NBA Finals Preview

“When the new schedule would come out each year, I'd grab it and circle the Boston games. To me, it was The Two and the other 80.”

--Magic Johnson
 
Here we are. I've been away from my computer for the last week as Boston closed out Orlando and the Lakers took care of business against the Suns. Both series provided some exciting games, but the inevitable Boston-LA series is now upon us. 
 
Let's start by looking at some of the individual match ups:
 
Rajon Rondo vs. Derek Fisher
 
This is the position that I believe has the greatest variance in skill levels. In order for Boston to beat LA, Rondo will need to expose the advantages that he has on Fisher. If he attacks Fisher with his quickness, Rondo should be able to score and open up the floor with ease.
 
Ray Allen vs. Kobe Bryant
 
The difference here is not nearly as great as people think. Allen is an underrated defender and does a good job chasing Bryant and contesting his shots. He also forces Kobe to play defense and will make him pay when he leaves Allen open.
 
Paul Pierce vs. Ron Artest
 
Great match up. Two players who aren't afraid to play physical. It won't be pretty, but I think that this is one of the most important match ups in the series. In 2008, the Lakers didn't have Artest and Pierce was the Finals MVP. If Pierce can find a way to get it done against Artest, I think that the Celtics have a great chance to win the series.
 
Kevin Garnett vs. Pau Gasol

KG looked like he had fresh legs against the Cavs and at the beginning of the Orlando series.  However, he seemed to labor against Orlando in the last few games. I think that the Finals being stretched out over 2 weeks (potentially) should help. Gasol is one of the most underrated players in the league and this series will be his chance to prove it. He was bullied around in the 2008 Finals, so we will see if he can continue his outstanding play from the 2010 Playoffs into the Finals.
 
Kendrick Perkins vs. Andrew Bynum
 
This will be a heavyweight battle with a lot of body punches being delivered. Neither of these players will be an offensive focus for their teams, but they both contribute heavily on the boards and defensive end of the court. 

Lakers Advantages

-First of all, LA has home court advantage. They have been great at home in the playoffs this year and the Celtics will have to win Game 1 or 2 to have a chance in this series.

-Kendrick Perkins is one technical foul away from a one game suspension. The Celtics want to be physical with the Lakers, so this will be tough on Perkins to be "physical" without getting baited into a technical.

-Kobe has been on a tear. Even though his last series was against the Suns (not known for their defense), he shot the ball very well. He will be tough to stop if he continues to shoot the 3 as well as he did against Phoenix.

Celtics Advantages

-Rajon Rondo. If Fisher guards Rondo, Rondo will (or at least should) run him in circles. If Kobe guards Rondo (a possibility) then Fisher will be on Ray Allen who can shoot over him at anytime. I just feel like the Lakers don't have an answer to Rondo. The Celtics will need to exploit this in order to beat LA. 

-Tom Thibodeau is the best defensive coach in the business. The Celtics have multiple defenders to throw at Kobe and he will use Ray Allen, Tony Allen, and Paul Pierce to keep Kobe off balance. Don't expect to see any zone defenses that allow Kobe to get in rhythm as easily as he did against Phoenix.

-The Celtics have multiple guys who can take "the shot." Paul Pierce is a great option in clutch situations, Rajon Rondo may have the best match up advantage, and there isn't a player in the league who I would rather have shooting a jumper in the clutch than Ray Allen. If the Lakers need a bucket, it will be "clear out and try to rebound the Kobe shot attempt." Of course, that play did work against OKC and PHX when Kobe missed shots in the clutch that were then put in by Pau Gasol and Ron Artest.

Things to Look For

-Which players will unexpectedly step up?  Nate Robinson provided a huge spark in Game 6 against Orlando.  Will he be able to continue to provide that spark against LA? Remember how Leon Powe stepped up in the 2008 Finals out of nowhere?  Will someone like Jordan Farmar do the same thing for LA? 

-Who will boo Sasha Vujacic first?  Lakers fans or Celtics fans? 

-Will Rasheed Wallace or Ron Artest explode first? 

The only way to find out what is going to happen in this series is to watch the games. One of the great things about sports is that no one really knows what will happen until the game is played. As my Dad used to tell me, "I can tell you what the score of that game will be before it even starts!" To which I would respond, "ok, what will it be?"  The answer, "0-0."

That's about the only thing we can really be certain of in this series; we will have to watch the games to find out the rest. 

Schedule

Here is the schedule for the week. All games will be shown on ABC.
 
Game 1: Thursday, June 3 at 8PM (CT)
Game 2: Sunday, June 6 at 7 PM (CT)
Game 3: Tuesday, June 8 at 8 PM (CT)
Game 4: Thursday, June 10 at 8 PM (CT)
Game 5: Sunday, June 13 at 7 PM (CT)
Game 6: Tuesday, June 15 at 8 PM (CT)
Game 7: Thursday, June 17 at 8 PM (CT)