Lakers-Celtics Finals: Series Previews

[duncan228]

Capsule preview of the Lakers-Celtics NBA finals (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-nbafinalscapsule)
By Brian Mahoney

A capsule look at the NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, which begin Thursday night (with playoff stats):

LOS ANGELES LAKERS (57-25, 12-4) vs. BOSTON CELTICS (50-32, 12-5)

Starters:

Lakers—C Andrew Bynum (9.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.7 bpg), F Pau Gasol (20.0 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 1.9 bpg), F Ron Artest (11.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.5 apg), G Kobe Bryant (29.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 6.2 apg), G Derek Fisher (11.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.1 apg).

Celtics—C Kendrick Perkins (5.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.9 bpg), F Kevin Garnett (14.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.3 apg), F Paul Pierce (19.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.6 apg), G Ray Allen (16.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.0 apg), G Rajon Rondo (16.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 10.0 apg, 2.1 spg).

Key Reserves:

Lakers—F Lamar Odom (10.6 ppg, 9.5 rpg), G Shannon Brown (5.8 ppg, 1.1 apg), G Jordan Farmar (5.3 ppg, 1.6 apg), G Sasha Vujacic (3.3 ppg).

Celtics—F Glen Davis (7.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg), F Rasheed Wallace (6.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg), G/F Tony Allen (5.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg), G Nate Robinson (3.7 ppg), G Michael Finley (0.9 ppg).

Season Series: Tied, 1-1. The teams exchanged one-point victories. Kobe Bryant made the go-ahead jumper with 7.3 seconds left in the Lakers’ 90-89 victory at Boston on Jan. 31, then missed the rematch with a sprained left ankle and the Celtics pulled out an 87-86 win at Staples Center on Feb. 18. Rajon Rondo averaged 17.5 points, 11.5 assists and 3.5 steals.

Storyline: The NBA’s greatest rivalry gets another chapter as the Lakers and Celtics meet for the second time in three years, and the 12th time overall. Boston leads the series 9-2 after its six-game victory in 2008. Los Angeles won the title last year and is trying to become the league’s first repeat champion since it won three in a row from 2000-02. The Celtics have won 17 championships, two more than the Lakers.

Key matchup I: Pau Gasol vs. Kevin Garnett. This one went to Boston in a big way two years ago, when Garnett, that season’s defensive player of the year, led a powerful interior defense that bullied the Lakers’ frontcourt. That increased the questions about whether Gasol is a “soft” player, but he’s much tougher now, and he has a chance to prove it this time. Garnett scored at least 18 points in every game against Cleveland in the second round, then managed more than 10 only once against Orlando in the conference finals.

Key matchup II: Paul Pierce vs. Ron Artest. For all the headaches Artest can cause with his questionable shot selection, the Lakers figured he’d be worth it for his defense against the top small forwards. They needed someone for Pierce, the finals MVP two years ago who has rebounded from a quiet offensive series against Cleveland in the second round.

X-factor: Ray Allen. The Celtics need Allen’s jumper to be on, and that might be asking a lot considering he’ll have to spend time covering Bryant on the other end. Allen scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting in Boston’s victory in the regular season, but was held to seven points and shot just 2 for 10 in the loss.

Prediction: Lakers in six.

*********************

Position-by-position matchups for the NBA finals (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-nbafinals-matchups)
By Brian Mahoney

A position-by-position look at the matchups in the NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.

CENTER: Andrew Bynum vs. Kendrick Perkins. The Lakers sorely missed Bynum two years ago against the Celtics in the finals, when he was sidelined with a knee injury. He’s back now but still has knee problems that have limited him to only about 24 minutes per game in the postseason. Perkins, an excellent defender, will look forward to an easier cover after having to defend and be defended by Dwight Howard in the last round. Edge: Even.

POWER FORWARD: Pau Gasol vs. Kevin Garnett. The matchup that could swing the series. Garnett easily had the better of it two years, but Gasol is much tougher than he was then and is having a terrific postseason. Still a top defender, Garnett scored at least 18 points in every game against Cleveland in the second round, then managed more than 10 only once against Orlando. Edge: Lakers.

SMALL FORWARD: Ron Artest vs. Paul Pierce. Artest will drive the Lakers’ fans and coaches nuts with some bad shots, but all will be forgiven if he can do what Los Angeles couldn’t do two years ago: defend Pierce. Pierce’s offensive game is back on track after he had to sacrifice scoring while defending LeBron James in the East semifinals, so Artest will have to be at his best. Edge: Celtics.

