Jonathan Lee    AccuScore Analyst
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After some lackluster match-ups in recent years there will finally be a glamour series in the NBA finals:  the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Boston Celtics.  The two classic rivals each completed shocking turnarounds from just a year ago to reach this point, but only one team will be crowned champions.

In preliminary simulations the Lakers, despite not having home court advantage, are projected as solid 62 percent favorites due to their strong recent play.  L.A. ran through what was thought be the toughest Western Conference ever with a 12-3 postseason record while Boston had to tough out 20 games in the much weaker East.  The Lakers are winning nearly 50 percent of simulations on the road, and a solid 65 percent of games at home in AccuScore simulations.  These numbers are just preliminary simulations, and AccuScore will have full coverage and more in-depth analysis coming soon.

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Mid-Souf Big-Mouf said:

Are we to ignore how Boston nearly let Rodney Stuckey beat them in came 5? or how the Celtics stellar defense made Joe Johnson look like the next MJ (Game 4,quarter 4 in ATL)? or how KG (and his price tag) can freeze up in late game situations? or how against Detroit Sam Cassell, Leon Powe, and Eddie House, have been as effective for Boston as I have? or how on a given night the "Big Three" may or may not exclude Ray Allen and may include PJ Brown (in the clutch!), Kendrick Perkins (for a half), or Rajon Rondo? or finally, how the Lakers have Finals vets Kobe, Fisher and Phil and the Celtics have to lean on the collective finals experience of Sam Cassell (in a reserve role in 94 & 95) and James Posey (off-the-bench '06)? The Lakers have their weaknesses but they are playing great ball top to bottom and will win this series in 6 games.

June 01, 2008

b-baller said:

you must admit that the lakers is a far better team than the one boston face this season. The key to this series is the play of Odom. He is the x-factor. Lakers will win in six because both Ray and Garnet can not play under pressure.

June 01, 2008

Trigger from FL said:

Let's not forget that the Celtics steamrolled through both the Lakers and the Western Conference this year. The Eastern vs. Western Conference doesn't hold water when speaking of either the Pistons or Celtics. These teams are as good or better than anything the West can put out there. I love the logic of the guy who brought it to the forefront that when the Celtics shellacked the Lakers earlier they did have Bynum. He is much more physical down low. Everyone also wants to talk about the Hawks making it to a game 7. The 7th game makes it abundantly clear that the Celtics were messing around all series and knew they could blow the Hawks off the court at any time. The game 7 in that series looked like a junior high team vs. the Celtics. I like the Celtics in 6 because as much as they are talking about the Celtics never being there there are only a few Lakers who have done it. Let Kobe try and do what James was unable to. He has a limited supporting cast against the best D in the NBA bar none. Kobe will need to average over 35 a game the entire series and I don't see it happening. 66-16 my friends, 66-16!! Read it and weep!!

June 01, 2008

tony.mahara said:

Is there a point in putting in a title? It never shows up.

June 01, 2008

tony.mahara said:

Yes it's true that there was no Gasol, but the Lakers also had Bynum starting which they don't have now. So the questions are really, what is the Bynum vs. Gasol tradeoff and is it enough to counteract that the Celtics won by 15 and 19 pts. BTW, Odom played in the 2nd and the Lakers actually lost by more. As for Odom vs. Gasol, Gasol is better in the triangle and will get more points than Bynum but would have less rebounds. BTW, the Celtics did actually play against Gasol when he was with Memphis. He was 3-13 and had 12 points.

June 01, 2008

tony.mahara said:

The Celtics played a hungry Atlanta team, Cleveland w/ LeBron (Cleveland also swept the Lakers this season) and the Pistons. Meanwhile, the Lakers played a Denver team that quit on themselves, a Utah team that made it a series, and a SA team that is old and injured. Also, if you throw out the first round of the playoffs as an aberration, the outcomes of both the Celtics and the Lakers next two playoff series were pretty much consistent with the regular season. The Lakers may have the best offense but they haven't faced a defense like the Celtics have in these playoffs. The Lakers might claim to run the full court but they still have to do it thru a wall of D.

June 01, 2008

And One said:

Still trying to get over the fact it's not LB and gang heading West. http://blog.cleveland.com/andone

May 31, 2008

jonlee said:

The record was just a typographical error. The correct number was incorporated in the preliminary simulation.

May 31, 2008

Mfinizza said:

This will be a good throwback series. Despite the Boston victory over the Eastern conference, the Western conference is a far more competetive outfit. In the regular season leading up to the playoffs, all of the Western conference teams were conditioned to win every single game, because the Western conference was so tight and even a single loss could determine a teams seeding for the playoffs. If you remember the standings changes daily in the Western conf. The Eastern conference was a different story, teams did not have this type of rigor and competitive need and could get by losing a few games. I beleive that the Lakers are a much better conditioned team to win this series since they have played against some of the toughest teams in the West. The Lakers have only lost 3 play off games while Boston has lost a total of 8 playoff games, all of their series except one were game 7s against much lower ranked seeded teams. Besides Boston is a slow half court team, and the Lakers like to run the full court, I am not saying that Boston will roll over but I will definatly pick the Lakers to win.

May 31, 2008

TPiranha said:

I'll take the Celtics in 7. The Lakers are playing incredible but Boston's hungry stars win out in the end. How scary will the Lakers be next year when Bynum gets back?

May 31, 2008

DO-Looser said:

I believe the Lakers were 12-3 this postseason, loosing twice to Utah and once to San Antonio. I wonder how the correct record will affect the Accuscore simulation.

May 31, 2008

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