WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS!!!

Get ready for some exciting NLL basketball, folks! This one features two of the BEST teams in the Western Conference battling for the right to move on to the NBA FINALS and a chance to engrave their names in history!!

There are two different storylines to follow as we have Champion trying to defend his turf and a wounded foe who still carries a chip on tnheir shoulder from an early round elimination from last season. This has fun and thrill written all over it.

First we will take a look at a quick overview of what each team brings to the table as of the beginning of this preview and then we'll dive into the head-to-head match-up analysis.


Los Angeles Lakers Overview:

The Lakers are at full throttle ahead oince again! They have a complete bench and starting lineup, with no major blows to the structure of the squad. 
A team that knows how to win and has beaten the entire league last season, LA features a smart, high IQ veterans in every position and will look to take full advantage of that to try and take command of this one against a lower seeded Denver.
Manu Ginobli has been playing some of the best basketball of his entire career and he will dictate the tempo and keep the veterans on their toes so as not to get sloppy with the basketball.

Denver Nuggets Overview:

Denver is the ultimate scrappy team, with a hint of finesse I might add, but scrappy defines them well. Having guys like Luol Deng, Zaza Pachulia, Kent Bazemore, Derrick Favors and John  Wall gives you that identity and they will continue to be maximum effort guys on  the court to represent their Nuggets in the best of ways. This team has found a way to win and has knocked out the higher seeded Dallas in the previous round, so they have plenty of venom in their veins.


                                                   Head-to-Head Match-ups: 


Tyson Chandler vs. Zaza Pachulia 

TyTy vs. Zaza! The guy that has put himself to be one of the best defensive Centers ever in NLL history vs. The guy that burst onto the scene this season after being given an opportunity in NBA Dallas. Zaza looks to be on roids given his career ressurgence and he´s got offensive moves too. The battle of the glass will be amazing to see in this one and Zaza seems to be a bit overmatched on the phisicality front so we´ll chalk this up to LA but it is a close battle as Zaza has made Denver a serious contender.

 

Edge: LAL

Mason Plumlee vs. Derrick Favors

This battle looks lopsided in Denver´s “favor” (get it?) at first sight, but this is the NLL and Plumlee has been a mainstay for the Lakers for the season and the playoffs as he gives them stability and consistente effort coupled with results. The Lakers, so far, have opted to go with the younger and more polished Plumlee over the former starter Hill or even Baynes at the PF spot. While Plumlee has good size and is a very good fundamental player out of Duke, Favors is just so talented for the PF position. He can impact the game in so many ways starting with his very refined offensive moves and a developing defensive game that has grown alongside his tenacity for the boards. Derrick is a complete player for the position with no major holes, edge goes to the  Nugs.

Edge: DEN

Gerald Green vs. Otto Porter 

Green is a a volume shooter, he will just bomb it out from everywhere pulling badly taken shots and making some of them. While he is a shot taker, he is also a maker of difficult shots so the hope is that is balances out, and it usually does since he is a prime candidate for MVP every year 2k keeps him as a glitch. Otto Porter is an all around guy, a player that does so many things well but isn´t a specialist in any of them yet. Still a Young player with tremendous length to pose problems to the uber-athletic Green. He isn´t refined to the point where he can make this match-up fair game, so LA has the edge.

Edge: LAL

Manu Ginobli vs. J.J. Reddick 

Reddick a sharpshooter, 3-and-D type of player that is there to knock down shots and the rest of the team runs the plays to put him in position to do just that. He has developed into one of the premier 3-point ballers in the league and gives maximum effort on D. Ginobli, even at this stage of his career is a crafty veteran who knows all the shortcuts of the game and will dominate like a silent assassin if you leave him be. He is arguably one of the smartest players ever.  He is looking for probably one last hurrah before stepping off into the sunset, this might be it. On paper, the edge has to go to JJ but certainly Ginobli has the best momentum coming into this one.

Edge: DEN

George Hill vs. John Wall

Athleticism gallore!!! Two of the best scoring PGs in this league clashing hard. The difference is that Wall might be the second most athletic PG and the fastest player in the league outright! Hill is an athletic scorer and has some moves on the offensive end to take advantage of his size over smaller and slower opponents anytime he’s on 1x1 situations, Wall can probably conter that. Wall is a serious contender for the MVP crown and has all the necessary tools to dominate any game he wishes. Wall takes the edge, because of athleticism and how importante he is to the Nugs.

Edge: DEN

So there we have it, Reigning Champs or the Wall-Train, which side are YOU on?