Who do you choose tonight? Its a question I have waited until the last minute to ask myself.
The case for the Lakers. They have the best player for sure and maybe the best 2 players as well as the best player off the bench, Odom. Plus, when they played the Celtics the last time, Trevor Ariza was injured as was Andrew Bynum. Bynum is a big body they can throw at the Celtics, even though he is injured. Plus with Ron Artest and an aging Boston team, you can make a good case for the Lakers. Garnett is mostly a jump shooter and is not the player he used to be. Paul Pierce shoots 23% when guarded by Artest. Artest shut down Durant in the Oklahoma City Series and closed it out on the road. When Kobe guarded Westbrook, he shut down the OKC team and negated Westbrook. Rondo is better than Westbrook. Derrick Fisher has played well in a number of roles against Utah and Phoenix. Rondo has struggled on the road of late.
Boston's case. The Lakers will never play against a better defensive team. The trio in the middle of Perkins, Wallace and Davis will play the Lakers extremely hard. Rondo is coming on and seems to be a mismatch at point, although if Kobe guards him they will dare him to shoot outside, his weakness. The Celtics bench is much deeper and stronger as a unit and if Glen Davis comes on, watch out...and he has been going strong lately. Nate Robinson had a breakout game the last game. If the big 3 keep playing like they are 5 years younger (Allen, Garnett and Pierce) this team will not be denied.
So, with that said, I still would have a hard time picking a clear cut winner. There will probably emerge an unlikely hero that will push one of these teams over the top. With Boston aging and breaking up soon, this could be the last Lakers-Celtics matchup that we will see for a number of years.
One last number that is very interesting. When a Phil Jackson coached team wins the first game in a playoff series, they are 47 -0...yes undefeated. So, this series could be decided in game one. Enjoy!
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