FanHouse VladRadmanovic

And then there were four. In the latest of our continuing series, we look at the Western Conference Finals, Game 1 tonight between the Spurs and Lakers. Be sure to stop by later for our LiveBlog of Game 1.

1. Seventeen Thousandth Verse, Same As The First: Yes, a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale world. Lakers versus Spurs! Who would have thunk it? Okay, that was my last complaint for this series, I swear. In all honesty, this is a pretty fantastic matchup between the two best teams in the league right now. The familiarity between the two will make for advanced strategy that will make pundits like myself polish their monacles in greedy expectation. Will the Spurs stay with the single man defense against Kobe Bryant, using Bruce Bowen like they have in years past, or has age made that too much of a mismatch, forcing the Spurs into man-help? Will the Lakers bring the curl around double team on Tim Duncan or bring Vlad Radmonovic off of Manu Ginobili? Will the Spurs be able to adjust to Pau Gasol? Will the Lakers be able to adjust to Gasol getting his milkshake drank by Tim Duncan? Questions abound! Who needs different teams?

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Lakers-Jazz Western Conference Semifinals Game 6 this evening. Be sure to stop by later tonight for FanHouse's signature LiveBlog of this game. It'll be Vujacissimo!


1. Over The Back, Against The Wall: Regardless of your feelings on the Pau Gasol put back that clinched the game for the Lakers (and I personally think Okur flopped and am glad the refs didn't call it), the onus comes back on Mehmet Okur. It's not so much a one sided, "Okur has played badly" as it is that he hasn't been able to put it all together. If he scores, he struggles on the glass. If he rebounds, he can't put the ball in the hole. In the one game where he did manage to have a complete game, the Jazz won convincingly. If Utah wants to extend this series back to Staples for a shot to steal what they couldn't in Game 5, Mehmet Okur has to step up tonight.

2. Odom Overdose: Lamar Odom had a simply spectacular Game 5. He's been a joy to watch for the last month and even as Lakers fans have to be wondering when the joyride stops and the old Lamar returns, he's been a major contributor to them winning. He's making smart decisions, being aggressive with openings, playing with confidence, and getting the ball to Gasol and Kobe when he needs to. The Jazz have bad matchups for Odom outside of Andrei Kirilenko. They want to maintain their edge on the boards so they're not willing to switch AK to the 4. But their power forwards are too slow to guard him and Ronnie Brewer has his hands full with that Kobe Bryant fellow you've heard so much about. If Odom keeps playing the way he has? This series ends tonight.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Lakers-Jazz Western Conference Semifinals Game 4 this afternoon.

1. Recovering Boozer: Well, well, well. Carlos Boozer is alive. With 27 points and 20 boards, Boozer reasserted himself as a force in this series. He's going to need to keep it up, though, if the Jazz want to even this thing up headed back to LA, where things are, well, a bit tougher. This matchup between the two teams is awkward in the paint. Boozer is a power forward who can play tough, but isn't a true banger, but he's also not a soft Euro-forward. And by euro-forward I mean "player that Lamar Odom can effectively guard." Boozer's range and versatility are excellent once he finds his rhythm and doesn't try and do too much. If he can keep his game in the sweet zone he had it in Game 3, the Jazz can take care of business at home.

2. The Gall Of Gasol: After a solid three months of being praised as the greatest Laker thing since Mark Madsen, Pau Gasol is finding out what it's like when you don't play 100% perfect in LA. His coach was highly critical after Game 3's 12 point, 6 rebound, 1 assist outing by the sensitive Euro-center. Apparently Phil Jackson expects his center to be physical or some such nonsense. Apparently he didn't read the book on Gasol when they traded for him. Gasol had 7 blocks in Game 2, so he's not incapable of playing tough. But you kind of need to, well, go straight at him. Get him trying to rotate in the block and he gets a little careless on those 7 foot legs of his. Still, Gasol is highly coachable, and Jackson is an expert at masking player's weaknesses, so I would expect a big comeback from Gasol in Game 4.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Lakers-Jazz Western Conference Semifinals Game 3 this evening.

1. How Do You Stop The Unstoppable: Ronnie Brewer can't guard Kobe Bryant. Don't get me wrong. I love, love, love Brewer's game. He's what I envision in the small guard of my dreams. But Shoals was on to something when he said that Kobe was the only player that could win on talent alone. When he's amped, there's no stopping him. This is how good he has become, a point where if he's having one of those hurricane-like nights, it's all over but the shouting. You might as well pack up and go home. So there's no use putting a player that could be better used elsewhere on him. Conversely, do you see Vlad Radmanovic going to the rack? Do you see him slashing and taking people off the dribble? No. He's a spot up shooting guard in a lunatic's clothing. Put Brewer on him and let Andrei Kirilenko work Kobe. Kobe will still make the Mad Russian look ridiculous, but at least your overall matchups are better and it puts AK closer to intercepting a pass to Odom with his length. Strength in small victories.

