...the more they stay the same (even Farmar, absolutely one of the six best players in this series...)10 random thoughts on the eve of the 12th edition of the Greatest Story Ever Told:
1. Rondo and Fisher
Rondo, on the verge of becoming THE point guard in the NBA. Fisher, on the verge of 36 and playing in his 14th season and 3rd straight at 100+ games. Pretty simple for the Celts - exploit this and often. Even if Kobe leaves Ray for Rondo, Ray > Fisher. By a lot.
Advantage - Rondo
2. Ray and Kobe
Ray is on the verge of his second title in three seasons and has probably been the most unselfish of the group. He's changed his game, takes it to the cup, plays D and, most importantly hits money threes. Closing in on 22,000 career points and Reggie Miller in the three's department, he's also closing in on being one of the greatest (if not the greatest) three-point shooter in NBA
history. But can his elevator reach the 12th floor?
Kobe (courtesy of our friends at basketball-reference.com): 4 rings, 6 Finals, 1 MVP, 12 All-Star Games, 3 ASG MVP's. That's good. 1 raped woman, 1 $4 million dollar ring. Hey, Jerry West never beat the Celtics either. Kobe is clearly the better guard here, but as long as the Celtics can keep him out of the paint and bother him enough to yell at Sasha, they've done their job. I can live with 30-9-7 and 4 L's.
Advantage - Kobe
3. The Captain and Ron Roberto (anyone else catch the play on the alcohol, how one is better than the other? No...?)
The Lakers have the ball at the end of Game 1, 5 seconds left, down 1. Inbound to Kobe, immediately gets doubled by Pierce. Passes to Fisher. Covered by Rondo, he swings it to a wide-open Artest for 3. The crowd gasps. Brick. Game over. 1-0 Celts.
(end scene - although I know he's going to be a nuisance and bother the bejesus out of Pierce, I still think he sucks. And is certifiable.)
Pierce - This is, in all likelihood, the last hurrah for Pierce and his Celtic career (unless the unthinkable happens again next year). Drafted 10th in '98, he played his entire career with a chip on his shoulder and stuck through the good ('01 and '02, sadly) and the bad (Pitino, Vin Baker and Ricky Davis, Tankapalooza), all in a Celtic uniform. Then '08 happens. 41 on LeBron and The Dive and the free throw that "Red was looking down" on. Detroit in 6 on the road. The Wheelchair. The Comeback. The Blowout. The righteousness. Here's hoping Paul gets his second ring and his rightful place among the Celtic greats.
Advantage - Pierce
4. KG and Gasol
Pau, you still look like a llama. You are soft. You are ugly. You are annoying and you flop and you whine incessantly. Yet...you have excellent low-post skills (a bizarro Dwight, if you will). You can rebound (granted, against Boozer and Amare). Kobe doesn't yell at you quite so often. He's at least a 18-10 every night, and if he goes off...the Celts could be in trouble. But KG is still KG (sort-of), who will most likely be good for the same 18-10 and a couple of gorilla yells a game. If this were '08, it'd be one-sided. Now...?
Advantage - Wash
5. Perk and Bynum
Perk is injured. Bynum is injured. Perk is ugly. Bynum is soft. Perk draws technicals. Bynum draws the ire of the Zen Master. Perk gets mad. Bynum gives up.
Advantage - Perk
6. The Benches
Odom is essentially the Lakers' 5th starter, another big with a huge wingspan who can run the floor, clean the glass and plays solid basketball (when he's not sugar-starved). The rest of the Laker bench is like Boondock 2 - forgettable (Shannon Brown had a -21 in the WCF). Sheed, Baby and Tony are solid, if unspectacular (provided they're all healthy), although Sheed can refund anyone who saw a game in the regular season whenever he feels like it. Another decided Celtic advantage.
Advantage - Celtics
7. The Coaches
Doc has done a brilliant job all through the end of the regular season into the postseason by limiting starters' minutes, rotating the same bench guys and calling timeouts in all the right places. He's believed in his team. He's got them playing outstanding defense. And he's four wins away from joining Francona and Belichick as Boston coaches with multiple titles. But he's still no Zen Master.
Slight Advantage - Lakers
8. The Crowds
Lakers fans are celebrities and rich fags. Boston fans can tell you the score when you ask and know how to spell the word "beer." BEAT LA and NO MEANS NO > (crickets)
Advantage - Celtics
9. The Series
7 games, no doubt. Both teams are more than familiar with each other, know what to expect and what matchups to exploit. Here's hoping the Celtics starting five goes to 8-0.
Celtics in 7.
10.
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