Lakers Beat Celtics Again

BOSTON (By Jimmy Golen, AP) - Ray Allen was still on the floor, knocked on his back, when the Los Angeles Lakers began hugging and chest-bumping under the 2008 NBA Championship banner that was earned at their expense.

"I wish we would have come here last year with this kind of attitude,'' said Pau Gasol, who scored 24 points with 14 rebounds Thursday night to lead the Lakers to a 110-109 overtime victory over Boston.

"Nobody backed down,'' he added. "We were as physical as anybody.''

In a rematch of an NBA finals in which the Celtics outmuscled the Lakers to the title, Lamar Odom made a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left in overtime and Los Angeles held on with physical defense against Paul Pierce and Allen that prevented either All-Star from getting off a clean shot.

The loss snapped the Celtics' 12-game winning streak and dropped them to 0-2 against the best in the West. Boston trails the Lakers by percentage points for the best overall record in the NBA, and would lose a tiebreaker for home court advantage in the finals - if they both make it back.

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Pau Gasol is the key to Lakers dominance

There is no doubt that having Kobe Bryant in their lineup makes the LA Lakers a great team. But Bryant alone can't make this team win a championship. One great player can't beat five opposing players, even with lesser talents, playing on the same hard court for 48 minutes.

Even the great Michael Jordan couldn't have won a championship without another great player, Scottie Pippen.

Let's see the great NBA duos (or trio for the Spurs and Celtics and quintet for the Pistons) in the past two decades:

Jordan had Pippen in Chicago. They made the Bulls the most dominant team in the 1990s and had six championship rings together.

David Robinson had Tim Duncan earlier and Duncan had Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker later in San Antonio. And they made the Spurs one of the best teams of the 2000s in winning four championships between them.

Shaq had Kobe in LA Lakers, previous edition. And they made the Lakers the most dominant team early in this decade by winning three consecutive titles.

Chauncey Billups had four other Pistons in Detroit. And they won a championship together.

Dywane Wade had Shaq for one championship ring beating a good Dallas Mavericks team featuring just one MVP player, Dirk Nowitski.

Last year, Paul Pierce had Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, and the "big three" won the championship last year beating a Lakers team with one great player and another all-star material who played very well in sweeping through the Western Conference playoffs but seemed to got "lost in Spanish translation" in the NBA Finals.

And Kobe?

He had Caron Butler in 2004 and they failed to make it to the playoffs.

He had Lamar Odom, Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, and young Andrew Bynum. They made the playoffs but lost in the first round for two years.

Last year, he had Pau Gasol for half of the season. And immediately, the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, they lost to Boston's "big three."

Now that Gasol would be playing a full season with the Lakers, the team is expected to achieve what it failed to accomplish last season--win that elusive NBA title!

But they can't do that while Gasol is playing just a sidekick or an afterthought to Kobe. He has to dominate the same way, or at least close to the way, Kobe is dominating in his position.

Gasol is a very good player specially now that he's playing mostly at forward position in a very balanced Lakers team. But he doesn't always play aggressively.

This season, Gasol averages 17.8 points on 55.4% shooting, 9.4 rebounds, and 12.1 field goal attempts per game. For comparative purposes, Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, averages 20.4 points on 51.6% shooting, 10.1 rebounds and 15.5 field goal attempts.

Duncan is attempting more shots despite having two other stars in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. In San Antonio, you wouldn't know which of their three stars is their first, second or third option on offense--all of them are good, reliable and aggressive.

Of course, the Lakers have more wins than the Spurs. But can they win important games against championship-caliber teams while Gasol is playing just a "second option" to Bryant?

Their records show they can't!

To be a championship-caliber team, the Lakers need more offensive contribution from Gasol. He shouldn't defer to Kobe specially on close games. Their recent victory against Golden State showed how Gasol can be dominating if he stays aggressive specially in closing out games.

He needs to be as aggressive as Duncan and take more than 15 attempts per game. The Lakers haven't lost a game this season with Gasol taking more than 15 shot attempts.

In their six losses this season, Gasol took less shots (10.8 on average) than his tally this season while Bryant is taking the slack by shooting five more shots (25.5 per game) than his average (20.1) this season.

This is not indicative of "Bryant shooting too much to the detriment of his team." In fact, he scored more than his average (32.2 in losses vs. 27.0 average this season) in the Lakers' six losses while Gasol scored less in losses (15.7 average) than in wins (18.3)

Can you blame Bryant for scoring 39 points on 14-of-22 field goal shooting while Gasol only had 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting in their last loss against a New Orleans team that featured a shorter frontcourt?

