By the way pay attention to the Cavsrsquo small ball rotation

At the end of regulation with Charlie Bell guarding him, Kobe goes to the top left corner of the free throw line and fakes the spin move left and shoots a fade away jumper that clangs off the rim. With the ball in overtime and the clock winding down, Kobe executes the exact same move from the exact same spot and drills the game winner as time expires over the outstretched arms of Charlie Bell. How Do You Want ItThug Passion: Despite all the accomplishments and accolades, Kobe refuses to be content with what he has; he still has the passion and hunger for more. His numbers this season are 29.3 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, 4.2 assists per game and 2.19 steals per game. On Friday, the Christmas game will highlight (isn’t it interesting that Shaquille O’Neal is more often than not part of the NBA Xmas game) two cohesive teams that will display some very good basketball On Cleveland’s side of things, pay attention to Shaq Not for his production though, but rather how long he plays. It turns out that the acquisition of Shaq is actually backfiring on the Cavs. However, when he plays less than 25 minutes, the Cavaliers are an astounding 11-2.

By the way, pay attention to the Cavs’ small ball rotation. Unfortunately they have not played enough minutes together for 82games to compile their /- numbers, but the lineup of Daniel Gibson, Mo Williams, Delonte West, LeBron James and Anderson Varejao can put up points in bunches. The Cavaliers might use that five man unit in spurts to trap, and get into passing lanes. Indeed, in order for Cleveland to be victorious, they will need to force turnovers and disrupt the triangle offense by playing disciplined defense. In addition, Cleveland will have to rely on their ball movement to get Mo Williams and Delonte West some open shots. If they are hitting their shots, the Lakers will be in trouble because it will give LeBron James more space to operate.

Also I would pay attention to one last detail: because it’s a Christmas game, the players are clearly aware that the game is nationally televised and that everyone will be watching. As a result, some of the Lakers players might get caught up in the glamour and glitz and try to showcase their talent (once again, still paging Ron Artest) to the world. It’s like when guys see that new girl either at school or at work; they do what they can to get noticed. But along the way, they usually end up stepping on somebody’s toes. When it’s all said and done though, I expect the Lakers to win at home against the Cavaliers because they will pound the boards and get a lot of interior scoring from Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. In addition, the Lakers will be able to defend LeBron James with three different players who will each guard him differently: Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant.

Some might think that the Lakers need to throw different match ups at King James might actually take them out of what they want to do because of the various lineups that they will employ, but that line of thinking is actually off. Look at the /- stats of three best Lakers five man units:-Lakers Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol Bynum is 68-Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Odom, Bynum is 27-Farmar, Bryant, Artest, Odom, Gasol 26 What this means is that no matter what mix of players the Lakers decide to put on the court, they will be efficient because they will have at least two of their best five players on the court. Los Angeles will throughout the game have a player to match up with LeBron (keep in mind, James will have to defend either Artest , Odom or Bryant; merry Christmas ‘Bron); and will also have a post presence that can score inside and facilitate for the perimeter players. The Cavs will hang in tight, but in the end the Lakers talent will be too much for Cleveland to overcome. Quick note: With the trade deadline being in February, have a close look at the weaknesses that the Lakers will expose in this game.