“With the Suns close to wiping out another huge deficit, the Los Angeles Lakers turned, as they always do, to Bryant. His off-balance, well-guarded 22-footer in front of the Suns’ bench made the difference. The ball swished for a 107-100 lead with 34.2 seconds left, effectively sealing the game and the Western Conference title.” From NY Times, May 29, 2010
I’m a fanatically, biased Lakers fan. Always have been, always will be. After all I spent the first 21 years of my life growing up in Los Angeles, under the tutelage of my father, a transplanted New Yorker who has always loved everything L.A.. They are the ultimate team for me and the list of basketball greats who played for the Lakers is huge. I’m ecstatic, and a little scared, that the Lakers will face the Celtics yet again, to try to bring them their second championship in as many years, This is the Lakers seventh finals since the year 2000. However, no matter what happens, I’ll still be rooting for the Lakers.
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Lakers Vs Celtics
The first time these behemoths of professional basketball met was November 9, 1948. They’ve met 11 previous times for the ultimate championshp with the Celtics in a clear advantage 9-2. The Celtics are 40-27 in the finals vs. the Lakers. During the 1960′s, the Celtics beat the Lakers six times in the finals. Jery West, one of my personal Lakers heroes, never broke through against the C’s in the finals. It wasnt’ until Magic and Kareem that the Lakers finally beat the C’s in the finals.
Let’s take a look at the 2009-10 Championship. The Lakers have become tougher with unpredictable Ron-Ron Artest. He will most likely be guarding Paul Pierce and hopefully frustrating Pierce to no end. I am hoping that Ron-Ron does nothing too stupid and really remains in this series. We know what he is capable of and the test will be to see how much he really does want his first championship ring.
Kobe and RayAllen, two future hall of famers have guarded each other in the past. When Ray is on, he is capable of dropping three’s from anywhere on the court. Kobe, well, is Kobe. I know that he hasn’t forgotten that final loss in the 2007-08 championship. Kobe doesn’t need more motivation but this should really make him reach further for back-to-back championships.
Kendrick Perkins and Andrew Bynum provides an interesting match up. Bynum will get some much needed rest, until the finals starts on Thursday. We really need to see his toughness and he may be a bit hesitant given his injury, but I want to see how much he has matured in his very short b-ball career. Perkins is a definite defensive intimidator, although he is sorely lacking on the offensive end.
Gasol vs. Garnett, two more superstars, although Kevin is looming towards the end of his career. I think that Garnett will really pick himself up in the finals, and Pau needs to show his toughness. This will be a great match-up, one that I will watch keenly. Depending on what happens with Bynum’s knee Pau may also have to match up against Perkins, leaving Odom on Garnett. This could make a definite difference in the series.
Rondo and Fish will be another tough battle. Rondo has shown that he is one of the premiere point guards in the NBA and Fish is showing that he is not ready to retire, just yet. As pointed out in a recent NY Times article, Kobe depends on Fish and is one of his most trusted teammates. Let’s see if Rondo runs circles around the Lakers and/or if Fish can continue to contribute
Both benches have some great players, Lamar, Farmer, Brown and Sasha for the Lakers, Big Baby, Wallace, Tony Allen and now Nate Robinson for the C’s. The question for me is how well will Lamar play against a very physical team and what will Big Baby do to Bynum and whoever else has to guard him. A tough match-up for anybody.
Here we go again. For all of those other NBA teams and cities who hate both teams, as much as I hate the Yankees, we are sorry to pre-empt you for another year, but for now it’s still the C’s and Lakers in their 12th finals. You’ll have your chance again next year, but don’t count on it!
