2008 NBA Finals preview-Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics

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Well its been a long time since these two historic franchises have met in the NBA finals. 21 years to be exact. Those were the days when Magic Johnson was running showtime and Larry Bird, healthy back and all, was draining 3's in the Boston backcourt. Twenty one long years since the Celtics have reached the NBA finals. In that time the Lakers have won thier fair share of titles with names like Shaquille O'neal and Kobe Bryant while Boston fans have been for the most part treated to two decades of mediocrity.

Thats all changed now. Danny Ainge set the whole process in motion when he pulled of a few blockbuster trades on draft day to bring in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Allen, KG, and Paul Pierce have rejuvinated Boston Celtic Basketball and breathed new life into the epic Los Angeles-Boston rivalry. The "Big Three" stormed through the season finishing with a league best 66-16 record. After a long hard battle through the playoffs which included two very tough 7 game series against the young Atlanta Hawks and the Lebron James led Cavaliers, the Celtics are playing in the NBA Finals and looking to add to their NBA record 16 Championships.

The Lakers on the other hand are somewhat of a surprise team to reach basketball's ultimate stage. With Kobe Bryant's subtile trade demands looming over them before the season started it looked bleak in L.A.

That seems like years ago at this point. The Lakers decided to hang on to Kobe, bring in a familier face in Derrick Fisher and make a big trade of their own in bringing in allstar PF Pau Gasol. Gasol wasted no time in making his presence felt and the Lakers finished as the number one seed in the tough Western Conference with a final record of 57-25.

These two teams have met a total of 10 times in the championship game with Boston pulling out eight wins to the Lakers two. The Lakers will attempt to close the gap starting this thursday when the finals get underway.

Lets break down some of the key matchups in this series.

[B]CENTERS[/B]
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[B]Kendrick Perkins vs Pau Gasol[/B]

While I like Perkins alot and I think he will get better with age and experiance the upper hand has to go to L.A. with this one. Gasol is a former allstar and is just too agile and quick for Perkins to handle. He has an aray of moves on the block and his long arms make it very hard to block his shot. He also has the range to step out and hit the 12-15 foot jumper. Something that Perkins does not. Kendrick is alot stronger the Pau however and if he can use his body to bump, bang, and wear down Gasol it will be a big plus for the Celtics. Lakers get the edge in this one.

[B]POWER FORWARDS[/B]
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[B]Kevin Garnett vs. Lamar Odom[/B]

Kevin Garnett is just an absolute terror. He is one of the most intense players in the league and is a perennial Allstar. The man is hungry for a ring too. Age is becoming a factor for him and he knows it. Lamar Odom cannot gaurd KG one on one. Period. Garnett's footwork is just too good and he also has tremendous range for his size. The only fault that KG has is that at times he my be too unselfish and not assert himself enough on offense. Odom is perfectly comfortable playing the 3rd option role. There is little to no pressure on him to score and he gets alot of his buckets in transition and from offensive rebounds. He is a very good back to the basket player and may be able to get a few pts in the post against KG but not many. All in all this is a good matchup but Kevin Garnett is just the better player overall. Edge to Boston.

[B]SMALL FORWARDS[/B]
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Vladimir Radmonivic vs Paul Pierce

Vladimir is a spot up shooter. A typical European big man with great range on his shot but really has not post game for his 6-10 size. Paul Pierce is a 10 year vet and is one of the best one on one players in the league. He can put up points in bunches and should be able to take Radmonovic off the dribble at will. I don't see Vlad being much of a factor in this series as he is too slow to gaurd Pierce and if his jumper isn't falling then he is an offensive liability. Paul is just as hungry as KG for a ring and has been through all the ups and downs over the years of being a Celtic. Look for him to attack early and often. I see Phil Jackson playing Luke Walton more minutes in this series because he should fair better on defense here. Edge to Boston by a landslide.

[B]SHOOTING GUARDS[/B]
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[B]Ray Allen vs Kobe Bryant[/B]

In my opinion Ray Allen is the key to the series for Boston. No defense in the world is going to stop Kobe Bryant from scoring so lets just throw that out the window from the start. What Ray has to do is to be able to counter Kobe's scoring outbursts with big scoring numbers himself. He is among the alltime leaders is three pointers made and is considered one of the best if not the best pure shooter in the game today. He is coming off of two subpar series vs Cleveland, and Detroit but showed some signs of life in the last two games of the East Finals. If Ray can put up 18-20 a game and shoot a good fg% then that will greatly help the Celtics. Kobe is going to get his regardless and is on a mission to prove that he is the best player of all time. The comparisons to Jordan are endless and winning a championship without Shaq is something Kobe badly wants to accomplish. Edge to the Lakers.

[B]POINT GUARDS[/B]
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[B]Rajon Rondo vs. Derek Fisher[/B]

This is another huge matchup for this series. Derek Fisher has been through wars and has seen it all. He has great leadership skills and can hit the big shot. He plays tough defense and doesn't make many mistakes. Rondo on the other hand is a second year PG in his first year as a fulltime starter. He has played very good basketball and showed alot of improvement over the course of the season. His weakness is his shooting but in my opinion I think thats a bit overhyped. I've seen Rondo knock down jumpers at crucial points of the game. He has more talent the Fisher and more athleticism. Not to mention he has younger legs. His job will be to run the offense and setup the big 3. If he can put up 8-10 points a game Doc Rivers will be happy. This matchup falls into a tie.


[B]BENCHES[/B]

The Lakers have Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Ronny Turiaf, and Luke Walton that will all see heavy minutes. Phil Jackson loves to use his bench and is a master at giving them the confidence they need to get the Job done. They are younger and more energetic then Boston's bench. Luke Walton has exceptional passing skills and Jordan Farmar as well as Vujacic are constant threats from downtown.


Boston's key subs are P.J. Brown, Sam Cassell, James Posey and Eddie House. Cassell was brought in because he has two rings already and they can use his shooting and leadership in crucial situations, especially if Rondo shows any signs of big game Jitters. P.J. Brown has had a great postseason so far in limited minutes. He plays hard and does the dirty work. James Posey is the Celtic's best weapon off the bench. He can stroke the 3 and plays great defense. Look for him to be matched up with Kobe alot. In my opinion the both benchs are very solid but Im giving L.A. the slight edge here.


All in all its looks to be a very exciting series. I expect this one to go 7 games. Phil Jackson is going for a record breaking 10th NBA title as a coach. Ironically he is tied right now for the most in NBA history with Red Auerbach who Coached the Celtic to 9 world championships. The Celebrities will be out in full force for these games, especially when they play in L.A. Jack Nicholson wouldn't miss these games for the world, and quite honestly niether would I! I will be glued to the T.V. for each and every play of this series. Regardless of who wins, this will be another great chapter in the legendary rivalry of these to storied franchises.