Lakers championship favourites with Howard?
Heat and OKC still have advantages over the Lakers even though many are thinking the Lakers are favoured to win it all, or at least the West.
Just analyze the match-ups and you’ll realize how.
I. OKC vs Lakers
a. OKC on Offense
Kobe, Nash and MWP have no chance against Westbrook and Durant.
Now, Howard is an excellent pick and roll defender so he’ll make up for lots of mistakes by the perimeter defenders.
Thus he’ll force OKC into -
1. A lot of mid-range jumpers
2. Put pressure on RW and KD to become playmakers. Only time will tell how Westbrook and Durant further develop as play makers this season.
But on the wing, OKC still possess matchup advantages against the Lakers.
b. Lakers on Offense
1. Perkins has the ability to stop Howard.
2. Ibaka can stop Gasol.
3. Durant can stop Kobe.
4. Westbrook will stop Nash.
So the Lakers don’t possess any matchup advantages on the offensive end against the Thunder.
So in a 7 game series, I’d still pick OKC to beat the Lakers.
II. Miami Heat vs Lakers
a. Miami on Offense
James is the only mismatch the Heat have against the Lakers.
King James will still be the King on the Perimeter but Dwight Howard will not let James get into the paint as easily as last season.
Howard is the only big player in the league who can challenge James effectively. But Howard is not a James stopper. A couple of seasons ago, yes. But now James has taken his game to a much higher level.
Also, in the best case scenario, Howard can make James a passer. When Howard is forced to rotate onto James, it’ll put lots of pressure on the Laker rotations and with their weak defense on the perimeter it means open shots for the Heat.
The Heat just acquired Allen and Lewis for this purpose. Also, Chalmers is an effective 3pt shooter when he’s open. Plus, Bosh is also a superb mid-range shooter.
So the only chance the Lakers have of stopping the Heat is hoping they miss their open looks.
b. Lakers on Offense
Howard will be checked by Bosh when the Heat go small. Howard can over-power Bosh in the paint but he still needs to work a lot on his touches. In any case Howard will be doubled often in the post. But the Lakers don’t have enough offensive threats from outside to punish the Heat.
Plus the Heat are one of the best, if not the best team in the league at defending the P&R; thus neutralizing Nash and Howard’s strengths to a certain extent.
If Wade can stay ahead of Kobe, it’s game over.
So even though it’s very close between the Heat and the Lakers I gotta give the edge to the Heat over Lakers, because they’re defending champions and have been together for 2 years. Also, the Lakers still need to beat the OKC to even reach the Finals whereas the Heat have no such competition.
The Lakers definitely have a better chance than they did yesterday. Also, they’ve acquired the future face of the franchise.
But James and Durant are still the 2 best players in the league and provide the biggest match disadvantages for their opponents which even Howard can only counteract to certain extent.HEAT and OKC over LAKERS.