bostondave	Male 36 years old DANVERS, MA
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After all these years, the Boston Celtics are back in the Finals. It has been a long and grueling season but its been fun to see the guys grow together.

I'm sick of the hype and have managed to miss most of it.

The Celts have a better than average shot at winning the title. Defense will be the key. They have to showcase why they were one of the best if not the best defensive team this past season. The Celts are much more physical to the finesse offense of the Lakers. Bang the on the boards and make them work for every shot. Gasol will have to be defended against. Perk has to make sure not to get into foul trouble which he can get into early in the game. More importantly, the Celts will have to make sure to defend the outside shot.. The Lakers can be deadly from the three. Back in the first round, the Hawks seemed to make a ton of threes in Atlanta. We could see something similar if the Celts are too careless with their defense.

Can anyone stop Kobe? It'll be interesting to see how the Celts deal with him. Will they treat Kobe, like they did with Lebron? Kobe certainly has better players around him who can make the big shot. Derek Fisher has always seemed to come up with the pressure shot at an important time in the playoffs. Kobe can only be contained. He won't be stopped from scoring his thirty or more points. Paul Pierce will be defending Kobe. Double team....The key will be if the Celts can stop the other Lakers  from scoring. If that happens, the Celts should win most of the time. Can the Celts defend against the triangle offense?

Lamar Odom could be the wild card for the Lakers, Can KG defend him? And will KG be able to score on Odom?

Another factor will be rebounding. The Celts started becoming rebounding machines on both ends of the court. Perk was huge here for the Pistons' series. The Lakers were able to get a ton of rebounds against the Spurs. Who will come up big here?

Rajon just has to make sure to continue his great play and not be careless with his passing. Rajon has to make his shot when he's open and not necessarily pass it off all the time. It'll be interesting to see how he does against Fisher.

Both benches have experienced players. Posey, House, Cassell , and PJ have to make their presence known. Leon Powe might even get some minutes for his defense and rebounding. I just hope that the bench doesn't disappear in LA. Posey should make some big shots too. He'll be invaluable.

Will the refs make a ton of calls against the Celts. You better believe it. Doc will have to be mindful of this and make sure to rotate the right players off the bench. Kobe will have more foul shots than the entire Celtics team a la Lebron. However, I think the Celts will adjust.

Finally, the Celts should be able to score. The question will be, will the Celts have the scoring touch. KG, Paul and Ray have to be on their game. Ray has to continue his shooting from the last game. And Paul has to just keep what he's been doing all playoff long. Paul will be just fine in Los Angeles.

Will the Celts be able to handle the playoff final pressure in Los Angeles? Both sides will have a lot of first timers in the playoffs. Kobe and the Lakers do hold the edge here but will it really matter after tonight? hmm The Celts have been battle tested in this playoffs. They certainly won't have to deal with more physical play than the Cavs or Pistons. Its still going to be a close series. Much more than either sides believe. Both sides can offset the others' best qualities.

I do like the Celts in seven though. The Celts are certainly hungry and confident but not cocky. It'll be a fun series to watch.

Beat LA!!!