Clearly, it's Pau Gasol that needs to be more consistent to provide the Lakers a "one-two punch combination" that Shaquille O'Neil was so proud of during his three-peat with Bryant. It was Shaq looking at Kobe as the "two" in his boxing analogy and claiming the Lakers to be "his team" that ended their run.

The Lakers are already dominant with Kobe Bryant, probably the best player in this generation. But it takes more than one great player to make a championship team!

If you still don't believe that, ask LeBron James and Dirk Nowitski, who both went to the NBA Finals but lost to better teams featuring more than one great player.

Miami's one-two punch of Wade-and-O'Neil vs. Nowitski's Mavericks in 2006 NBA Finals...

And San Antonio's big three of Duncan-Parker-Ginobili vs. James' Cavaliers in 2007...

It both instances, one is less than two or three...

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It's Official - Lakers Are Now The Best

With their win against the Portland Trail Blazers after the Celtics lost at New York and Cavaliers lost at Washington Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers claim the top spot with a league-best 27-5 record. Boston (29-6) and Cleveland (27-6) are now looking up to the Lakers' best record in the league.

Kobe Bryant played for 33 minutes and scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 19 points in 28 minutes and Los Angeles beat the Portland Trail Blazers 100-86 Sunday night for its sixth consecutive victory and 15th straight at home.

Earlier, Paul Pierce played 42 minutes and scored 31 points, Ray Allen contributed 16 points in 37 minutes but Boston suffered another loss to a sub-.500 team, the New York Knicks (13-19) 88-100.

On the same night, the Cleveland Cavaliers, for the first time this season, lost to a team with a losing record. Lebron James played for 41 minutes and scored 30 points in a 77-80 loss to the Washington Wizards (7-25).

Cleveland and Boston are really trying hard to win regular-season games by playing their MVPs playoff-level minutes. In spite of James playing 41 minutes and Pierce 42 minutes, they both lost their game against their respective opponents last Sunday.

And the Lakers? Kobe only played 33 minutes and they won by 12 points!

So which team is the best now? The Lakers best record of 27 wins with only 5 losses says it all.

The Lakers might have won more games had Phil Jackson allowed Kobe Bryant to play the kind of minutes that Lebron and Pierce are playing. Remember their 1-point loss in Indiana? It was a won game that was lost when Kobe was resting on the bench.

Even Jackson admitted it was a coaching mistake, he should've put Bryant back at least two minutes earlier in the fourth quarter. He vowed he'd play Kobe more in the fourth quarters of their succeeding games.

Phil Jackson is more concerned about preparing his team as a potent group for the playoffs than boosting his best player's statistics. He's probably the only coach in the league who gets a bit frustrated when his best player scored 40 points in just 31 minutes saying that Bryant “tried to do too much” in the fourth quarter in their “win” against the Utah Jazz on their first game this year.

Wow! Can you imagine Mike Brown or Doc Rivers saying things like that about their best players? Only the highest paid NBA coach can do that!

James averages 36.8 minutes per game this season compared to 36.4 for Pierce, 35.7 for Allen and 35.3 for Kobe. Not much, you'd say. But the disparity in their playing times is more prominent in their crucial games.

Lebron had 10 games where he played 40 minutes or more including a 46-minute game in a loss in Atlanta and 43 minutes each in back-to-back games against Miami. He even played for 43 minutes in Oklahoma!

Yes, that's right! Forty-three big minutes against 4-and-30 Thunder! What was it with the Thunder that made Mike Brown so nervous that he wouldn't take Lebron out of the game even when his team was leading by 14 points in the last 2 minutes?

The Celtics are even worse. Or better if you feel that grinding it out in the regular season is more important than preparing your team for the playoffs and risk losing some games by giving playing time to your supporting casts.

Paul Pierce had played a staggering 15 games in which he played 40 minutes or more including a four-game stretch against Toronto, Atlanta, Denver (a loss) at home and in Milwaukee. And another three-game stretch in home games vs. New Orleans and Utah and a road win in Atlanta.

Oh, I thought Boston didn't have one MVP--they've got three!

Well, the other MVP, Ray Allen, played nine 40+ minute games including a three-game stretch in a loss to Denver (yes, the same game where Pierce played 41 minutes), a road game against the Bucks, and home game against the Knicks.