2. The Word Is "Juggernaut": The Lakers lead all teams in the playoffs with 114.7 points a game. The Lakers lead all teams in the playoffs with 49.1% field goals shooting per game. The Lakers lead all teams in the playoffs with 26.5 assists per game. The Lakers are second among playoff teams with 43% three point shooting per game. Starting to get that mental picture yet, are you? Here's a hint. A big, mobile armored tank with lots of guns and spikes and a flamethrower. And a great stereo. It's pretty simple. The Lakers aren't going to struggle unless the meet a playoff team that can actually play a lick of defense against them. And this Utah Jazz team doesn't necessarily play defense, so much as they just ...

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for in today's premiere of the Jazz-Lakers series.

1. Hairy face, meet hairy chest. With no offense to Ronnie Price and Jordan Farmar, the clear "vital" matchup heading into this brawl will be Pau Gasol versus Carlos Boozer. Both are elite scorers on the block, able to finish off the pick-and-roll, in isolation down low, or popping off from 15 feet. Even elite defenders have trouble handling each fellow. Luckily for the impartial viewing public, neither of these guys are elite defenders. Gasol could average 30 in the series and still come out only even with Boozer unless he and/or Lamar Odom can force 'Los into some tough misses inside.

2. Speaking of hairy chests ... Ronnie Brewer's gonna grow up quick if he's left in single coverage against Kobe. Brewer's stout defense derives from his twitchy hands, which affect opponents both in the passing lanes and on perimeter dribbling. Kobe, of course, almost never turns over the ball (considering how many possessions he's responsible for). Brewer's got the height and heft to keep Kobe out of the post, but even Ronnie's great foot speed and lateral quickness won't be able to keep Bean from either starting a one-man lay-up line or getting to the line incessantly. The (possible) solution (in a perfect world)? Matt Harpring. (We'll get to him soon enough.)

Three more, after the jump.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Nuggets-Lakers Game 2 tonight.

1. Time To Think Inside The Linas: And lo, George Karl did see the folly of Anthony Carter, and put in Linas Kleiza. And it was good. Or at least, worth a shot. In Game 1, Karl went with the decision to put Kenyon Martin on Kobe Bryant, and though Bryant Scored 32, he did on 9-26 shooting and had just 1 assist. That's the exact situation you want to put Bryant in. He's going to get his. Limit his ability to help his team hurt you. Unfortunately, for some reason, Karl forgot that that move essentially left Marcus Camby to try and cover two big men with touch passing ability in Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. And that was only, you know, 53 points, 30 rebounds, and 14 assists. Back where I come from? We call that "sick." Karl has mentioned that he liked what he saw out of Martin on Bryant. The problem is that the best way to attack Gasol is to use a big body and muscle him. If Karl's smart, he'll shift Kleiza to Bryant, let Bryant get his points while denying the pass using Kleiza's excellent size and length. There's no way Kleiza shuts down Bryant. But I've got news for George Karl. Nobody shuts down Kobe Bryant.

Memphis owner Michael Heisley, whom most suspect sold off Pau Gasol to the Lakers in order to make selling the franchise easier this summer, relates an interesting-if-true rumor from the inside in this morning's Memphis Commercial-Appeal.

"We were worried that the Lakers might do the deal with Chicago," said Heisley, who had learned the Lakers were talking about sending Kwame Brown and Vlad Radmanovic to Chicago for Ben Wallace.

That would have taken Brown's expiring contract off the table; the Grizzlies decided they had to act. "Otherwise we'd be like Chicago is today," Heisley said, "and gotten nothing done."

It's becoming clear L.A. was a bit desperate before managing to sew up Pau. Ben Wallace? That would've resulted in a slightly less painful cap situation (thanks mostly to Vlad's exile) but nothing close in terms of excitement around the league... and probably less cosmic results on the court.

Heisley also passes on the offers for Pau which came from other teams: Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes from Cleveland (wow! oh boy!), Andres Nocioni and Tyrus Thomas from Chicago, and... Travis Outlaw and Raef LaFrentz from Portland. Outlaw's shown up in two separate rumors in the past week. Smoke, fire, etc.