Part 1 – The Backcourt – MONDAY
Part 2 – The Frontcourt – TUESDAY
Part 3 – The Bench – WEDNESDAY
Part 4 – The Coaches – WEDNESDAY
Part 5 – The Prediction – THURSDAY
The NBA Finals tip off in two days, and LayupDrill.com will have you covered with a breakdown of each critical area of the upcoming Lakers vs. Magic series. We continue today with our look at the forwards and center positions.
Lakers:
Magic:
Much like in the breakdown of the backcourt for these two teams, the starting positions up front have some decided advantages for both teams. Dwight Howard should be guarded by Andrew Bynum when playing offense, and could give Bynum all sorts of problems in the post. If the refs allow for physical play, Howard’s strength advantage will get Bynum getting weakside help, or exposed as a defensive liability. In the two regular season games, Bynum scored just 3 points and 1 rebound in 12 minutes of play as he was just getting worked back into the lineup on December 20th. In Orlando’s victory nearly a month later, Bynum played 33 minutes, scoring 14 points and grabbing just 3 rebounds. Howard dominated him that night, going for 25 points and 20 rebounds in the win. At times Howard was guarded by Pau Gasol at times, as well with Vladamir Radmanovic, who has since been shipped out.
One of the keys to this series for Orlando will be how effective Rashard Lewis is against Pau Gasol/Lamar Odom. Lewis will have a player in Odom who will be able to shadow him on the wing, and alter his long jumpers. Meanwhile, Odom can be used as a point foward, which would make Lewis guard the entire length of the court, something he is not used too. Hedo Turkoglu should get the advantage over Trevor Ariza in this series, though Ariza is good for a few great defensive plays a game.
Starting Center Advantage: Howard 85%/Bynum 15%
Starting Power Forward Advantage: Gasol 70%/Lewis 30%
Starting Small Forward Advantage: Turkoglu 55%/Ariza 45%
Bench Forwards Advantage: Lakers
Overall Frontcourt Advantage: Magic
You must log in to post a comment.