Laker matchup: The start of something big

Oden-Bynum battle could last a decade; Blazers excited about their season-opening draw

By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, Oct 28, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

The Big Three for the L.A. Lakers: (from left) Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum.

ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN / GETTY IMAGES

ADVERTISEMENTS

LOS ANGELES — Pundits are saying the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorite to win the NBA championship this year, and Kobe Bryant, among others, is on record as saying he prefers a return match with the defending champion Boston Celtics in the finals.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, though, there is an entire season to play.

It starts tonight at Staples Center, and the Trail Blazers hope to make a statement with a strong performance in the nationally televised opener.

“They’re the defending Western Conference champs,” Portland’s Brandon Roy says of the Lakers. “That’s what we want to be. It’s a good challenge. We match up really well with them. Hopefully we can pull off a huge upset.”

Well, why not?

I’m not sure the Blazers will win tonight, but there are reasons to believe they have a pretty good chance.

It’s a fascinating first test for this Portland team that many experts believe is a team of the future. And it will be hard not to get caught up in some of the individual matchups this game has to offer.

Roy against Bryant. LaMarcus Aldridge against Pau Gasol. Greg Oden vs. Andrew Bynum.

“But that’s the good thing about our team,” Roy offers. “We don’t look at it that way. We just want to go out there and win the game.

“It doesn’t matter if I score five or six points as long as we win. Whatever it takes. Oden isn’t caught up in the matchup with Bynum; same with LaMarcus against Gasol. We have good matchups, and hopefully it will play in our favor that night.”

The Lakers are nothing if not formidable. It begins with their coach, Hall-of-Famer Phil Jackson, who can smell another ring to add to his collection that stands now at nine.

“The Lakers are really good,” Portland General Manager Kevin Pritchard says. “I think they’re the favorites to win it all. With Bynum back, they’re just so talented, and they’re really deep. And when you start with probably the best player in the world in Kobe, they have all the pieces.”

Jackson is hinting that he’ll bring Lamar Odom off the bench, which would mean that Vladimir Radmanovic — one of the game’s purest shooters — would start at small forward.

With Bryant and Derek Fisher in the backcourt and Gasol and Bynum on the front line, it would still mean perhaps the most potent starting five in the league.

1 | 2 Next Page >>