The Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets will square off in the 2009 NBA Western Conference Finals best of seven games starting on Tuesday at the Staples Center, Los Angeles. The Lakers demolished the pesky Houston Rockets in a Game 7 win, 89-70, on Sunday. It will be Kobe vs Anthony in the Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers will face the Nuggets starting Tuesday in a best of seven conference finals. It will be a battle between last year’s NBA Finals runner-up and a bunch of underrated NBA superstars out on a mission to the NBA Finals. A preview of Lakers vs Nuggets is based on the data gathered between the two NBA teams in the current season.
The Lakers will face the Nuggets starting Tuesday in a best of seven conference finals. It will be a battle between last year’s NBA Finals runner-up and a bunch of underrated NBA superstars out on a mission to the NBA Finals. A preview of Lakers vs Nuggets is based on the data gathered between the two NBA teams in the current season.
The Overachieving Denver Nuggets (54-28)
Denver Nuggets has overachieved its performance for the current NBA season with a 54-28 record and astounding postseason wins over New Orleans Hornets (4-1) and Dallas Mavericks (4-1).
The trifecta of Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony, and J.R. Smith combined for a total of 65.4 team points in 10 postseason games against New Orleans and Dallas. The Nuggets has a postseason field goal average of .503 against opponents .438 FG%. The team has a 3-point accuracy of .429 average.
Denver is very active on the defensive end with a team average of 9.50 steals per outing and 5.20 blocks per game. Chris Andersen has 1.89 blocks per game in 21.2 minutes of playing time. However, in the rebounding department, the Nuggets can only pluck 39.4 caroms per outing.
Coach George Karl was able to make use of his 12 man roster to provide quality minutes on the hardcourt. Melo, Billups, K-Mart, and Nene were able to log in more than 30 minutes of playing time, together with different teammates filling up supporting roles for the team. This gives the team a different dimension because of the involvement of its bench. On the offensive end, both Billups and Melo were very consistent in their production and leadership on the team while teammates support them with quality minutes. Denver is very tenacious in team defense with Nene, K-Mart, Melo, and its backcourt of Billups and Smith providing the spark for the team.
Denver Nuggets thrive on team defense and offensive sets designed for everyone on the floor. Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, and Nene were able to develop the maturity they lack in last year's NBA season. The midseason trade of Chauncey Billups with Allen Iverson brought wonders for the team. He was able to bring stability, maturity, and championship experience they need for a run to the NBA Finals.
The trifecta of Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony, and J.R. Smith combined for a total of 65.4 team points in 10 postseason games against New Orleans and Dallas. The Nuggets has a postseason field goal average of .503 against opponents .438 FG%. The team has a 3-point accuracy of .429 average.
Denver is very active on the defensive end with a team average of 9.50 steals per outing and 5.20 blocks per game. Chris Andersen has 1.89 blocks per game in 21.2 minutes of playing time. However, in the rebounding department, the Nuggets can only pluck 39.4 caroms per outing.
Coach George Karl was able to make use of his 12 man roster to provide quality minutes on the hardcourt. Melo, Billups, K-Mart, and Nene were able to log in more than 30 minutes of playing time, together with different teammates filling up supporting roles for the team. This gives the team a different dimension because of the involvement of its bench. On the offensive end, both Billups and Melo were very consistent in their production and leadership on the team while teammates support them with quality minutes. Denver is very tenacious in team defense with Nene, K-Mart, Melo, and its backcourt of Billups and Smith providing the spark for the team.
Denver Nuggets thrive on team defense and offensive sets designed for everyone on the floor. Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, and Nene were able to develop the maturity they lack in last year's NBA season. The midseason trade of Chauncey Billups with Allen Iverson brought wonders for the team. He was able to bring stability, maturity, and championship experience they need for a run to the NBA Finals.
The Los Angeles Lakers were able to hurdle over the hump against the Houston Rockets in a postseason series of drama and hardcourt basketball. The undermanned, undersized Rockets were able to stretched the Lakers to a gruelling Game 7 in their semifinal match.
The Lakers showed a lot of character, poise, and heart in its 89-70 win. Kobe displayed a lot of class complemented with lots of efforts from his teammates especially Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom.
They were able to dominate the game by controlling the boards on both ends of the court. The Lakers defensive presence was a major factor in this win. The Lakers' guards were able to contain the Rocket's Brooks from dictating the tempo of the game. Kobe created some plays for his teammates as he was well guarded by both Artest and Battier. (If you happen to read my previous blog, I mentioned that if the Lakers are able to control the boards then chances are they will win the game.)
The Lakers have shooting averages on the field at .469 with 3 point accuracy of .389. However, they are very active at the boards with 42.7 caroms per outing. Pau Gasol is very active on both ends of the court grabbing 3.5 (OFF) and 7.3 (DEF) rebounds for the Lakers. Kobe is still the top scorer of the team at 27.4 points per games. He also has averages of 2.17 steals per game and 4.5 assists per outing.
This NBA Western Conference Finals will go down on who will execute their play consistently and impose their defensive presence until Game 7. It will not be Kobe vs Anthony but an attrition of basketball wizardry between these two teams.
Posts
1 comments:
May 19, 2009 at 12:03 PM
Los Angeles Lakers will win the NBA Finals over the LeBron-led Cleveland Cavaliers..
Kobe will have the last laugh. He is the rightful MVP of the season.
Lakers, the World champion!!
Post a Comment