The NBA Finals will start Thursday night with the LA Lakers visiting the Boston Celtics for game 1. There has been a lot of comparisons to the historical match-ups between these two teams in the 80s and even earlier. But all that talk is just filler to sell newspapers. These two teams have their own identities, and they will need to build their own legacies.
Legends are born in the playoffs, but they are immortalized in the Finals. So far this year, the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant has proved to the league just how clutch he is, making shot after shot in the fourth quarter to send the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs home in five games. It is a great run, for sure, but without the championship, Kobe's great run may well be forgotten.
The level of pressure on the Boston Celtics' Big Three is at an all time high. Heading into this season, the bar was already set at NBA Finals or bust. The Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen showed endurance and perseverance during the playoffs just to make it to the Finals. But you have got to wonder if they have anything left in their tank.
I am expecting the Big Three to choke in the spotlight. Garnett will average in the low tens for points and barely break double digits in rebounding, say 12 points and 8 rebounds per game for the series. I fully expect Ray Allen to have difficulty getting open, resulting in a 8 points per game average. Paul Pierce will fair slightly better, with averages of 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. For the Celtics to have any chance, the supporting cast will need to step up.
The Lakers will have under performing players as well. I expect Lamar Odom to be a no-show for the NBA Finals, averaging single digit points, rebounds, and assists. Vladimar Radmanovic will get open shots from deep, but he will miss most of them. Luckily for the Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, and even Sasha Vujacic will thrive in the series. Vujacic will average 14 points per game in this series.
My prediction is a Lakers win, in six games. Since the NBA Finals format is 2-3-2, this means the Lakers will have to win game six on the road in Boston. Tough, but not impossible.
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