SHOOTING GUARD: Kobe Bryant vs. Ray Allen. Bryant comes off a magnificent series against Phoenix in the West finals, averaging 33.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists while making 52.1 percent of his shots. He wants this one badly after the Celtics held him in check in their victory two years ago. Allen, still one of the NBA’s best shooters, scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting in Boston’s regular-season victory over Los Angeles but was limited to seven and shot just 2 for 10 in its loss. Edge: Lakers.

POINT GUARD: Derek Fisher vs. Rajon Rondo. Rondo has been one of the best players in this postseason, but he’s taken a lot of bumps along the way and wasn’t as spectacular in the conference finals as he was against Cleveland in the previous round. Still, his athleticism makes this the one matchup that should definitely favor Boston. Fisher still can be counted on to hit a big shot somewhere along the way, as he did in Game 4 of last year’s finals. Edge: Celtics.

RESERVES: Lamar Odom, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton vs. Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen, Nate Robinson and Michael Finley. A lot depends on the health of the Celtics, who watched Davis and Wallace get banged up in the previous round. If the Celtics are healthy, they are deeper. Tony Allen will get plenty of chances to defend Bryant. Edge: Celtics.

COACHES: Phil Jackson vs. Doc Rivers. After the Celtics delayed him two years ago, Jackson won his NBA-best 10th championship last June. Rivers carefully monitored his aging stars’ minutes late in the season, even as it cost the Celtics wins. The most intriguing part of the coaching matchup this year could be the rumor mill: There’s talk that neither will be back with his team next season. Edge: Even.

[Ghazi]

Perkins v Bynum being even is LOLable.

[namlook]

Perkins v Bynum being even is LOLable.

If that's the case Perkins is definitely overrated. He has no offensive game to speak off. He's strictly a defender.

[Ghazi]

great fucking defender :cry

[namlook]

great fucking defender :cry

A very good defender who has never made a 1st or 2nd team all-defensive team.

[duncan228]

2010 NBA Finals Preview (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/britt_robson/05/31/finals.lakers.celtics/index.html)
#1 Lakers (57-25) vs. #4 Celtics (50-32)
Britt Robson
SI.com

The 2008 Finals were mercilessly hyped due to the resurrection of the NBA's famed rivalry between the Lakers and the Celts. But the 2010 rematch could become a more classic, competitive series. Both teams have impeccable credentials -- dominating early in the season as they conducted a talent and chemistry check, then coasting in the latter half of the season to conserve health and energy for June. But now their slates are cleared.

The Lakers have been the best in the West since opening day and have never trailed by even a game thus far in the postseason. The Celtics just finished toppling a 61-win opponent and then a 59-win opponent without holding home-court advantage in either series. Both Boston and L.A. have been more physically rugged, emotionally experienced and mentally resilient than any of their playoff foes. Now, confronting each other in the Finals, their enormous mutual respect is overridden by the knowledge that the team most ruthlessly focused on the task at hand is likely to be the victor.

Key Matchup

Rajon Rondo vs. Lakers' Backcourt. In what should be a long series between a pair of well-coached, defensively engaged teams, this matchup will continually shift and evolve with the inevitable adjustments. That said, the source and size of the Laker effort required to deter Rondo will be a dominant, ongoing subplot. Derek Fisher was huge for the Lakers at both ends of the court against Deron Williams and the Jazz, and against Steve Nash and the Suns. But Rondo's skill set is more akin to the Thunder's Russell Westbrook, who torched Fish in the first round. When the Celtics' point guard is allowed to become a hustling acrobat freelancing on the fly, he electrifies the crowd and galvanizes momentum by his style as well as his substance. If the Lakers are forced to cover Rondo with Kobe Bryant instead of Fisher (and with their bigs showing harder and further out on the perimeter), it will dampen the ignition and sap energy from an L.A. offense already challenged by Boston's suffocating D. Solid minutes on Rondo from the occasionally capable (but ultimately unreliable) backup guards Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown would be a big boon for L.A.

Another intriguing joust will involve Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol at power forward, two extraordinarily coordinated, well-rounded 7-footers who would rather pirouette for position than bang shoulders for box-outs in the paint. K.G. frequently schooled Gasol early in the Spaniard's career, but Gasol probably now enjoys a slight match-up advantage, if only because his knees enable him to move laterally without a wince.

