Slaying the Dragon – Can the Suns, Mavericks or Trailblazers stop Kobe Bryant and the Lakers?
The 2009 world champions are the unquestioned favorites to win the 2010 NBA title, as they should be, however there is no shortage of quality teams in the Western conference looking to derail the Lakers in their pursuit of the No. 17. Let’s evaluate the top 3 teams with the best chance of beating the champions, which (as of now) are the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers and Dallas Mavericks. Barring Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol sustaining an injury late in the season, these are the only teams with the key elements needed to topple a behemoth like the Los Angeles Lakers, those key elements being a deep roster full of athletic talent, a star capable of making great shots. , and perhaps most important of all… a mission. Let’s start in order of the most likely contenders to take the Western conference crown outside of Los Angeles.
The Phoenix Suns: “Back to the Future”.
It seems like so long ago when Steve Nash won back-to-back MVPs and the Suns eliminated the Lakers two years later the season in a row, but while the power structure has changed once again in the NBA (thanks to Pau de the Grizzles from Memphis Gasol to Los Angeles) one thing is back to business as usual, the Suns are once again playing fast-paced, high-scoring basketball and blowing away opponents. The Lakers are very good defensive teams, but when they play up-tempo teams like Phoenix, they too often get away from their defensive game and let things quickly turn into a shootout, not that LA isn’t capable of winning that kind of game. battle either, but it is very much the game of Phoenix.
Although Phoenix had considerably more talent than LA during the ’05 and ’06 seasons, the two teams’ rosters are no longer so lopsided. Make no mistake, the Lakers have arguably the best roster in the league, but the Phoenix team isn’t too bad either with perennial players like Steve Nash and Grant Hill, and guys who have pro seasons like star-topped Jason Richardson. great man at his best *ahem* Amare Stoudemire. The Suns are not short of talent at any position and in some cases have plenty of talent like Leandro Barbosa and Robin Lopez to come off the bench. The big boys are going to be vital against the Lakers and their three frontcourt stars in Gasol, Bynum and Odom, but the Sun have covered themselves as well as anyone in the league with Stoudemire, Lopez and Frye.
The next step is the guy who can rescue his team with a clutch three or an and-1 late in the game, fortunately for Phoenix, they have one of the best playmakers in the game in Steve Nash. All these advantages aside, the best thing about the Suns is their quest to prove their elite once again after sending their 350-pound anchor down the middle to Cleveland and returning to the “7 seconds or shoot” offense that the has in the first place. place so far in the young NBA season, but it could eventually give them home-field advantage during the playoffs, putting them at the top of this list. This, combined with other X-factors like a new head coach, a veteran who shoots the lights (J-Rich), and a superstar on a one-year contract (Stoudemire), makes the Phoenix Suns the Los Angeles team most likely I would rather never face this position. -season.
The Portland Trailblazers: David beating Goliath during the regular season.
There are a couple of places where LA rarely comes out with a W and one of those places is Portland. Unfortunately for LA, there may be no other team with more to prove than Portland and they are very capable of beating the Lakers at home (8-straight home wins vs. LA). The Trailblazers have a lot of talent and athleticism on the frontcourt with a lineup that features the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Joel Pryzbilla and Greg Oden. Oden’s late development has been the main story of the Trailblazer season thus far and in his previous absences, Joel Pryzbilla has filled in quite nicely, but he’s providing solid momentum off the bench. The main X-factors for Portland are the emergence of Greg Oden as a down force and Brandon Roy’s blossoming into a true NBA superstar, if anyone can pull off big shots it’s Brandon Roy. The Blazers as a team want more than any other team in the West to be considered “elite” and toppling the Lakers would pretty much cement that status.
The Trailblazers also have one of the best defensive head coaches in the league in Nate McMillan (Team USA defensive coordinator), who played no small part in Portland’s earlier hometown dominance of the Lakers. If they do face the Lakers, the first game of the series will be crucial because they won’t have home court advantage in a potential matchup with LA, so it would be better to steal Game 1 on LA’s home court (since teams by Phil Jackson are perfect in making the playoffs after winning the first game of a series) but even if they don’t it may not matter anyway one thing about historical upsets is that history doesn’t apply because being done. As long as Portland’s hometown dominance continues against LA, they may only need to play one game on the Lakers’ floor to pull off the upset, but that’s more than a few ifs.
The Dallas Mavericks: A team looking for redemption.
The Dallas Mavericks need to redeem themselves for many things, for some they may be losing a 2-0 lead in the finals, for others they may be losing in the first round to the 42-win Warriors in the 8th seed after a historic 67 win. season, and for one thing he may be talking too much to league officials, resulting in millions in fines and a potential title… Either way, everyone on this current Dallas Mavericks roster has a chip on their shoulder. , if not more than one . Dirk Nowitzki has been criticized as much as anyone else in the league for his soft play during crucial moments and his tendency to back down when he gets hit in the mouth (and he’s on a one-year contract), Jason Kidd just reached his last achievable career milestone, yet still without a ring, Shawn Marion always plays like a man with something to prove, and half the roster has been to the finals before and fallen short.
Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle has been looking to capture the NBA title that barely eluded him when he was fired as Detroit’s head coach prior to the 2003-2004 season when he won the title, and this may very well be. your chance to wash your hands of the redemption that is the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The Mavericks have the size and talent at No. 4 and No. 5 with Dirk Nowitzki, Drew Gooden, Tim Thomas and Erik Dampier. They also have promising young guys like JJ Barea, big free-agent acquisitions like Shawn Marion, a perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate in Jason Terry and a hardened veteran in Jason Kidd. The Dallas Mavericks have as complete a roster as any team in the league and if redemption is what you’re looking for, this may be your best chance.
There are many reasons to pick the Lakers to win the 2010 NBA title, and one could certainly argue that no other team in the West is capable of keeping the Lakers out of the Finals. However, the biggest hurdle for the LA Lakers this postseason will likely be complacency, and if any number of these giant killer hopefuls are on a mission, it could well be the recipe for historic upset…