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By Raffy Ledesma, Contributor
A Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers finals. It
couldn’t get any better than this. They are not only the best
teams in their respective conferences, but they have, perhaps, the
most storied and bitter rivalry in the history of professional
sports.
This rivalry spans nearly five decades back to
the time when the Celtics led by center Bill Russell swept the
Minneapolis Lakers in 1959. Since then, the Lakers have met the
Celtics in the finals 10 times with the former winning 8 out of 10
times. Boston has 16 titles, the Lakers 14. There is even a rivalry
between Boston’s late legendary Coach Red Auerbach and the
Lakers’ Phil Jackson. Both have nine NBA titles under their belts
but a series win by Jackson will undoubtedly make him the greatest
bench tactician ever.
The hype between this classic matchup has been
building up and will reach an ear-shattering crescendo once the
series starts at the TD Banknorth Garden (Friday, 8:30 a.m. Manila
time), home of the Boston Celtics.
Here is how the Lakers and Celtics match up.
FRONTLINE: Only at the center position does the
Lakers have the advantage. Pau Gasol is one of the best passing big
men around and is perfect for the Lakers’ triangle offense. He is
mobile, has an outside shot, and can even slash to the basket. Gasol
will be matched up against the slower Kendrick Perkins, who despite
his limitations, has shown a propensity to come up with big games
(e.g. Game 5 vs. the Pistons’ 18 points and 16 rebounds).
Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett’s matchup vs. Lamar
Odom is a no-brainer since the latter has more “game” than the
former in almost every department. Starting Laker small forward
Vladimir Radmanovic is a great streak shooter (but that’s about
it) but he will be hard-pressed to guard All-Star Paul Pierce. I
don’t see Radmanovic staying in the game for long periods since
Phil Jackson will probably opt to use Trevor Ariza or Sasha Vujacic
to hound Pierce. EDGE: Celtics
BACKCOURT MVP: Kobe Bryant is almost impossible
to defend one-on-one and will definitely run rings around the
32-year-old Ray Allen at the big guard spot. Bryant has upped his
playoff averages leading the league in scoring (32 ppg) and has
transformed into the team leader all his believers hoped he would
be. Allen is a prolific scorer but has been in a shooting slump the
past few games. Bryant is a lock-down defender and will surely give
Allen fits. In the point guard spot, Rajon Rondo has blossomed into
an all-around player and has shown maturity beyond his years. I
guess playing with three future Hall-of-Famers does that in a hurry.
He has solid averages in points, assists and surprisingly, rebounds.
He will pit his wits and skill against a more seasoned Derek Fisher,
who, despite his age, is still a good defender and an excellent
shooter. The point guard matchup is one of the keys to this series
given that the Celtics’ Big Three and the Lakers’ Big Three will
cancel each other out. EDGE: Lakers
DEPTH: The Lakers’ bench are younger and more
athletic. Aside from fitting their designated roles perfectly, young
guns’ Vujacic, Ronnie Turiaf, Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar
provide a lot of energy off the bench. The only thing going for the
Celtics is the vast experience they have on their bench. Both Sam
Cassell and James Posey have NBA rings while center-forward P.J.
Brown is a tough veteran of many playoff battles. Defensive guard
Tony Allen’s injury may tell since he has been successful in
slowing down Kobe. Additionally, the Celtics does not have a regular
player rotation like the Lakers and some its bench players may not
be ready to play in basketball’s biggest stage. EDGE: Lakers
DEFENSE: While Allen and Garnett are the
off-season’s biggest additions, the arrival of Assistant Coach Tom
Thibodeau was hardly mentioned but he is the driving force behind
Boston’s resurgence. Thibodeau has transformed the Celtics into
the league’s best defensive team in just one season. In the
postseason, the Celtics have become even better allowing a stingy 87
points per game. Boston is also the best when it comes to field goal
percentage defense and rebounds allowed. This is a result of
Thibodeau’s philosophy of “relentless” pressure and keeping
the ball out of the paint. Of course, it also helps that you have
the Defensive Player of the Year as the anchor. The Lakers,
meanwhile, give up too many points especially in the paint. Odom and
Gasol are considered “soft” inside defenders but are good coming
from the weak side. If not for Kobe’s and Derek Fisher’s
tenacious defense that puts pressure on perimeter players, the
Lakers defense would be as porous as sand. EDGE: Celtics
OFFENSE: If the Celtics have Thibodeau, the
Lakers boast of having one of the best offensive minds in long-time
consultant Tex Winter, architect of the Lakers triangle offense. The
Lakers are averaging the highest point output in the playoffs and
the best field goal percentage. That they continued to post big
offensive numbers versus the league’s top defensive teams (Spurs
and Jazz) is a testament to the team’s offensive efficiency. They
bounced back against San Antonio in two games of their series
despite being behind by a big margin. Before the arrival of Gasol,
the Lakers were an easy team to defend since you could throw
double-triple teams at Kobe forcing his other teammates to beat you.
With Gasol, the Lakers have an inside threat and the shooters
(Fisher, Vujacic, etc.) can space the floor better. EDGE: Lakers
COACHING: Nine to zero. That is the number of
NBA titles that Lakers Coach Phil Jackson has under his hat compared
to Boston’s Doc Rivers. Jackson is seeking his tenth title, an
achievement that would certainly make him, undisputedly, the
greatest coach in NBA history. More importantly, Jackson has a lot
of experience in the finals—countless end-game situations,
tactical substitutions, game-changing offensive sets, etc. Rivers,
meanwhile, has been very inconsistent especially with his rotation.
During the series with the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers,
where the Celtics were pushed to the brink, Rivers kept on trying
different combinations instead of relying on his younger, more
energetic players. Result: Impact players’ Glen Davis and Leon
Powe are playing less minutes and have probably lost some of their
confidence. This also reflects the fact that Rivers, unlike Jackson,
gets rattled quite easily. EDGE: Lakers
INTANGIBLES: Garnett, Allen and Pierce are
hungry for their very first NBA championship while Kobe is trying to
carve out his legacy by winning his first title in the post-Shaq
era. In close games, the Lakers have an edge since Kobe is arguably
the best “closer” of all time outside of Michael Jordan. Almost
at will, Bryant takes over every game. The Celtics don’t have a
regular go-to-guy especially in the end game. In Game 7 of the
Cavaliers series, it was Paul Pierce. In Game 5 versus Detroit, it
was Ray Allen. The Celtics need more consistency on the offensive
end to win. Fortunately, the Celtics have home court. EDGE: Even
In the final analysis, I give the Lakers a
slight advantage. They have the better team, the best player and the
best coach in the game. The Celtics need to keep it close and with
their team defense, they probably will. Lakers in six.
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