NBA Finals

Ok, let me first start out by saying that the old Celtics vs. Lakers was different than this series. This is going to be a great series but, it is not going to be like the old time because there is no past between these particular teams and there are not going to be 6 hall-of-famers playing on the court.
I am sticking with my previous argument that the Celtics will win in six. As much as I want the Lakers to win, I just don’t think the match-ups work in their favor.
If you look at the match-ups it just doesn’t cut it for the Lakers. Here:

RONDO VS. FISCHER
Fischer is a veteran and has a pretty shot. Rondo is a scrappy defender who is young and quick, but inexperienced.
ADVANTAGE: N/A

KOBE VS. ALLEN
Kobe is the MVP of the league. An overall beast, and the best player in the NBA. Allen is probably the purest shooter I have ever seen.
ADVANTAGE: LAKERS

RADMONOVIC VS. PEIRCE
Paul Pierce is a dynamic small forward who takes it to the hole and can hit the jumper. Radmonovic is really the Lakers 6th man but got moved up when Bynum got injured. He is mediocre, but can hit the three. This is the biggest mismatch of the series.
ADVANTAGE: CELTICS

GARNETT VS. ODOM
KG is a beast. If he powers down in the post against Odom, Odom is fried. KG is also lethal because he has the deadly mid-range jumper. Odom is a good driver and rebounder, he has a decent three and a jumper that is a little better.
ADVANTAGE: CELTICS
PAU VS. PERKINS
Pau and Perkins are completely different types of players. Perkins is a power player who often backs down. Pau is finesse. It will be interesting to see who exploits the others weaknesses first. I think Pau will get it done.
ADVANTAGE: LAKERS

KEYS TO THE SERIES FOR THE LAKERS:
1. Kobe, Kobe, and Kobe. Kobe has to be HUGE in this series if the Lakers want a chance to win. He has to get his points but also make his teammates better.
2. BENCH SAVIOR!! The Lakers young bench has to come up huge for them to win. Even if the Lakers don’t match-up in the starting lineup they could make up by having the better bench.
3. Make KG a jump shooter. Odom has to make KG shoot the J. KG is much less affective when he is turned into a jump shooter.

KEYS TO THE SERIES FOR THE CELTICS:

1. LIMIT KOBE’S SCORING. There are not many ways to do this, but there are two. The first way to limit Kobe’s scoring is when Kobe is guarding Allen, the Celtics have to run Allen on a lot of screens. This tires Kobe and makes him less of threat offensively. That is what the Pistons did with Hamilton in 2004 and it worked out.
2. EXPLOIT PAUL PERIECE’S MISMATCH. Paul could have a field day against Radmonovic. He just is better that Vlad in every single way.
3. GET ALLEN HOT. Allen is the key to the series. When he is hot, the Celtics win. His shot changes the whole game. If he gets going early in the series the Celtics have a good chance of winning.

In conclusion I think, as much as it pains me to say it, the Celtics will win in six games. Even though the Lakers have some advantages against the Celtics, the artillery for the Celtics is just too much for the Lakers to handle.