X-Factor

Lakers: Ron Artest. L.A. swapped out Trevor Ariza in favor of Artest in the offseason because Artest is a better defender against the league's larger, premier go-to scorers, such as Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and, perhaps most of all, Boston's Paul Pierce. Pierce plays larger than his listed height of 6 -6 on offense, in part because he excels at drawing the foul through an assortment of up-fakes, dribble-push step-backs and lean-in jumpers. But Artest, who is also 6-6 but more muscular than Pierce, has superb judgment on when to leave his feet for a block attempt, and crowds his man so stolidly that step-backs are difficult and lean-ins don't budge him. Consequently, despite drawing the opponent's top scorer on a regular basis, Artest committed fewer fouls per game than any of the Lakers' starters this season. And he held Pierce below his scoring average both at Houston last season and with L.A. this year.

After his ill-chosen three-pointer in the final minute of Game 5 against Phoenix, Artest's poor shot selection has achieved greater notoriety. Opponents have learned to gamble on leaving him open so they can double-team and trap Kobe. And while Artest's accuracy has improved with each succeeding playoff series, expect the Celtics to bait him into jumpers. If he can choose prudence over pride on offense, and continue to clamp down on Pierce on defense, he'll be extremely valuable in this series.

Celtics: Kendrick Perkins. With the justified glorification of Rondo this postseason, Perkins has become the unsung hero among Boston's new Big Four. He is the best on-ball defender on a team that lives and dies by its defensive prowess. And his dominant, bruising style in the low-block catalyzed the Celtics victory in the 2008 Finals, making Gasol and Lamar Odom appear soft for their lack of response. Without '08 stalwarts, such as James Posey, P.J. Brown and Leon Powe, there is less gristle in the Celtics' beef this postseason. Meanwhile the Lakers have added Artest and 7-footer Andrew Bynum (who was hurt in '08), who may be limited with a torn meniscus but can nonetheless contribute. Gasol and Odom will be bent on debunking any perceptions about their softness. In other words, Perkins' nasty nature beneath the hoop will become more important than ever during this series, especially when L.A. goes smaller and Perk guards Gasol while Garnett is matched with Odom.

Bottom Line

It seems silly to regard either of these teams as an underdog. Both won championships the last season they had their full complement of players (Garnett was hurt last year). Both feature battle-proven stars who don't flinch in the clutch, and relatively thin, inconsistent benches that could make or break them. If you drew up a dozen of the most-likely scenarios for how it could play out, half would favor the Celtics, half would favor the Lakers.

Expect the Lakers to repeat for three reasons:

1. They have home-court advantage and are undefeated at the Staples Center this postseason.

2. Kobe Bryant will always find a way to win. It goes beyond the ridiculously difficult shots he routinely makes at the most opportune moments. There is a will to win emanating from Bryant that no other current player comes close to possessing. There is tremendous leadership -- born of wisdom and intuition -- in when he chooses to trust his teammates on the court and when he wrests the burden all for himself. Kobe has cut back on the pouting, he's eliminated the ego-driven need to withhold field-goal attempts to demonstrate his value, and he's minimized the fruitless arguments with the refs over frustrating calls. He's been all about the business of winning. LeBron James was the rightful MVP of the 2009-10 regular season. Kobe is in the process of earning the MVP of 2009-10 postseason.

3. They're the only team whose victories I've been able to accurately predict this postseason. Superstitious Celtic fans don't want to see me break the pattern and belatedly hop on their bandwagon.

But if they can overcome another home-court disadvantage and beat Kobe and the Zen Master, circa 2010, that 18th banner hanging from the rafters will be among the most impressive in their long and storied history. Lakers in seven.

[ezau]

If that's the case Perkins is definitely overrated. He has no offensive game to speak off. He's strictly a defender.

when it comes to overrated, Bynum easily takes the cake

[Giuseppe]

when it comes to overrated, Bynum easily takes the cake

He shaded Howard just about a year ago.

[namlook]

when it comes to overrated, Bynum easily takes the cake

Perkins and Bynum are probably both overrated.

[duhoh]

should be a decent series.

[duncan228]

Boston at Los Angeles (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2010060313)
Game info: 9:00 pm EDT Thu Jun 3, 2010
TV: ABC, TSN
By Greg Beacham

Phil Jackson knows the story by heart, even if his players only seem interested in the last two chapters.

