This is a rematch of the 2007-08 NBA Finals won by the Celtics in six games. This time around the Lakers seem to be a little bit better than the 2008 version due to the arrival of Ron Artest who will have to deal with Paul Pierce who was MVP of the Finals in 2008. Here is a closer look at the matchups in this series:
POINT GUARD: Rajon Rondo is banged up right now but he won’t have to work as hard as usual on defense as Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar are not big time offensive players. Rondo has started 17 games this post season and he has averaged 41.4 minutes, 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 10.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game. The Celtics need him to be healthy enough to play his usual game or they could be in for some trouble.
Derek Fisher will have his hands full in this series as Rondo is both faster and stronger than him. Fisher has started 16 games this post season and he is averaging 33.8 minutes, 11.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Fisher makes some big time shots when the games get big so Rondo will have to stay on him tight.
EDGE: CELTICS
SHOOTING GUARD: Ray Allen might be playing his last series as a member of the Boston Celtics so he will be very motivated on both ends of the court and he will have to be as he will be dealing directly with Kobe Bryant. Allen has started 17 games for the Celtics this post season and he is averaging 38.2 minutes, 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He will have to keep Bryant busy at both ends of the court or the Celtics could be in some trouble in this series.
Kobe Bryant has been banged up all season long for the Lakers this year. But he is still playing at a very high level in the playoffs for the Lakers. Bryant has started 16 games for the Lakers this post season and he is averaging 39.6 minutes, 29.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game. The Lakers hope that Bryant has one more big series in him and their is no reason to think he won’t.
EDGE: LAKERS
SMALL FORWARD: The last time these two teams played in the NBA Finals Paul Pierce was the MVP but this time he will have to deal with Ron Artest. Pierce has started 17 games in the playoffs this year and he is averaging 38.3 minutes, 19.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Celtics need Pierce to play well or they are not going to win this series.
Ron Artest was brought in specifically for a series like this one as he is still a good defensive player. But with Andrew Bynum ailing a bit they could use more offense out of him in this series. Artest has started 16 games in the playoffs this year and he is averaging 36.8 minutes, 11.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
EDGE: CELTICS
POWER FORWARD: Kevin Garnett has been playing dirty in the post season but he has been very effective. He will try to get into Pau Gasol’s head early and often in this series. Garnett has started 16 games in the playoffs this year and he is averaging 34.0 minutes, 14.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He no doubt will be throwing a lot of elbows in this series.
Pau Gasol is by far the second best player on the Lakers. He becomes even more important in this series due to Andrew Bynum being a tad gimpy. Gasol has started 16 games in the playoffs this year and he is averaging 38.8 minutes, 20.0 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. Gasol is the better player at this point in his career but K.G. could also rise up to the challenge.
EDGE: LAKERS
CENTER: Kendrick Perkins provides a lot of muscle on the boards and he’s a solid defender. He has started 17 games for the Celtics this post season and he is averaging 25.5 minutes, 5.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. The Celtics will need him to bang away on a gimpy Andrew Bynum in this series.
Andrew Bynum’s knees are really bothering him but he’s going to try to fight through the pain and play. Bynum has started 16 games in the playoffs for the Lakers this year and he is averaging 24.2 minutes, 9.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. Those type of numbers are not going to be good enough for the Lakers to win this series as Gasol and Bryant won’t be able to beat the Celtics alone.
EDGE: EVEN
BENCH: The Celtics will likely use their bench more than the Lakers in this series. Glen Davis and Rasheed Wallace will be the top interior backups for the Celtics and they are both very physical basketball players. Davis has played in 17 games (1 start) in the playoffs so far and he is averaging 19.9 minutes, 7.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Wallace has played in 17 games (0 starts) in the playoffs for the Celtics and he is averaging 15.6 minutes, 6.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.2 assists per game. His best asset is getting into the heads of his opponents. Tony Allen is the top reserve in the backcourt for the Celtics. He has played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Celtics in the playoffs and he is averaging 16.9 minutes, 5.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Nate Robinson and Michael Finley could also provide a spark offensively if they get into any games for the Celtics.
Lamar Odom is one of the best sixth men in all of basketball as he can play all over the front line. He has played in 16 games (0 starts) this post season for the Lakers and he is averaging 29.7 minutes, 10.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. He could have an even bigger role than usual if Andrew Bynum can’t make it through this series. Shannon Brown backs up Kobe and Artest and he’s good at it. Brown has played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Lakers in the playoffs and he is averaging 15.0 minutes, 5.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Backup point guard Jordan Farmar is Derek Fisher’s caddy at the point. Farmar has played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Lakers this year and he is averaging 13.3 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Luke Walton and Josh Powell could step in if needed but neither of them have been used much in the playoffs.
EDGE: EVEN
COACH: Doc Rivers always seems to say the right thing to his team to motivate it. He has a career record of 38-26 (59.4%) in the post season with the Celtics. He also outcoached Phil Jackson just two years ago in the NBA Finals.
Phil Jackson, the Zen Master, has been trying to get into the Celtics’ heads through the media. I think it will only rile them up a little bit and the Lakers didn’t need to do that. Jackson has led the Lakers to a 110-54 (67.1%) record in the post season.
EDGE: LAKERS
PREDICTION: The Celtics are going to rise to the challenge. Being on the road hasn’t stopped them against the Magic or the Cavs and it won’t against the Lakers either. I’m going with the Celtics in 7 games.
