Everybody is putting there two cents in on the Lakers Celtics Finals. Some are picking the Lakers. Some are picking the Celtics. Some have put together some valid points. Some haven’t. Really the best preview anyone can ever give is just “both teams will play hard and it will be fun to watch!”. Haha. How do you like that for a preview and prediction. But seriously though. You know who i’m picking. The Lakers. And here are some concrete reasons/ behind my prediction.

Matchups - Starting Five

• Rajon Rondo - Derek Fisher*
• Ray Allen - Kobe Bryant*
• Paul Pierce* - Vlad Radmanovic
• Kevin Garnett* - Lamar Odom
• Kendrick Perkins - Pau Gasol*

The * is placed to the side with the obvious advantages. Derek Fisher with his defensive strength, offensive composure, leadership, and experience will give Rondo problems. He will expose him. Kobe Bryant well, do I need to even say anything? Paul Pierce presents a problem to the Lakers. A big strong and quick small forward who can score from the triple threat very well. Lamar Odom is long, but not as long as Kevin Garnett. Not to mention Kevin Garnett’s competitive greatness and impossible to block high reaching jumpshot. And finally Pau Gasol, who has the obvious advantage over Perkins.

Matchups - The Bench

• Celtics Bench - Cassel, House, Posey, Brown, Powe, Davis
• Lakers Bench* - Farmar, Vuyacic, Walton, Ariza, Turiaf, Mbenga

On paper the comparisons on the bench look even. But performance tells us otherwise. The bench combination of the Lakers have been far more productive than that of the Celtics. Particularly in the Playoffs. You can tell from the bench that the Celtics have much more depth in the frontcourt positions, while the Lakers primary strength of the bench comes from the backcourt positions.

Matchup - Head Coach

• Doc Rivers - Phil Jackson*

Phil Jackson’s presence will be felt in this series. Unlike the last series, when both coaches of Jackson and Popovich do a masterful job at strategy and matchups. Doc Rivers lacks those abilities. And although he’s a great motivator, Rivers will lose the coaching game against Jackson as the series goes on.

Keys

• Defense against Kobe Bryant - The celtics have had trouble against Joe Johnson & Lebron James. How do you think they will do against Kobe? With Lebron, they forced him to shoot jumpshots rather than go to the rim. With Kobe, you can’t do that. He’ll rain jumpers all game long. He’s an impossible matchup for the Celtics and he will find a way to breakdown the Celtics defense.
• Paul Pierce Matchup - How will the Lakers do at defending Paul Pierce? Vlad Radmanovic surprisingly did a decent job in the first round against Carmelo Anthony. He didn’t stop him. And don’t expect him to “stop” Pierce. Nevertheless you cannot void the defensive work Vlad put on Carmelo. As well as the rest of the Lakers team. while KG is the heart and soul of the Celtic defense, Pierce is the same for the Offense! Stop him, and the Celtics simply cannot score enough points to win.

Having said all of that. I have come to the conclusion that the Lakers will beat the Celtics in 5 games. They will steal 1 of the first games in Boston, go home and win 3 straight to finish off the title. Boston cannot beat a good home team on the road, and this series will be no different. In LA, the refs will call all the pushing & hacking that the Celtics use to win. And Kobe Bryant will be absolutely un-guardable and unstoppable.

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