Their coach is steeped in the history of pro basketball’s most compelling rivalry, familiar with every twist in the Boston Celtics’ half-century of championship clashes with the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA’s most decorated franchises have battled through heartbreaks, high stakes and neck-aches while forging a true pro sports rivalry, that rarest of commodities in the age of free agency.

Jackson doesn’t mind that almost everybody playing in the franchises’ 12th NBA finals meeting, starting Thursday night at Staples Center, doesn’t have much of a grasp on the history sewn into the uniforms they wear.

So what if Ron Artest claims total ignorance of the Lakers’ past, while Kobe Bryant says he couldn’t care less who Los Angeles played? So what if the deep-seated hatred between the franchises’ fans doesn’t seem to be truly savored by nearly anybody except Paul Pierce, the Los Angeles native turned Celtics star?

When asked why the kids these days just don’t get it, Jackson smirks and nimbly sidesteps the trap set for grumpy old men and history buffs.

“That rivalry is renewed … it seems like every 20 years, and now here it is,” Jackson said. “This is our second time going back at them. It’s one that I think piques the interest of the fans of basketball.”

Notice he didn’t mention the players’ interest. In the age of easy team-swapping, $100 million contracts and offseason Vegas partying with bitter in-season opponents, there’s not much actual malice to be found between these Lakers and these Celtics.

“It’s not a personal thing,” Celtics forward Kevin Garnett said before the Celtics practiced at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday. “They’re a great team, we’re a great team. We’re both trying to get to the same goal.”

The clubs are meeting in the finals for the second time in three seasons, and the winner will walk away with the franchises’ 33rd combined championship. That’s more than half of the titles in NBA history.

Yet this 21st-century confluence of Boston’s Big Three era and Bryant’s career zenith still hasn’t reached the frequency and ferocity of the rivalry’s early years. They met seven times in 11 seasons from 1959-69—and the Celtics won every time, led by Bill Russell, coach Red Auerbach and whatever leprechaun pushed Frank Selvy’s late jumper off the rim in Game 7 of the 1962 finals, allowing Boston to win in overtime.

“It seems like most of the ’60s, the Lakers were playing the Celtics, and they were never able to get by them,” Jackson said. “That was a long and arduous period of time for these fans.”

Pierce grew up in Inglewood near the Lakers’ former neighborhood, and he heard the story about the balloons. He knows the Lakers were favorites against the Celtics in 1968 and again in 1969, but Boston twice rallied to beat Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain, forlornly stranding thousands of celebratory balloons in the rafters of the Forum.

“We’ve definitely got two franchises that never really liked each other because they were always playing for the ultimate prize,” said Pierce, the 2008 NBA finals MVP. “You can definitely sense that, and I already knew that growing up here.”

Bryant, burrowed deep into his playoff tunnel, professes not to care about the rivalry, even when a victory might fulfill West’s prediction that Kobe will go down as the greatest player to wear the Lakers’ uniform.

“I’m playing in it. I don’t give a damn about it,” Bryant said. “That’s for other people to get excited about. I get excited about winning.”

Yet it’s tough to believe Bryant: He also has said his NBA education during his youth in Italy largely consisted of watching Lakers-Celtics games, when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird clashed three times in four seasons.

Other Lakers aren’t excited about playing the Boston franchise so much as they’re thrilled for a chance at revenge on these particular Celtics, most of whom sent the Lakers home from the finals in 2008. Center Andrew Bynum, who was injured for that series, couldn’t resist talking up a Boston rematch even while the Lakers were in the thick of a tough Western Conference finals against Phoenix.

These Lakers don’t remember Game 4 of the 1984 series, when Kevin McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis before Cedric Maxwell mimed a choking motion at James Worthy during a key game in perhaps the most fascinating finals in NBA history, an era-defining showcase of the Magic-Bird rivalry.

No, they remember June 2008, when celebrating Celtics fans punctuated their team’s 39-point victory in the clincher by throwing rocks at Los Angeles’ bus.

Leave it to Pau Gasol, the Lakers’ cultured Spanish forward in his third straight NBA finals, to find a common ground between the importance of this franchise’s history and the immediacy of winning one last playoff series in an eight-month grind of a modern season.

