So, I worked today until 6. It’s 8 right now. It occurred to me that I promised my readers a Mid-Atlantic Bias today and while it won’t be long or in depth, at least it’s something.
I need to give my finals predictions before Game 1 starts. Little info, my aunt and her boyfriend from Boise are in Boston to attend Games 1 and 2. I am filled with envy.
Breakdown By Position:
PG (Derek Fisher vs. Rajon Rondo): Advantage Fisher. He’s got all the experience. He’s been here before and he’s a great team player. Rondo is as well, but Fisher is a much better shooter. If we judge this by Rondo’s potential, he’s the winner. But for this 7 game series, I’d take Fisher.
SG (Kobe Bryant vs. Ray Allen): Moving on…
SF (Lamar Odom vs. Paul Pierce): “Closer than the experts think,” to quote a great college football analyst. When Odom shows up, he is capable of taking a game over. Because he doesn’t always take games over, I am going to give a slight nod to Pierce, but if this is as simple as rating players on a 1-10 basis, Odom at his best is an 8.0, Pierce at his usual is about the same.
PF (Vladimir Radmonovic vs. Kevin Garnett): See the SG matchup.
C (Pau Gasol vs. Kenrick Perkins): If Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals Perk shows up, this will be a close matchup. If their normal versions show up, Gasol will average 16 pts., 10 Reb and Perk will foul out and scowl. Advantage Gasol.
Benches (Vujacic, Farmar, Walton, Turiaf vs. Posey, House or Cassell (preferably Eddie House, then perhaps a scarecrow, then Cassell), Powe, Brown): Advantage Celtics. Posey is the key here. I would start him at the 2 against Kobe.
Coaches (Phil Jackson vs. Glenn Rivers): You know how I said “Moving on…” for the SG and PF matchups. This is the equivalent of Michael Jordan squaring off against Drazen Petrovic’s corpse.
Your Winner: If I go with my heart, it’s Celtics in 3 (with a Lakers forfeit after they lose by 39 in Game 3). If I go with my head and what I’ve got here, it’s Lakers in 6. Gasol is the key. The Celtics won both regular season games before the February Gasol trade. The Lakers are a completely different team now. I can’t see Ray Allen defending Kobe with any success. I think the Celtics will win tonight’s game in front of a whiteout at the Garden. The Lakers will likely steal Game 2, much like the Pistons did in the conference finals.
Whatever happens, enjoy this series, basketball fan or not. We’re not old enough to have really experienced the history and aura of Celtics/Lakers in the 80’s and certainly not old enough for the 60’s rivalry. Try to savor this as much as possible. It’s going to be fun.
Mid-Atlantic Bias 
So the Lakers almost did steal game 2 in what would have been the best come back in NBA finals history.As for the Celtics bench, what the hell happened to Leon Powe. He started his normal Leon style with going to the hoop and never making a shot but always getting the foul. Then he just kinnda went off. Matt was hiding in the corner, Harry had a huge boner, and I was worring about the women and children who were watching.I think the Celtics can thank their bench for Game 2. Most notably beyond Stud-Lordian Powe was PJ Brown who gave some great minutes.Now I will make some predictions, I think that if two things happen the Celtics could steal this series. 1. The have to win one of the three in LA. 2. Doc needs to get rid of his raging hard-on for Sam I Suck and put in Eddie My-Sons-On-The-Bench House. If those happen there just might be a new banner hanging for the garden.Also enjoy the !!! at the end of commentors names. Matt Minton has said it is what cool people do. Therefore I will follow suit.
What a trendsetter!I could not hide my enormous boner at the site of Rajondo on the floor in the fourth. Cassell is a goddam cancer, and should not be playing over Gabe Pruitt right now.The Celtics need to take at least 1 of 3 in LA to be in good shape, I think. Down 3-2 with 2 home games, eh.TWO MORE!