Potential 2011 Playoff Preview: Lakers vs. Trail Blazers

The lack of talent in Portland seems to be less of a factor this year than in recent years with the acquisition of Gerald Wallace at the trade deadline.  Throw in a developing perennial scorer, a veteran point-guard and a healthy Marcus Camby, the Blazers seem to match up well with the defending champions.

Health, however, is always an issue, especially for the Blazers.  Brandon Roy’s knees (absent the meniscus) have slowed the former NBA Rookie of the Year and three-time NBA All-Star. Without the incredible play from wings Wesley Matthews (16.2 PPG) and Batum (12.2 PPG), the Blazers would be looking to fight out of the dungeon of the Western Conference with the terrible Timberwolves and on-the-move Kings.

Let’s, for a second, assume Roy will have enough rest to see glimpses of the all-NBA player he’s capable of being and Camby comes off of his day-to-day status with an ankle injury at full strength.  With this in mind, let’s take a look at a position-by-position breakdown of the Blazers’ and Lakers’ starting five and the never-forgotten, all-important bench:

Next: Positional Breakdown

You May Also Like

Lakers News: Ed Davis Suffers Broken Nose In Win Over Nuggets

After sitting out three games to rest, Kobe Bryant recorded a triple-double…

Lakers News: Dwight Howard Had No Reservations About Returning To Los Angeles

DeMarcus Cousins’ unfortunate injury prior to the 2019-20 NBA season forced the Los Angeles Lakers to quickly search…

Update on Kobe’s Ankle Injury: ‘Worst Sprain of My Career’

*Update – 3.14.11 LATimes* via LATimes.com – Kobe Bryant a game-time decision…

Lakers Nation Week in Review: Nov. 13 – Nov. 19

Another week concludes with the NBA lockout still raging on. Rumors of…