“The history just makes it a little more exciting than it already is,” Gasol said. “It’s a matchup that a lot of people want to see. The history is exciting, and there’s a lot of—you could say hate—between the teams, crowds and fans and stuff, but we try to be above that a little bit, and try not to let that affect our minds.

“Obviously it’s motivating, but you still want to win the Finals and championship no matter who it’s against. But obviously it will taste better, to be honest, than what we went through in 2008.”

*********************

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Paul Pierce Bos 18.3
Kobe Bryant LAL 27.0

Rebounds
Kendrick Perkins Bos 7.6
Pau Gasol LAL 11.3

Assists
Rajon Rondo Bos 9.8
Kobe Bryant LAL 5.0

*********************

Series Breakdown (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/playoffs/2010/boslal)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/playoffs/2010/boslal

[TampaDude]

Celtics in 5.

[Ashy Larry]

Just win the home games and we'll be fine ......

What I'm really loving about this team, even since last year, is that they are closing people out on the road .....

Suns
Jazz
Thunder
Magic
Denver

all closed out on their home floor ..... I'd like nothing better than to celebrate on the parquet.

[ezau]

He shaded Howard just about a year ago.

Last I checked, it's 2010

[ezau]

Perkins and Bynum are probably both overrated.

Bynum is way more overrated. LOL @ being a more explosive version of Tim Duncan.

[SpursDynasty]

Celtics in 5. This isn't even a rivalry, the Celtics franchise has won 9 of 11 NBA Finals meetings including the most recent meeting.

[Giuseppe]

Last I checked, it's 2010

Can't you wait 48 hours to lodge your judgment, Ease?

[Ghazi]

Celtics in 5.

You said Lakers in 5 2 years ago. This is a bad omen for my prediction, tbh :depressed

[ezau]

Can't you wait 48 hours to lodge your judgment, Ease?

ok

[duncan228]

NBA Finals Preview: Celtics vs. Lakers (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-nbafinalspreviewcelt)
SportingNews

As defending champions, the Lakers are hardly surprised to still be playing in June. It’s the third straight year for them, and their seventh Finals trip since 2000.

Their Finals foe, though, is a surprise — the Celtics, who will play the Lakers with the NBA championship on the line for the 12th time in the history of the franchises. Boston didn’t seem to be a formidable contender, as the Celtics limped into the playoffs having lost seven of 10 to end the season, part of a 27-27 record that came after they were 23-5 on Christmas. During the season, the Celtics often seemed uninterested, developed a habit of blowing double-digit leads and dropped home games to such league luminaries as Washington and New Jersey.

Still, the Celtics and their coach, Doc Rivers, had a feeling that their best basketball was ahead of them. When they knocked off the Magic in the conference finals, there wasn’t much surprise in the Boston camp.

“The first thing we said when we got in the locker room is this is where we thought we would be, so, don’t be surprised,” Rivers said. “This is what we talked about before the season started.

“And, you know, we did go through tough times. We started out so well. I thought after 28 games you could say we felt like we were the best team in the NBA, and then after that we had injuries, we fell apart, we struggled finding ourselves. But as a coach, I just believed that I saw what they did and what they had. And we kept saying as a staff, it’s in us. We’ve got to try to get it back out of us.”

It’s out now. Already, the Celtics have beaten the two teams with the best records in the NBA (Cleveland and Orlando), and they will now get the Lakers, who had the third-best record. But L.A. comes in with a far better championship resume than the Cavs or Magic, and the Lakers present a much more difficult challenge.

But before handing this series to the Lakers, remember — picking against the Celtics hasn’t worked out very well in these playoffs thus far.

How they got here

Lakers: Round 1, defeated the Thunder in six games; Round 2, defeated the Jazz in four games; Round 3, defeated the Suns in six games.

Celtics: Round 1, defeated the Heat in five games; Round 2, defeated the Cavaliers in six games; Round 3, defeated the Magic in six games.

Why they got here

Lakers: The Lakers were the class of the West all season, and though they looked shaky at times in the first round, they got better as the playoffs progressed. They are bigger than most teams, and their length causes big problems for opposing offenses. Oh, and they have Kobe Bryant, who is playing his best basketball of the season.

Celtics: After a lackluster regular season, the Celtics turned things around in the postseason, getting back to playing championship-level defense, moving the ball in their equal-opportunity offense and, finally, getting their bench straightened out.