Boston even had a game where all of their “big three” played more than 40 minutes--a narrow 122-117 win in Indiana. Pierce played for 44 minutes, Garnett for 42, and Allen for 41 in avenging their 16-point road loss early in the season.

No wonder they won that game!

In stark contrast, Kobe Bryant only played four 40+ minute games. One of those games, of course, was their Christmas day match up against the Celtics where he played 43 minutes.

Of course, everybody knows who won that game.

He also played 41 minutes in a close game vs. the Knicks and 40 minutes in a 7-point win against the Mavericks.

The Lakers only loss when Kobe played 40 minutes or more was their game in Orlando. Bryant scored 41 points in 43 minutes in that game but they still lost by three points!

Could they have won that game if Kobe played a few more minutes? Maybe!

But you know, Phil Jackson wouldn't want that. He'd do everything to keep Bryant from “trying to do too much...”

So what do you think is more impressive?

The Lakers achieving their best record without burning out the reigning MVP...

Or the playoff-level minutes being played by Boston's big three...

Or maybe the unstoppable force in Cleveland who stays on the floor even on blowout games to dominate video highlight plays on TV and YouTube...

You pick! I already made mine...

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The Lakers Are Now The Best in NBA

With another impressive win against a quality opponent, the Utah Jazz (19-15), the Los Angeles Lakers have now secured their status as the NBA's best team.

The Lakers beat the Jazz 113-100 Friday night for their fifth straight win and 17th in 18 home games, while the other top two teams in the league also won their home games on the same day.

The Celtics won in Boston over the 6-25 Wizards, 108-83, while the Cavaliers defeated the 14-19 Chicago Bulls, 117-92 in Cleveland.

Of the top three teams in the current NBA's standings, the Lakers (26-5) have the better record against the Boston Celtics (29-5) and Cleveland Cavaliers (27-5) in terms of quality of wins.

Of the Cavaliers' 27 wins, only seven are against winning teams. Of the seven, only two were road wins (Dallas and Denver).

All five Cleveland losses are against winning teams (Boston, New Orleans, Detroit, Atlanta, and Miami).

Their perfect record at home is mainly due to the fact that they've only played five quality opponents at home. We'll see on Jan. 9 when they host the Celtics in Cleveland if they can still keep their home-record clean.

The following is the list of their wins against teams with winning records:

1. Nov. 3 @ Dallas 100-81
   
2. Nov. 13 vs. Denver 110-99
3. Nov. 15 vs. Utah 105-93
   
4. Dec. 19 @ Denver 105-88
5. Nov. 22 vs. Atlanta 110-96
6. Dec. 23 vs. Houston 99-90
7. Dec. 28 vs. Miami 93-86

The Celtics have seven home wins and three on the road (Houston, Detroit, and Atlanta) against quality opponents.

They've lost to two opponents with losing records (Indiana and Golden State) and three against teams with winning records (Denver at home, LA Lakers, and Portland).

The list of Celtics wins against quality opponents is as follows:

1. Oct. 28 vs. Cleveland 90-85
2. Nov. 4 @ Houston 103-99
3. Nov. 9 @ Detroit 88-76
4. Nov. 12 vs. Atlanta 103-102
5. Nov. 20 vs. Detroit 98-80
6. Dec. 1 vs. Orlando 107-88
7. Dec. 5 vs. Portland 93-78
8. Dec. 12 vs. New Orleans 94-82
9. Dec. 17 @ Atlanta 88-85
10. Dec. 15 vs. Utah 100-91

The Lakers, on the other hand, have already won 12 games against winning teams, five on the road (Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, and New Orleans twice). Two of their losses are against losing teams (Indiana and Sacramento).

Three are against teams with winning records (Detroit at home, Miami, and Orlando). The following is the list of their wins against teams with winning records:

1. Oct. 28 vs. Portland 96-76
2. Nov. 1 @ Denver 104-97
   
3. Nov. 9 vs. Houston 111-82
4. Nov. 11 @ Dallas 106-99
5. Nov. 12 @ New Orleans 93-86
6. Nov. 21 vs. Denver 104-90
7. Nov. 20 @ Phoenix 105-92
8. Nov. 28 vs. Dallas 114-107
9. Dec. 10 vs. Phoenix 115-110
10. Dec. 23 @ New Orleans 100-87
11. Dec. 25 vs. Boston 92-83
12. Jan. 2, 2009, vs. Utah 113-100
    

ESPN's Hollinger Power Ranking currently ranks the Lakers at No. 4, even below the 26-7 Orlando Magic, and I can't understand why.

