In my humble opinion:
Boston Celtics will take Game #1 at the LA Lakers' homecourt. Experience in a championship match will play a big role here. The core players of the Celtics - The Big Three (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett & Ray Allen) and Rajon Rondo plus Kendrick Perkins hold the highest NBA record in winning games on the road (62%) during the regular season, when most teams could win just a little over 30% when not playing at home. The finals series will be played 2-3-2 (first two games at the Lakers' Staples Center; games 3 to 5 at the TD Garden; and the final 2 games back in LA if necessary). Sure we'd love to see the match-ups and how Kobe Bryant dazzles basketball fans the world over with his plays. Here are some key factors to the series:
Lakers:
1. Perfecting Coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense
2. Giving full confidence in their long-range shooters (Fisher, Artest and the reserves) to make their offensive strategy work
3. Be ready to play a physical game. They're up against the Best Defensive Team in the NBA and the league's best defensive strategist Assistant Coach Tom Thibodeau
4. The big men should be able to finish plays and missed field goals
5. Kobe Bryant must inspire if not infuse on teammates his almost supernatural level of the game
For the Celtics:
1. Dictate the tempo of the game to keep the high-scoring Lakers with its much-younger line-up to engage them in a running game - this team has beaten stronger teams when they are on the run, at least 4 starters are good in fastbreaks
2. Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen must click. Rondo has the leadership crucial for a point guard, but since he lacks the ability to shoot well from the outside, he should make more outlet passes to Allen, who is one of the league's top shooters from downtown.
3. Garnett to make those shots. Paul Pierce has been the Celtics' scoring machine, which made Garnett tentative most of the time in making his own shots.
4. Keep the Lakers from making those offensive rebounds. Gasol, Bynum and Kobe are good at converting second-attempt field goals.
5. Core players must be fit and healthy. An ageing lineup is easily prone to injuries.
But the strengths of both teams will all come down to which among the two plays better as a team and who hungers for the championship title the most. Celtics gunning for their 18th title, while the Lakers will slug it out for #16.
The Lakers would probably take Game 2 and grab Game 3 in Boston. But, if the Celtics would still take Game 2, they have the momentum which makes this series more exciting to watch.
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