Questions we want answered

1. How much have the Lakers toughened up?

That was the issue most focused on in the 2008 Finals, when the Celtics seemed to manhandle a Lakers team that simply looked soft. But L.A. came back last season with more of an edge, and it showed throughout the playoffs, with the Lakers eventually winning the championship. Lakers coach Phil Jackson seemed to be concerned about the Celtics’ penchant for rough defense when he claimed that the Celtics, and Kevin Garnett in particular, have a “smackdown mentality” when it comes to defense.

2. How will the Celtics handle Kobe Bryant?

Bryant is the fourth All-NBA player Boston has faced in four rounds of the postseason. Given his talent level and the quality of his supporting cast, Bryant will be the toughest. The Celtics have, mostly, handled other teams’ stars with one-on-one defense, focusing on limiting teammates, but Boston is expected to pay extra attention to Bryant. They won’t play a straight double-team but will offer plenty of help for Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Tony Allen or whomever draws the Kobe assignment. How Bryant adjusts to what he sees, and how the Celtics’ defense responds, could determine the series.

3. What will Rajon Rondo do?

If there is one major difference between this year’s Finals and the ’08 Finals, it is Rondo. He may have been a liability the last time these two teams met on this stage, but he has emerged as, arguably, the Celtics’ best player since then. His ability to get into the paint is an obvious advantage for the Celtics, but he can set the Lakers back on their heels in a number of ways — by grabbing rebounds, by collecting steals and by getting out in transition.

Three players under pressure

1. Ron Artest. Whatever can be said about the ups and downs of Artest’s first year in Los Angeles, if the Lakers win a championship, all those downs will be quickly forgotten. Artest has struggled to fit in offensively, but his defense has been solid and he will have a great chance to prove his worth if he can shut down Pierce.

2. Kevin Garnett. For much of the season, Garnett has been hobbled with his knee injury, and at times in the playoffs, he hasn’t looked very mobile. He has a very difficult defensive task in this series — keeping up with Pau Gasol, the best power forward in the game today — and must be able to provide the Celtics with some offense out of the high post. It went largely unnoticed because his teammates picked up the slack, but Garnett averaged just 10.3 points on 38.9 percent shooting in the conference finals.

3. Ray Allen. Don’t forget, Allen is in a contract year. He will be 35 in July, and he’d like to finish out his career alongside Pierce and Garnett in Boston. If the Celtics win the series, they can probably afford to be a bit more sentimental about the future and bring Allen back for one last run. But if not, the Boston brass will have a tough call to make on Allen.

Prediction

The Lakers’ advantages over most teams are clear — they have a serious size edge and they have Kobe Bryant. But the Celtics are a bit different because their starting front line (Garnett and Kendrick Perkins) is capable, and the bigs on their bench (Rasheed Wallace, Glen Davis) can hold their own. The team’s offense is diversified and, in a pinch, Pierce can at least come close to keeping pace with Bryant. Boston has an edge with Rondo’s speed, finishing ability and decision-making, and it will be hard for the Lakers to find an answer for that. The 2-3-2 format certainly favors L.A., and that could make a difference in the end. But Boston has been very good on the road and won’t be intimidated by the Staples Center. Celtics in 6.

[lefty]

Lakers in 6-7

[Ashy Larry]

going to be a great series ..... Rondo is just a beast. I love watching this guys game and how he has evolved. In maybe two years, he could be penciled in every year as a starting guard.

[21_Blessings]

Bynum shits on Perkins (http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201001310BOS.html)

[mindcrime]

Bynum shits on Perkins (http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201001310BOS.html)

Kinda like how Rondo shit on Fisher.

[NBA Fanatic]

Here is an article that predicts the Lakers will win in 6. Appears that the author thinks Ron Artest's defense on Paul Pierce will be key.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5441382/2010_nba_finals_los_angeles_lakers.html?cat=14

"Ron Artest will be a major factor in this series. His ability to defend and make open shots may prove to be the difference in the 2010 NBA Finals. In their two regular season games Artest held Pierce to 13 points per game on 40% shooting (well below his season averages of 18.3 and 47.2%). If Artest makes life difficult for Pierce he will do exactly what the Lakers signed him to do. Ron Artest appears to be finding his way in the triangle offense at just the right time but anything he gives them offensively will just be icing on the cake."

