| 05 January 2009
January 4th '09 - Portland Trail Blazers (20-13) at LA Lakers (26-5)
LA haven't lost at the Staples Center since losing to Detroit on November 14th of last year. This season, LA are 17-1 at home. On the road, Portland are 8-9. And on this trip, Portland come to LA sans Brandon Roy. Roy's been phenomenal thus far this season. His impact on the Blazers extends past his playing - he has developed into a leader capable of having this very young squad believing that they are ready of stepping up to the elite in the West.
Skill-wise, Portland are still a little way off doing that. Roy's the goods, LaMarcus Aldridge is incredibly talented, and there's a very good roster of complementary players. Jury's still out on Greg Oden, the youngest 40 year old in the NBA. Tangent! Greg Oden... incredibly likeable guy. I cannot remember a time when I hoped that a non-Laker would pan out... but I find myself there with Oden. But there's something about him that makes me think he's not going to be all he could be. So often, we read of comparisons between Oden and Bynum, but the one deciding factor between them for me is drive. Bynum has it (that's not to say that he'll be a great player - but he is driven), Oden? I'm not so certain on...
This game has some intriguing scenarios:
Oden vs Bynum (well, it's going to be Oden vs Bynum/Gasol/Odom - 2 on the floor at pretty much all times). Whilst I like Greg Oden (as mentioned when I went off on a tangent), he's not going to be able to stop LA's big-brigade. And I don't see Joel Przybilla having much of an impact on the game. All 3 of the Lakers who'll see time at center are better than the two who'll play there for Portland. The first time LA played Portland, they attacked Greg Oden unmercifully - I'd expect LA to at least start out doing that again.
LaMarcus Aldridge... now, there's a player who could cause some issues for LA. Lamar Odom has the length and athleticism to cover Aldridge, but he'll really need to show some physicality in doing it. Trevor Ariza's really starting to hit his straps at the moment for LA. His performance in the game against Utah was excellent. I've said it several times now, in several different places: Ariza has a large part to play in LA's defensive intensity actually being present. And of course, could any Lakers preview be considered complete without a mention of Kobe? Portland have no-one to stop ye ol' Black Mamba.Anyway, Portland without their top scorer, their leader, are going to struggle to keep up with LA. The Lakers will enjoy another double-digit win, after a bit of a tussle.
If you want to check out perspective from the other side of the scorer's table, head over to the excellent Blazers blog, Bust a Bucket...
