Positional Breakdown: The Shooting Guards

Ray Allen vs. Kobe Bryant. Across the internet, and on TV, the story has been "how will Boston defend Kobe?". Honestly, no one really can. Not one-on-one, and maybe not two-on-one. Defending Kobe will have to be a team effort. But, the better question might be, "who will defend Ray Allen?". The Lakers starting-five looks like this: Pau Gasol (C), Lamar Odom (PF), Vladimir Radmanovic (SF), Kobe (SG), and Derek Fisher (PG). Out of those five, the only guy who matches up well with Ray Allen is....Kobe Bryant. However, I suspect that Bryant will be exerting most of his defensive energy covering the likes of Paul Pierce. So who does that leave? Radmanovic? Highly unlikely. My guess is that, while Radmanovic will start, we'll be seeing a lot of Sasha Pavlovic on the court to match up with Allen. Radmanovic just doesn't have the quickness or defensive prowess to match up well with Allen. This matchup, however, is dependent on which Ray Allen shows up in this series. If it's the Ray Allen from the first 18 games of the playoffs, then this becomes a pointless debate, as L.A. won't pay the price for giving Allen plenty of open space. However, if it's the Ray Allen from Games 5 and 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, then the Lakers have a decision to make. Either way, Allen will initially cause L.A. to change it's matchups - at least until they, and we, see which "Ray Ray" is in the building. While all the talk has been about Kobe, and his MVP, and how he's matured, and how he can't be stopped, it's Ray Allen that is the key to this series. If "First 18 games of the Playoffs" Ray Allen is in the lineup, the odds of the Celtics keeping the series close become daunting. If "Games 5 and 6" Allen show up, then the Celtics not only have a legitimate chance.......