Maybe it's about time that John Hollinger modifies his computer program to make its forecast more accurate. It failed in its prediction about the Utah Jazz last season, right?

Anyway, as John pointed out, it's an entirely automated ranking, so certain "human" factors are missing. So Marc Stein's Power Ranking should be more accurate, as he now ranks the Lakers as the best team in the NBA.

No doubt about that!

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Celtics Struggling Against Top Offensive Teams

With Boston Celtics' loss to the Trail Blazers and the Cleveland Cavaliers' (26-5) loss to Miami on Dec. 30, the two top Eastern Conference teams now have the same number of losses as the Los Angeles Lakers (25-5).

The Celtics' five losses are hardly surprising. Although Boston (28-5) is still a top defensive team, leading the league in limiting its opponents' field-goal shooting (41.9 percent) and second in the NBA in opponents' points allowed (90.8 per game), the C's really struggle against the best offensive teams in the NBA.

Let's break down their losses:

Loss No. 1: Pacers (10-21)
Nov. 1, 2008 at Indiana, 95-79

Indiana is a good offensive team, averaging 102.3 points per game, good for sixth best in the league. They are fourth best when playing at home, averaging 106.6 points per contest. Indiana's offensive superiority was really evident in their game, as the Pacers led by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter.

They also made hustle plays that forced 24 Celtics turnovers, which the Pacers converted to 19 points. Boston is the worst team in the NBA in that department, averaging 15.9 turnovers per game. The Pacers also had 20 assists compared to 15 for Boston. Indiana averages 22.4 assists per game (third best in the league).

Loss No. 2: Nuggets (21-12)
Nov. 14, 2008 vs. Denver, 95-85

Boston's only home loss so far was against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets average 102.7 points-per-game (fifth in the league). With the arrival of Chauncey Billups, they've become a top defensive team also, limiting their opponents to 43.6 percent field goal shooting (fourth in the league).

They're also one of the best Western teams in matching up against Eastern teams. They are 8-3 in their games against teams in the Eastern Conference and are undefeated (5-0) in their games against Atlantic Division rivals.

In their game, Denver hit 48.8 percent from the field, well above the 41.9 percent the Celtics allow opponents to score against them, with six Nuggets scoring in double-figures. The Celtics only shot 39.7 percent from the field. Denver also won the rebounding battle, with 43 vs. 37 and Carmelo Anthony leading the way with 13 boards.

Loss No. 3: Lakers (25-5)
Dec. 25, 2008 at LA Lakers, 92-83

The LA Lakers lead the league in scoring, averaging 107.3 points per game. And their scoring average at home is even better at 109.4 points per contest. The Lakers are also underrated defenders. They actually limit their opponents to 44 percent field goal shooting, for sixth best in the league. They are also top rebounders, with 44.8 boards per game (second in the NBA) and the second best passing team in the league, with 23.3 assists per game.

The Lakers shot 46.2 percent from the field (it would have been 50 percent if not for Derek Fisher's 2-of-10 field goal shooting) and hit 8-of-20 from beyond the three-point line in their Christmas Day matchup against the defending champions.

They had 27 assists against 22 for the Celtics and blocked nine shots (vs. three for Boston). The Celtics also had 18 turnovers (vs. 11 for the Lakers) that were converted into 22 points.

Loss No. 4: Warriors (10-24)
Dec. 26, 2008 at Golden State, 99-89

This game was the second game of the Celtics' back-to-back against the top two offensive teams in the league. The Warriors are the second best offensive team in the league, averaging 105.2 point-per-game behind the Lakers' 107.3 average. They are No. 1 when playing at their home court, at 109.5. (The Lakers are second.)

Despite the Warriors' undersized frontcourt, they are the best shot-blocking team in the NBA, with Ronny Turiaf averaging 2.2 blocks per game. They also average 13 offensive rebounds per game (third in the league).

For two straight nights, the Celtics' turnovers proved too costly for them. Boston had 23 turnovers that were converted into 27 points by the Warriors. Golden State shot 45.8 percent from the field and was only 10-of-27 from beyond the arc but used a 35-17 fourth quarter run to seal the win.

