Here we go. I've waited what seems like a long time to say it, but its time for our first game of the year. We'll be playing the Lakers in Los Angeles, in their house. We'll be on national tv, and playing in front of Jack Nicholson, Diane Cannon, God, and everyone else. Its a good test for these guys and a good opportunity for them to learn to step up to a challenge. You can say what you want about Kobes knee or his hand, Odoms attitude, or Bynums contract, but one thing is for certain.....Phil Jackson will have this team ready to play basketball. This Laker team is much the same as the one that played Boston in the finals. The big change though is the return of seven footer Andrew Bynum to the starting lineup, allowing LaMar Odom to slide over to small forward. It will be fun to see how our own Greg Oden matches up with Bynum. Up until now Chris Kaman has been the best center he has faced and he gave Kaman fits. Certainly some pundits and most Laker fans will disagree with me but I'm calling this matchup even. I'm expecting big things from Oden in this game. This is the stage he has been waiting to play on for a long time and I will be surprised if we don't see him at his best. How this affects Bynum I'm not sure. We'll get to find out Tuesday night. The return of Odom has allowed Pau Gasol to move back to his natural position at power forward. He'll be matched with third year Blazer LaMarcus Aldridge. L.A. is stronger and quicker and a better shooter that Gasol, and its likely that the Blazers will try and run at Gasol early in the game and take advantage of this matchup. Advantage Blazers. Our biggest disadvantage is at the small forward position, where 19 year old Nicolas Batum is expected to be given a chance to show the world he belongs in the NBA. Batum has been a standout defensively during training camp and the preseason. But he will have his hands full against wily veteran Laker forward LaMar Odom. Odom has developed a reputation in the past for being very aggressive and physical with our young players. Small forward is our weakest position and it will be a real challenge for young Batum to stand up to Odom who will be looking to take advantage of Batum every chance he gets. Lakers have the edge here. At shooting guard we don't have a Kobe stopper. Nobody does. We do have returning all-star Brandon Roy who is no slouch, but no one has really found a way to stop Bryant yet. And Roy won't either. The Celtics did a pretty good job on Kobe in the finals by playing outstanding team defense. It remains to be seen whether our guys can play D like the champs did. The game will likely depend on what kind of help Brandon can get from his teammates. I have a bad feeling though that Kobe is going to have one of those nights, and our guys are going to learn a lesson about playing with focus and intensity for 48 minutes. Brandon, on the other hand has all the skills necessary to be a real pain in the rear for the Lakers. He has always played well against them in the past and with Oden in the middle and Rudy coming off the bench he might find a way to surprise everyone. Advantage Lakers Point Guard. Our own Steve Blake is a serviceable and reliable veteran who seems poised to have his best season. But he is no Derek Fisher. Fisher has been thru the wars and has both the scars and the rings to prove it. The Lakers won't be doing anything new in this game. Fisher has played many games with this coach and these players and the triangle offense. He is a better player than Blake and will be ready to start the season off with a W. Advantage Lakers. I see our guys playing well, losing focus at some point and the Lakers building up a lead and coming back only to fall short of victory. I'm picking the Lakers to win by five points. http://www.clubblazers.com/game-previewportland-vs-la-lakers/
