NBA Finals

Dammit. I was going to blog about this BEFORE last night's game, but I had some unexpected HB duty and TON of work to do. So, you'll just have to trust that this is what I would have written before the Lakers lost to the Celtics.

I'm psyched that the two are playing. It's was a great rivalry in the 80s (quite frankly, the Lakers were the Celtics bitchez before that) that has faded. I'm not sure that this edition will fully rekindle it if only because the Celtics championship window is likely to be short given the ages of their best players. Also, the star power in this series (Kobe, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce) isn't nearly as bright as twenty years ago and all of the Hall of Fame players in that version (Magic, Bird, McHale, Jabbar, Worthy, Parish, Walton, etc.). However, it does bring back great memories.

A lot of the media have the Lakers in a cake walk since their path to the championship was easier. Perhaps it was, but this is not a good match-up for the Lakers. For starters, Pierce always kills them (he grew up almost in the shadow of the Forum, where the Lakers used to play). The Celtics also play really good team defense, which may frustrate Kobe into shooting more bad shots than he has earlier in the playoffs. When he forces the ball, the offense stagnates and he other guys don't get involved.

I can't pick against the Lakers, but this will be struggle for them. I'll say Lakers in 7, but it won't be easy and I won't be surprised if the Celtics win it all.