The Los Angeles Lakers will meet the Boston Celtics in a rematch for the Larry O'Brien trophy. Now that we know who will actually battle for the championship, it's time for my official finals prediction.
The Lakers and Celtics are two teams that have two completely different styles of play. The Celtics are the more aggressive team that have two three-point sharpshooters in Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, while the Lakers are more of a finesse team that rely on Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and recently Ron Artest to run their offense.
The Celtics rely mainly on their defense to shut down elite teams. This could hurt Los Angeles if the finals becomes a long series.
Another concern for the Lakers is Andrew Bynum's torn meniscus. Andrew has said that he would prefer to have surgery after the playoffs but Bynum has become nonexistent in recent games.
The one way that the Lakers could beat Boston is to shut down Rajon Rondo. Rondo has been playing like an MVP throughout entire playoffs and is easily the best player still in the playoffs. If the Lakers shut Rondo down, that shuts the entire offense down as one of his key abilities throughout the playoffs is his passing.
Bottom Line: "The Rematch" will be an even series with two teams essentially offsetting their opponent's styles of play so this series will be decided with defense, not offense.
Prediction: Lakers over Celtics in seven games (4-3).
(Arguments, opinions, or just want to talk trash? Comment below.)
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
