LA Lakers vs Boston Celtics – NBA Final 

The final of the best Basketball in the World has, in my opinion, the two best teams of NBA this season. Some others deserve also to be here, but these two teams were the strongest thanks to their teamwork and also thanks to their individualities that had the ability to solve games.

I think that this series will be wonderful to see. For me the decision of the final will be made in small details. After some hot playoffs with difficult opponents in both sides, the final will gave us lot of emotions, and we can’t forget the fatigue of both teams, specially Boston that had more games and all of them in a great level.

Way into the final:

Los Angeles Lakers team had an easiest way than Boston. They never played he 7th game and they were very good when they beat Utah Jazz by 4 – 0. It was not easy to play in Oklahoma, but they won the 6th game there and made throw the next round where they beat the Jazz. They didn’t give them any chance to bread. The next opponents were the Phoenix Suns, a hard team to beat, but they were able to win with the big teamwork and the great moments of the MVP Kobe Bryant. They end this series with a great victory in Phoenix, showing that they are the current champions.
This team is very strong and regular when they play in the Staples Centre. In eight games they won all of them and just in the last match at home against Phoenix they felt some difficulties.

During the playoffs the best player was Kobe Bryant. Gasol and Artest have done some good games. Defensibly Gasol is the best player, but others like Odom and Bryant where very important in the rebounds.
Kobe Bryant has 29.4 points per game.
Gasol has 10.9 rebounds per game.
Kobe has 6.2 assists per game.

Boston need to play harder and more to get in this final, because they faced very difficult teams. First they beat Miami Heat of Wade, this team is strong but was accessible for the Celtics. They beat the Heat in five games losing just one of the games in Miami. The next series was against the team of Lebron James. Cavaliers were the favourite but they were surprised by a team that had a guard named Rondo that played very well and beating personal records. Allen was also very important in the attack and Garnett was decisive in the defence. They beat the Cavaliers in six games by 4 – 2 and won twice in Cleveland. To win the Eastern Conference they just got to beat Orlando. Last season Orlando achieved this phase and they done an excellent regular season, but I felt that they weren’t so strong as last season and I was right. They get in this phase because they didn’t faced strong opponents and when they meet Boston they felt lots of difficulties and despite they dreamed with the final, they ended up eliminated. Boston made an outstanding performance and now they face Lakers in a historic final.

Some players have been well, but Rondo has been fundamental in the offensive game. Garnett extremely important in the defence and Pierce essential in the points. Allen has been very good in the long shoot.
Paul Pierce was the best scorer with an average of 19.1 per game.
Kevin Garnett won the rebounds with 8.2 per game.
Rondo was the leader in assists with 10 per game.

Los Angeles Lakers:

In my opinion this team is not so dependent of Kobe Bryant as it was in the past. In last season the MVP took the team to the title all by himself, this year the team plays with lot more teamwork. The acquisition of Ron Artest has improved a lot the quality of the team. But is not for Artest that the team has improved, for me the Spanish Gasol has made an awesome season and when Kobe is not there, Gasol solves the things.
This all is work of Phil Jackson. He is the leader of the team with a very important presence in the bench, Phil Jackson made of Lakers team a very regular and wonderful team. I don’t think that the Lakers are the best team in individual matters, being Kobe the only player above the average. That’s why I consider Jackson fundamental and how the team leads psychological. When are some bad critics, there is always him to protect his team.

Kobe is the leader of the team. He has a gift and he can make easy what seems to be difficult. In his hands the ball has a high risk of end in the basket. It’s unbelievable and against Phoenix we saw him in a great level.

Gasol is a very complete player. He defends and attacks well. He is very regular and he almost always made more than 10 points. He is a very good partner of Kobe in the attack doing blocks or offering passing lines. He will be crucial to defend Garnett.

Artest, he gets this year in the team and he has already been fundamental. He has a good long shot. Defensibly he makes some mistakes but he is very important. Normally he plays less time that Kobe and Gasol because there is a player that is very good that can replace him, Lamar Odom.

Bynum is very strong physically and he uses his strength in the basket. He know how to do points near the basket and like Gasol he will be very important to defend the inside game of Celtics. He is maybe the weak player of the starting line up.

Derek Fisher is very important in this team. He has a lot of experience and he always shows in the difficult times. He and Kobe are very important in the final minutes of the games.

Bench: I don’t say that they have a very god bench. Shannon Brown and Lamar Odom are the best. Farmar is good but he is not at Fisher level. I think that Brown play better in the position of guard than Farmar. Vujacic use to play some minutes to give some rest to Kobe.

It’s a team with quality to defeat Celtics. I am not a Basketball coach, but I understand the game and know that put some pressure in Pearce will be important to save some points. The work of Fisher to defend Rondo will be essential and an inspired Gasol can stop the inside game of Celtics.
They will have the home factor and if they keep the regularity they will become Champions once again.

Boston Celtics:

I can’t make an analyses so detailed as I did of Lakers because I don’t follow their games so often but I can say that this team lives from Allen, Garnett, Pierce and Rondo. The last is for me one of the three best guards in the league. With 24 years, Rondo leads a team with way more veteran players than him. Rondo has leading his team to victories but things some times go wrong, but it’s understandable.
Boston has some players that shoot very well and that’s the point where they have advantage from Lakers. Besides, Celtics are a very balanced team and with a better bench than the Lakers. One of their weak points is that they can’t be very regular in their exhibitions and when they are pressured and they are lot of points behind they give up. That happened against Orlando, per example. When they get a good exhibition level, they use to be very strong in the final part of the game and won, but that won’t be enough against the Lakers.

Rondo has a good quality, he is essential in all games. Even if he doesn’t score many points he do assists or defensibly he get turnovers. His average of assists per game in the playoffs says all and the score against Cavaliers specially shows that he is in great shape.

Pierce is a very offensive player. His job is to shoot and be the best scorer of the team. When he is not okay the team felt, and this can happen in the Final.

Allen is one of the best shooters in NBA. In important games he is fundamental in his long shoots. But he is also very good attacking the basket. Defensibly he is a fighter and he will probably be the player that will defend Kobe.

Garnet had some injuries and we haven’t seen a Kevin Garnett like in 2008, however he is very important for the team. In the attack he is not so good and he will felt lot of difficulties against Gasol.

Perkins, like Bynum is the weakest of the starting line up. He is strong under the basket and he is not very regular in shooting matters.

Bench: we saw in the last game Nate Robinson replacing Rondo and playing at great level. Glen Davis is a centre that plays well, he is not very good but he do some important points. Wallace is another replace that sometimes play in the starting line up with a strong long shoot. Tony Allen is also very important in shooting the basket.

They also have value to win this final, or they wouldn’t be in this phase. I feel that they will have huge difficulties and hey have to won in the Staples Centre and be superior at home. That’s lot of things to achieve in so short time and they will face a team that has experience in this games with Phil Jackson they can win again.
We will see what Boston can do and if they can win one of the two first games they can win the championship.

In my analyses I have said that Lakers are favourite. I am not the only one doing, the house bets also do. So I have confidence that they will win the championship. Its probable that we have seven or six games and so I see with good eyes the 4 – 2 or the 4 – 3.