Lakers Nba Finals
NBA Finals Tickets – Keys to the Series
The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Boston Celtics for the NBA Championship this season, which is something that these two teams have done more than any others in the history of the league. The L.A.-Boston rivalry has existed longer than I've been alive and things are heating up once again as these two organizations prepare to do battle yet again. It's not just fans of the two participating teams that want to get their hands on <a href="http://www.stubhub.com/nba-finals-tickets/">NBA Finals tickets</a> this year, it's anyone and everyone who loves a great rivalry. It's East vs. West, Grit vs. Flash; it's the 2009-10 NBA Finals.
The first things that we need to touch on are the differences between the two teams we saw in the 2008 Finals and the two teams we'll see this time around. First of all, Boston point guard Rajon Rondo is a completely different player. He's arguably the best player on this Celtics team, which is a far cry from the timid youngster he was two years ago. It's no longer the Big Three in Boston, it's the Big Four. Another major factor is the presence of Andrew Bynum, who missed the 2008 Finals due to injury. We've also got Ron Artest on the Lakers now, KG's decline over the past two seasons and Tony Allen's sudden emergence as a capable basketball player.
The biggest thing that we need to remember is that the Lakers have the best player in the series, perhaps the best player in the world. A lot of people, including myself, handed the title of Best Player on the Planet to LeBron James sometime during this past regular season, but I think that Kobe Bryant has done a lot to regain that title, at least for now. Kobe has been phenomenal in the postseason this year, especially against Phoenix in the conference finals. He's the one player in this series that is truly capable of taking over and willing his team to victory in multiple games. There shouldn't be any doubters of this guy left, even though there somehow are.
Boston's toughness cannot be discounted. They're going to make the Lakers earn every single point they score. Coaches constantly preach "no easy buckets," but the Celtics are one of the few teams that actually implement that strategy without wavering from it one bit. KG and Kendrick Perkins are going to knock around Kobe every time he gets into the paint and they're going to bully Pau Gasol every time he touches the ball. It worked in 2008.
The Gasol-Garnett matchup is the most important of the series. Garnett beat Gasol up in 2008 and took him out of his comfort zone. Gasol isn't exactly soft, but he is when compared to the Big Ticket. Garnett is tenacious out there, especially when the biggest prize is on the line, and Gasol needs to get some of that tenacity going or he's going to be eaten alive. One thing Gasol has going for him is that Garnett is not the same player physically as he was the last time the two matched up in the Finals. Gasol has also become a better and craftier player, which should help tip the scales back in the Lakers' favor. Phil Jackson basically called out his bigs before the series got going to send them a message about toughness.
If the Lakers don't put Kobe Bryant on Rajon Rondo, it could lose them the series. Phil Jackson can't have Derek Fisher trying to guard the speedy point guard, nor can he ask Kobe to run around screens after Ray Allen all day. Kobe needs to save some of his legs for offense, where he's needed most. Kobe won't have an easy time with Rondo, but it will be less tiring. He did a great job on Russell Westbrook in the OKC series, and Rondo and Westbrook have similar strengths and limitations. Sure, Ray Allen is going to be able to shoot over Derek Fisher a lot, but the Lakers are going to have to live with that. It's better than the alternative; they can't have Rondo going off like he did against Cleveland.
Ron Artest was not involved the last time these two teams faced off in the Finals, and I expect him to be a major factor. He's as tough as they come, which the Lakers desperately need in this series, and he's built to guard Paul Pierce. Pierce won't be able to outmuscle Artest by any means, and he's not quick enough to exploit on Ron's diminishing lateral quickness. Pierce's herky-jerky movements on offense are not going to cut it with Artest checking him either.
If Andrew Bynum is able to play close to 100 percent, I think the Lakers match up very well with the Celtics inside. This is the one team that can match the Lakers' size, so the young center could be a big factor in this series. He and Lamar Odom are the two guys, aside from Kobe if he just goes nuts, that can truly push the Lakers over the top, well over it if things go well.
From what I can tell, the Lakers should win this series. However, if they don't toughen up we could end up seeing a replay of 2008. Gasol needs to come out aggressive and Kobe needs to keep his killer mentality going. Phil Jackson knows what this team needs to do; whether he can get it out of them is a different story. I'm tempted to pick Lakers in six, but I'll go with Lakers in seven due to the defective 2-3-2 format.
About the Author
<a href="http://www.stubhub.com/">StubHub</a> has sponsored this article, which was written by Morgan C. Dunn. Stubhub.com is one of the leaders in the business of selling <a href="http://www.stubhub.com/nba-finals-tickets/">NBA Finals tickets</a>, sports tickets, concert tickets, theatre tickets, or even special events tickets.
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