Loss No. 5: Trail Blazers (20-12)
Dec. 30, 2008 at Portland, 91-86

Portland is just an average offensive team, scoring less than 100 points per game. But the Trail Blazers are getting 103.5 points per contest when playing at home (ninth in the league). They are also the best Western team matching up with their Eastern counterparts. They are 10-2 against teams in the Eastern Conference and 4-1 against Atlantic Division rivals.

Portland is the most defense-oriented of the five teams that beat Boston. Its record against defense-oriented East teams shows this orientation. But they are just 10-10 against offense-oriented West teams.

Portland limits its opponents to 75.9 field goal attempts per game (third best in the league). The Blazers are one of the top offensive rebounding with 13.2 per contest (second in the NBA).

In their last game, the Blazers shot 45.2 percent from the field, hitting 6-of-15 attempts from beyond the arc while Boston was 3-of-14 from beyond the three-point line and 27-of-67 overall for 40.3 percent. The teams' rebounding disparity was more prominent with Portland getting 44 rebounds (13 in the offensive end) to Boston's 24 (just five offensive boards).

Conclusion

With the exception of its last game against the Trail Blazers, Boston's losses are against top offensive teams in the league. The Celtics' current record against seven of the top offensive teams in the NBA is as follows. (Boston owns the eighth best mark, at 101 points per game.):

1. LA Lakers: 1 road loss, next game at home on Feb. 5
2. Golden State: 1 home win, 1 road loss
3. New York: 2 home wins, next game on the road, Jan. 4
4. Phoenix: 0 games played, next game at home on Jan. 19
5. Denver: 1 home loss, next game at home on Feb. 23
6. Indiana: 1 road loss, 1 home win, 1 road win, next game on the road, Feb. 27
7. Cleveland: 1 home win, next game on the road, Jan. 9

Are the Boston Celtics really struggling against the top offensive teams in the NBA? We'll see this month, when they face New York, Cleveland, and Orlando (the ninth best offensive team) on the road and play against Phoenix in Boston. They might already be a nine-loss team before they meet the Pistons in Detroit on Jan. 30.

By then we can say whether they can match up with the best offensive teams in the league and beat the Los Angeles Lakers in their next game in Boston on Feb. 5

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Lakers beat Celtics on Christmas day

The Los Angeles Lakers gave us "love this Christmas day" by beating Boston, 92-83, and snap the Celtics 19-game winning streak.

I knew it! There's no way the Lakers would lose this game I even made a bet that I'd stop posting in this blog if the Celtics win the game. Thank you Phil. Thank you Kobe. Thank you Pau. Thank you Lakers for keeping this blog alive!

Phil was right in sticking to his starting lineup featuring "The Twin Towers" with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, even though it's not their most efficient unit, and they sometimes struggled on road games against smaller and quicker teams like Miami, Sacramento, Orlando, and Indiana. They almost lost in New York with a short-handed Knicks lineup. Jackson really prepared his players well for a game like this--against the best and hottest team in the league.

Bynum had 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and just 2 personal fouls in 36 minutes. Luke Walton had a solid game in 28 minutes scoring 8 points, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 4 rebounds. He was also 2-3 in the 3-point line. Now we know why Phil inserted him in the starting lineup replacing Vladimir Radmanovic, who seemed to have found his offensive game before the switch. Luke is a better defender and passer, having mastered the triangle offense in his 5 years of playing for the Lakers. He's also more consistent against championship caliber opponents.

Kobe Bryant had his usual game that made him MVP last season with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Pau Gasol scored 7 of his 20 points in the final three minutes. He also had 5 assists and blocked 3 shots, one of which was on Ray Allen's 3-point attempt that would have put the Celtics within two points with 1:16 minutes left in the game.

Derek Fisher helped limit Rajon Rondo to 6 points on 3-of-11 shooting although he also struggled offensively, shooting 2-of-10 in the field scoring 6 points but he made 7 assists. Lamar Odom came off the bench and contributed 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. He also made two of his three 3-point attempts. Sasha Vujacic also contributed 10 points.

Kevin Garnett topscored for the Celtics with 22 points with 9 rebounds. Paul Pierce had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Ray Allen scored 14 points on 5-of-14 field goal shooting.

The Lakers played excellent defense in the fourth quarter, limiting the Celtics to 16 points. Boston missed all seven of their 3-point attempts in the final period. They surely missed James Posey's clutch 3-point shooting.

Gasol, who, before this game, usually defers to Bryant in the last quarter, was more aggressive at both ends of the floor. He made all three of his shots and all three of his free throws in the fourth quarter for nine of his team's 21 points.

