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LA Lakers Odds to Win the 2008 NBA Finals

Written by Jimmy Boyd on June 3, 2008

Prior to the season, we didn’t even know how long Kobe Bryant would remain in a Lakers uniform. Now, he is one of the front-running MVP candidates and has the Lakers in a position to win a championship. Find out if Jimmy Boyd like’s Tinsel Town’s chances as he looks at the 2008 Los Angeles Lakers odds to win the NBA Finals.

Why they’ll win it all:

What did Kobe have when the Lakers won three consecutive NBA championships? Shaquille O’Neal. Now, Kobe has another capable inside scoring threat in Pau Gasol. This has turned out to be the best trade of any contending team and it will be the reason the Lakers raise another championship banner to the rafters if they do indeed get the job done. Offensively, the Lakers are a handful. Besides Kobe Bryant being unguardable, Lamar Odom also causes terrible matchup problems for teams. He has the size of a big man with the skills of a guard. If you guard him with a small, he’ll take them down inside. If you try to guard him with a big, he’ll force them to defend him away from the basket. Pau Gasol has been sensational while playing with a much more talented team. He gives the Lakers a true inside threat to finally take some pressure off of Kobe. The Lakers are fourth in the league in scoring at 108.5 ppg, third in field goal percentage (47.6%), and fifth in three-point field goal percentage (37.8 %). Another area the Lakers have been dominant is on the glass. They are the number one ranked defensive rebounding team in the NBA. The Lakers should also get Andrew Bynum back for the playoffs to give them added depth and another dominant interior presence.

Why they won’t:

I’m not sure the Lakers are good enough defensively to win it all. They rank 20th in the league, allowing 101.8 ppg and lack a defender that can shut down an opponents best player. Kobe is the closes thing LA has to a lockdown defender and when he has to play that hard on defense, it has been known to affect his offense. While the Lakers’ record is very good with Gasol in the lineup, we must not forget that the playoffs are a bird of another feather and Kobe has not had much playoff success without Shaq. Gasol is good, but is he dominant enough to lead the Lakers to the promise land? We must remember that Gasol has very little playoff experience and with this kind of pressure, he could crack. Teams that aren’t as good defensively often struggle on the road in the postseason and it doesn’t look like the Lakers are going to win the West to ensure home court throughout. Once again, defense will be the reason the Lakers don’t get the job done.

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