceptional and I am not one to complain.

The real problem is Pau Gasol’s defense, or lack there of. Sure Andrew Bynum didnt have the offensive one on one skills that Gasol has, but he made up for that with his superb defense. If you have been watching Gasol this playoff season, you have seen some of the worst defense ever. He doesnt rotate, box out to get rebounds, and by the time he makes it to the other end of the floor the other team has already scored. Ever heard of transition defense Pau? Apparently not.

You might ask yourslef, “Well, why is one person so important? There are still 4 other guys who play good defense…” To answer that, the Lakers play a “help-style” defense. When they guard their man, they are set up so that they are below the plane and in between their man and the man dribbling the ball. This works because if you get beaten off the dribble, you will have someone “ROTATING” over and “HELPING” you out.

Pau Gasol is extremely late on his rotation’s simply because he is lazy. So what is happening? The other offensive man is getting a wide open layup, and if he misses, an offensive rebound occurs because Pau is late coming to the box.

Simply put, the Lakers can score with the best of them…but defense wins championships. The Lakers will only go as far as their defense goes, and right now, the defense is dependent upon Pau Gasol’s willingness to work hard and move his feet.