
celtics won the championship because of their team defense, a deep enough bench, and an ability to bang in the post and on the perimeter.
I don't understand the rationale of laker fan here. Celtics winning the 'ship had nothing to do with having
a tougher road v. An easier road. It had to do with the porous defense of the soft-ass lakers that still exists in this current team. The end result will not change. If lakers overcome the rockets it will be due to their lack of a potently offensive guard in spite of the offense from their frontline. Just like the spurs lost to the lakers last year.
The only team that the lakers played in last year's road to the finals that had an adequate, pseudo-defense were the crippled geriatric, benchless spurs, (and they still had a horrible defensive gameplan for kobe unlike the celtics.) nuggets were just an offensive team. Jazz was mediocre to above average on both ends last year, and they haven't changed at all this year.
Lakers only excel against teams with weak perimeter defense. Other than that, they're just an offensive juggernaut with spotty defense at best. They're like a rich man's 2006-2007 suns because they have the colonel instead of mr. Pringles.