The Lakers' frontcourt players blocked nine of their opponents shots to Boston's three. The Lakers also had more trips to the free-throw line making 12-of-15 to 6-of-8 for the Celtics. They also made 8-of-20 3-point shots while Boston was only 5-of-22 for 22.7%. The team's swarming defense also forced 17 Celtics turnovers.

Who's the best defensive team in the league right now? They say it's the Boston Celtics. Well, maybe they were last year. But this season, the Lakers proved they can play defense to the team that beat them in the NBA Finals just six months ago.

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Lakers-Celtics Preview - 25-Dec-08

The Lakers will win this game against the Boston Celtics this Christmas. That's my prediction. And I'm pretty confident of this that I'd be willing to bet the life of this blog to any Celtics bloggers out there if the Lakers lose this game.

Basketball analysts either refuses or can't make their own predictions due to many variables. The Celtics is the hottest team right now, coming to the game trying to get their 20th winning streak to tie them with the third-best in NBA history. Meanwhile, the Lakers, at least on paper, made the better roster upgrade with the return of 7-footer Andrew Bynum, who was injured during last year's playoffs, while the Celtics lost James Posey and veterans P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell and haven't made yet any significant additions to their lineup.

Many believed that the Lakers' recent slide--their 2-2 performance, in their 4 game road trip--is a telling sign that they are not yet ready for a showdown with the Celtics. I don't buy that! Phil Jackson's insistence of keeping both his 7-footers in the starting lineup, even though it's not their best performing unit, is obviously in preparation for this matchup (or similar ones like with the Cleveland Cavaliers). Jackson is not the winningest coach is NBA for nothing.

Judging from their games last season's Finals and both teams' recent development, I'm convinced that the Lakers now have the right pieces to win over the Celtics, not just in this game but their eventual match up in this season's Finals (assuming the Celtics would win over the Cavaliers).

Taking out Game 6 of the Finals, in which the Lakers players and coaching staff obviously gave up, the series was evenly matched up with both teams winning their home games except for Game 4. That game showed that the Lakers could dominate the Celtics using their superior offensive game and their swarming defense. Although the Celtics won the game 97-91, the Lakers was dominant in the first half of that game. They scored 35 points and limited the Celtics to 14 points in the first quarter. Lamar Odom, who seemed to be unstoppable during that quarter, made all his field goal attempts and scored 13 points with 5 rebounds. The teams dominance continued in the second quarter when they increased their lead to 24 points on a 3-point shot of Vujacic midway through the quarter. Unfortunately, they stopped playing their game after that.

The Celtics bounced back in the second half scoring 31 points in the third quarter while limiting the Lakers to 15 points. Odom disappeared during that quarter scoring only 2 points on free throws. He added only 6 points, 2 in each quarter, to his first quarter numbers to score 19 points with 10 rebounds in the game. Bryant, who was forced to miss a lot of jump shots to make up for his team's missing offensive game in the second half, scored only 17 points but had 10 assists and 4 steals. Gasol also had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Fisher and Radmanovic added 13 and 10 points for the starters, respectively.

The Celtics superiority in defense showed up in that game. But this superiority, I believe, is now negated with the addition of Andrew Bynum and the healthy Trevor Ariza in the Lakers lineup. Plus, their best Kobe stopper in James Posey now is playing for the Hornets.

Let's see how it would go. Please share your thoughts.

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Lakers is the winningest team in the NBA

The Los Angeles Lakers has the best winning percentage record in the NBA. Since 1949 the Lakers have won 2,926 games in 4,753 games for league-best 61.6%. The number two team, Boston Celtics, that joined the league two years earlier, had 2,883 wins against 1,981 losses (59.3%) while the third-best, San Antonio Spurs, had 1,942 wins in 3,359 games (57.8%).

Although the Celtics has won more championships with 17 titles, against 14 championships for the Lakers, the Lakers franchise has more Conference and Division titles. The team had 16 conference and 30 division titles while Boston had only 8 and 26 respectively. The Celtics' better championship record is mainly due to their dominance in the 60's. Bill Russel, who was peerless during that period, led them to 8 straight championships from 1958 to 1966. Russel also led them to 2 championships in 3 seasons from 1966 to 1969 as a coach.

The Lakers have played in the playoffs for 55 seasons compared to 46 playoffs for the Celtics. The former had only missed the playoffs in 1958, 1975-76, 1994, and 2005, the year they traded Shaq to Miami.

Click here for the complete statistics.

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