To Live and Die in L.A.

Everybody got their own thang, currency chasin’,
Worldwide through the hard times, warrior faces



A man can dream can he? A man can have dreams about being a rockstar, getting a lapdance by Shakira or watching the NBA Finals with two of the best teams in the League battling it out in an epic 7-game series. Better yet, Lakers vs. Celtics. I made a mistake. Everytime I’m thinking, talking or in this case, writing about the Finals, it’s Lakers vs. Celtics. And that’s where I’m wrong. I should say: Celtics vs. Lakers, for the simple fact that the team with the better record gets mentioned first. I do that in every preview, so I must do it in this one too. Why do I usually say Lakers vs. Celtics? Because in the very, very early nineties I played a game on the PC called “Lakers vs. Celtics”. Hours and hours I played with either the Bulls or the Lakers, in this crappy, awful looking videogame. I even kept my own stats (well, only points) because that was a thing the game didn’t do. And if you guys are wondering: yes, I did have friends in those days. Imaginary ones, but still, friends they were. Anyway, the final preview of the season.



Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Point guard: Rajon Rondo vs. Derek Fisher. I think Rondo played more controlled against the Pistons than he did in the previous rounds. What’s not to like about this guy? He’s so quick and so active on both ends of the floor, that you always have to keep an eye on him. He’s not a reliable shooter, but with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce next to him, that doesn’t really matter. The young man creates, and that’s what a point guard is supposed to do. A not so young man but a proven veteran is Derek Fisher. He has been having outstanding playoffs so far, and let’s not forget that this guy already has won three championship rings with the Lakers. A great shooter and a more than capable defender will keep Rondo occupied throughout the series. Advantage: Lakers.

Shooting guard: Ray Allen vs. Kobe Bryant. Finally, Ray Allen lives! He woke up in Detroit, and let’s hope he’s still awake on Thursday night, when the two teams square off in Boston for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. One of the best pure shooters in the last ten years, he has never endured such a slump like the one he had in the past couple of weeks. But now he’s hitting 3’s at last, scoring some points with that beautiful jumper of his, but he’s still not a good defender. And that, my friends, doesn’t help when your opponent is Kobe Bryant, the NBA’s second leading scorer, and the leading scorer in the playoffs. Kobe however, will probably contest every shot that Allen will attempt, and the Celtics definitely need Ray’s shooting to win it all. Advantage: Lakers.

Small forward: Paul Pierce vs. Vladimir Radmanovic. Hmm…. Who should I pick? Tough choice. No disrespect to Radmanovic, because the guy sure can score when he has one of this good days. But a role player is something different than a star player. A bad match-up. What more can I say? Advantage: Celtics.

Power forward / center: Kevin Garnett vs. Pau Gasol. We’re gonna mix it up a little, because I understand that KG and Pau start off against each other, and not Garnett against Odom. It makes sense. Both players are long and capable of doing a lot of damage when it comes to offense. It’s important for Gasol to stay aggressive, and not settle for “weenie shots”, as Phil Jackson called them. Gasol finally needs to understand that although he’s more of a finesse player, his game would greatly benefit from a bit more power. No cute little layups, he should dunk it when he’s able to. Both he and KG have a reliable jumper, which stretches the defense and making it easier for a guy like Kobe or Pierce to operate. Needless to say, but Garnett is a great defender, being the most intense player in the NBA finally being on the grand podium after all those frustrating and dreadful years in Minnesota. Now that he’s there and has to win the four most important games of his career, I hope he and his team understand this is not Atlanta, Cleveland or even Detroit that they’re playing. The best of the West is out there waiting for him, but he’ll have the upper hand playing against Gasol, that’s for sure. Advantage: Celtics.

Center / power forward: Kendrick Perkins vs. Lamar Odom. Yes, I know Perk had a monster game against the Pistons (18 points, 16 boards), but he’s nothing more than a role player on this Celtics team. It’s nice to have him around though, he can grab some boards, act like a tough guy, and maybe he frightens someone with that act (kids, puppies, goslings), but he doesn’t possess the skill set Odom has. Then again, hardly any NBA player does. Yes, I think that high of Odom. As I’ve said many times before, it’s important to get Odom involved early, get him some buckets. Like Gasol he must stay aggressive, create by going to the basket for either himself, or for his teammates. Advantage: Lakers.

Coaching: Doc Rivers vs. Phil Jackson: We know these guys, we know their stories. It was good to see Pierce hugging Doc after they beat Detroit in Game 6. Those two lost so many games before this season, dating back to 2004 when Rivers became the coach of the Celtics, and now they’re in the Finals together. Gotta give credit to Rivers for keeping his played focused from game 1 to 82. The playoffs were something different, they just had so much trouble in beating the Hawks and the Cavs, and I still wonder what (almost) went wrong. It’s Doc’s first Finals as a coach, and Jackson’s eleventh. Yes, really. He won nine, lost one in ’04, and now he’s back to accomplish something no coach has ever done: win ten championships. Advantage: Lakers.

Bench: This is actually the toughest one. The Celtics have two proven veterans in P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell, and the former impressed me a lot, but the latter has let me down a bit. I like Sam, who doesn’t? But he should know better than complaining about playing time right now. He should be happy where he is at this stage of his career. Unless he performs, or whether Eddie House is more of a thread in a game than him, good ol’ Sam should just do like the Beatles, and Let It Be, because it’s all about the team right now. Leon Powe didn’t get too much playing time against the Pistons, and that has surprised me a bit. He’s a high energy guy but I didn’t see him as much as I’ve liked to. Glen Davis doesn’t impress me much, but that also has to do with his nickname “Big Baby”. Whoever gave him that name should be shot in the face. The most important guy off the bench is James Posey. With his stiffling defense he will see a lot of minutes against Kobe (good luck with that), and he is also able to hit the 3. The aforementioned Eddie House is always fun to watch, especially if he starts gunning and actually hitting some shots. Another gunner is the Lakers’ Sasha Vujacic, but I think he could play better than he has showed so far. Ronny Turiaf can give you some valuable minutes on the court, but also on the bench he’s a joy to watch. That man is hyped up from his toes to his dreads. Jordan Farmer did pretty well against the Spurs, at least better than against the Jazz, that’s for sure. And Luke Walton might see a bit more time substituting for Radmanovic early in the game. I believe Walton is better suited to defend Pierce. Trevor Ariza however is also still there, and somewhat healthy, so he might get a turn on defending Pierce too. This leaves us with DJ Mbenga. A strong big dude who also can defend a little, so which bench would you pick? Advantage: none.

What I’d Say: It’s tough, because I can live with either of them winning it all. It’s simple: may the best team win. I hope it goes to seven games, and with the Celtics having home court, that last game will be amazing. But to make an actual statement and referring to the title of this particular blog: Lakers in six.