[SomeCallMeTim]

Here is an article that predicts the Lakers will win in 6. Appears that the author thinks Ron Artest's defense on Paul Pierce will be key.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5441382/2010_nba_finals_los_angeles_lakers.html?cat=14

"Ron Artest will be a major factor in this series. His ability to defend and make open shots may prove to be the difference in the 2010 NBA Finals. In their two regular season games Artest held Pierce to 13 points per game on 40% shooting (well below his season averages of 18.3 and 47.2%). If Artest makes life difficult for Pierce he will do exactly what the Lakers signed him to do. Ron Artest appears to be finding his way in the triangle offense at just the right time but anything he gives them offensively will just be icing on the cake."

Artest can defend, but can he make open shots?

He's about as reliable as an Italian train. But somehow someway he has held it together this season and helped the team win.

[Giuseppe]

Artest can defend, but can he make open shots?

He's about as reliable as an Italian train. But somehow someway he has held it together this season and helped the team win.

Yep, the moment the Suns put Artest on their ignore list he proceeded to blow them up.

Finish it.

[duncan228]

Searching For Holes In The Lakers And Celtics On The Eve Of The Finals (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-searchingforholesint)
SportingNews

Two weeks ago, I wrote that this year’s likely Finals matchup between the Lakers and Celtics would be far different from when the two teams matched up in 2008 (http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/66649/lakers-celtics_finals_has_a_different_feel_than_08_--_and_that%E2%80%99s_a_good_thing_). That piece turned out to be laughably premature—two L.A. losses in Phoenix momentarily put them in danger, and Boston could have become the first team to lose a series after being up 3-0—but the series is finally set to tip off tonight at Staples Center (9 ET, ABC).

While that post may have been written looking too far forward into the future, it’s still a useful period piece (in online time, two weeks is an eternity) to compare how opinions have changed about both teams. Each now has potential holes that can be exploited.

The Lakers came out of the conference without facing a serious challenge. (As impressive as Oklahoma City was in the first round, it never seemed to have control of the series.) As usual, L.A.’s biggest weakness remains its inability to defend quick point guards. It struggled against Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams. The Lakers kept Phoenix’s Steve Nash from dominating (17.7 ppg, 11.8 apg), but he’s better suited to L.A.’s defense than a young dynamo like Boston’s Rajon Rondo.

The Lakers simply don’t have an easy answer for him. A lot of people will focus on a Rondo-Derek Fisher matchup, but Fisher is almost certain to shadow Ray Allen as Allen uses screens to get open on the perimeter. The Lakers instead will go with Kobe Bryant or Ron Artest on Rondo. That’s where things get tricky.

If Kobe guards Rondo, coach Phil Jackson will risk saddling his best player with fouls and tiring him out on defense in a series in which he stands to draw a lot of contact on offense. (Then again, the same thing could happen if Kobe has to fight through screens against Allen.)

If Artest gets the assignment, the Lakers will have the same matchup nightmare as in 2008, when Paul Pierce dominated undersized defenders to become Finals MVP.

L.A.’s issues in this series don’t stop at the point. Throughout the playoffs—and particularly on the road against the Suns—the bench hasn’t consistently built on leads. The Celtics have had their own problems with reserves, but with Nate Robinson potentially becoming more of a factor, the Lakers need to find their own bench star. Lamar Odom is the top candidate, but can one of their backcourt players finally step up? Can Shannon Brown or Jordan Farmar make any sort of noise?

***

The Celtics are trickier to figure. Even though they’ve been stellar throughout the playoffs, their regular-season struggles linger. As we saw in Games 4 and 5 against Orlando, Boston is prone to poor efforts, and it doesn’t seem to have the same "team on a mission" swagger that typified its 2008 title run. (That team struggled in the early stages of the playoffs on the road, of course, but it always appeared to be the team to beat in the East.)

In large part, that’s because they don’t seem to have a high-level superstar. When the Celtics have been at their best this season, they’ve done it with balance rather than a few transcendent performances. In a series with Kobe Bryant, there’s always the possibility that Boston won’t be able to match his greatness, especially given the high standard of play he found against Phoenix for all six games of the series.

Rondo has been the Celtics’ best player throughout this postseason, but he still struggled in several games against the Magic and may not yet be able to carry such expectations during an entire Finals series. Kevin Garnett is playing even better at the offensive end than he did in 2008, but he is no longer the force he was in Minnesota. Ray Allen can still shoot as well as anyone, but he’s a secondary player now rather than star. And while Paul Pierce is perhaps the Celtics’ best scoring option, he’s taken a lot of ill-advised shots recently and will have to contend with Artest for most of the series. The point is that while the Celtics have several impressive options in this series, they don’t necessarily have one guy to carry them. Whether or not they’ll need that kind of player is another question altogether.

