Slam Dunk Central Columnist Kyle Stack’s NBA Finals Preview Thoughts

Posted by Kyle Stack under NBA PLAYOFFS, SDC COMMENTARY

I have a couple thoughts on the Finals, which pits my team, the Lakers against the team of this site’s founder, Jeff Sack:

Nine Fingers Bryant

Alright, this might not be a real catchy nickname, but raise your hand if you remember that Kobe Bryant has been playing the last few months with a torn ligament in the pinky finger of his shooting hand. Now, all the cheaters drop your hands. There shouldn’t be many hands left raised. What Kobe has done to the NBA and for his team the past few months has been amazing, injured finger or not. But the fact that he has shot at such a high level (50.9 percent FG in 15 playoff games) shows his toughness. In fact, I will make the argument that his toughness (physical and mental) is his greatest characteristic, greater than his determination, greater than his exquisite footwork. He has to be physically tough to withstand the pain of dribbling, shooting, and basically getting his hand knocked around every time he runs into/through a screen or goes up for a rebound. He has to have the mental makeup to prevent the pain from affecting the task at hand. All players have nagging injuries at this time of the year, but a torn ligament in a finger on the shooting hand is nothing to scoff at.

Key defensive matchups

I was thinking about two defensive matchups for the Lakers today. The first is Kobe on The Shooting Guard Formerly Known As Jesus Shuttlesworth. Ray Allen for those who haven’t seen “He Got Game.” Allen seems like the natural fit for Kobe to guard, but, if that happens, wouldn’t the Celtics incessantly run Allen through screens all over the court as a means to make Kobe spend more energy on defense so that he has less to expend on offense? I can’t imagine Bryant will guard Rondo, since that’s just asking for trouble, in terms of Kobe wasting energy. Plus, if Kobe does do a good job on Allen, then he is shutting down a key cog in the Celtics offense: their best outside shooter.

The second matchup was one that I read about all day on the Internets: the Lakers’ interior defense. It’s definitely a worry, considering the injured Andrew Bynum would be a great fit against Kendrick Perkins. Perkins is a great asset for the Celtics and his 18-point, 16-rebound game against the Pistons in Game 5 showed his ceiling. Pau Gasol might have his work cut out for him, although his length could bother the youngster. My biggest concern is that Gasol just can’t handle a guy with the bulk of Perkins and a guy like Ronny Turiaf is better suited to guard him.

I’d like to see Odom on Garnett just so he can neutralize KG’s rebounding. Perhaps more importantly, Garnett slips in and out of the Celtics offense, doesn’t always look for his shot and thus might be less likely to drive up the fouls on Odom, than, say, Paul Pierce would.

The Lakers lack of interior bulk is a concern and it might be their Achilles heel. Bynum’s return next season should solve that problem, but for now, Turiaf and D.J. Mbenga could play important roles in post-up defense and rebounding. I don’t anticipate Mbenga to play much, if at all, unless foul trouble forces coach Phil Jackson’s hand.

Updates, Fresh From the Oven, Straight to Your Inbox