They’re also facing a team the likes of which they haven’t seen since the Big Three joined up in the summer of ’07. This year’s Lakers are a more cohesive unit than the ’08 squad, in large part because Pau Gasol is now more comfortable in purple and gold. The Celtics are perhaps the only team with three players—Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, and Rasheed Wallace— capable of guarding the Spaniard, but he’s also reached a level of greatness in these playoffs that no single player has been able to stop.

For the Celtics, it seems clear that a second championship in three years will have to come from a team effort, not the dominance of any one player. In the event of their victory, that’s why their actual Finals MVP will likely not be a player, but rather defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau, who stands to move on to a head coaching gig once this series is over, or Doc Rivers, who might leave Boston altogether.

The Lakers are more of a team than this series’ easy narrative would suggest, but they often win games on the strength of individual performances. The Celtics, on the other hand, need a coherent team game if they want to come away victorious. It’s a tall order and perhaps the biggest obstacle for either team to overcome in this Finals.

[Giuseppe]

Just a little over 5 hours to tip. Booty holes starting to constrict.

[duncan228]

Why I picked the Lakers (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2010/06/why-i-picked-the-lakers-1.html)
Michael Lee
The Washington Post

After several days of deliberation, I finally decided to go with the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA championship in seven games over the Boston Celtics. This decision wasn't like two years ago, when I actually was emotionally torn (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/06/picking-celtics-wasnt-easy.html) about making an NBA Finals pick (I went with Boston in seven, despite my childhood love of the Lakers and hatred of the Celtics).

The rematch was really tough to call, simply because there hasn't been a Finals with two more evenly matched teams since 2005, when the defending champion Detroit Pistons faced the champion once-removed San Antonio Spurs. That year, I went with San Antonio in seven games, which turned out to be right.

I went with the Lakers over the Celtics this time mostly because I picked the Lakers to repeat in October (of course, I also saw the Wizards making the playoffs. Whoops!). Two years ago, I figured that the Celtics defense was going to suffocate Kobe Bryant and it did, turning Bryant into a frustrated, off-target shooter and a poor comedian (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/06/kobe-comedian.html).

Boston's defense remains stout, which has been proven through some incredible performances to eliminate Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Dwight Howard. I have picked against the Celtics twice already this postseason, and I'm nervous about doing it again. But I can't simply hop on the bandwagon after doubting them to this point.

I just think that revenge is a serious overriding theme for both Bryant and Phil Jackson, who should devise a better scheme to make Bryant more effective this time. You have to remember that Jackson can finally get payback against a coach who defeated him in the NBA Finals (Doc Rivers). His little comment to Paul Pierce (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/02/AR2010060204609.html) about getting the Celtics back in the Finals lets you know how much he's been thinking about defeating Boston and getting a ring at the expense of Red Auerbach's franchise.

I also believe that having Ron Artest on the floor to defend 2008 Finals MVP Pierce is an incredible upgrade over the "space cadet" Vladimir Radmanovic. The presence of Andrew Bynum, no matter what his knee situation is, provides another big body for the Celtics to contend with and keeps them from beating up Pau Gasol alone.

Home court advantage also cannot be overlooked in the NBA Finals. I know the Celtics have won their last two series over Cleveland and Orlando despite not having the advantage, but they also closed out each series at home, in Game 6. This time, Games 6 and 7 are in Los Angeles.

Since the league switched to the 2-3-3 format in 1985, the team without home court advantage has only won the championship six times, with the Miami Heat the last to do it in 2006 (The others were the 1985 Lakers, the 1993 Chicago Bulls, the 1995 Houston Rockets the 1998 Bulls and the 2004 Pistons). The Finals have gone seven games on three occasions, with the home team claiming Game 7 each time (the 1998 Lakers, the 1994 Rockets and the 2003 San Antonio Spurs.

I'm not completely confident with this choice, and I wouldn't be stunned if the Celtics claim championship banner No. 18, but I'm going with the Lakers. With the experience of winning the franchise's 15th championship last season, and after getting tested this postseason, I think the Lakers are ready to topple Boston.