Celtics, Lakers Relive Old Times

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It's been a little over 20 years since the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers dominated this time of the year on the National Basketball Association schedule. It's the time of the year that made Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar not only household names but recognized as some of the league's all-time best players.

These two teams will face each other again for the first time since those exciting days of the NBA, but the names looking to be immortalized are Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

What fans will get in the NBA Finals this year will be truly the two best teams in the league. The Celtics finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA, at 66-16, and the odds on favorite to win the title. The Lakers enter the series with the best record in the playoffs at 12-3 and dominated defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the Western Conference finals.

The fans will also see a contrast with its coaches. The Lakers' Phil Jackson has nine NBA titles under his belt. The first six were with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The last three were with the Shaquille O'Neal/Bryant tandem in Los Angeles. Ironically, a win will move Jackson past the great Boston coach Red Auerbach as the coach with the most NBA titles.

The Celtics bench leader Doc Rivers will try to prevent that from happening as he enters his first NBA finals as a coach or player.

The season's reigning most valuable player, Bryant, has been nothing short of spectacular in the playoffs, averaging 31.9 points per game and 6.1 rebounds with 87 assists. Probably the most startling stat is that Bryant is shooting 50.9 percent from the field when even the Mars Phoenix Lander knows he will take the bulk of the shots for Los Angeles.

The series gives the Lakers' Lamar Odom a chance to show how well he can perform in the biggest series of his life. Odom, after admitting to a sub-par contest in Game 4 against San Antonio, scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Game 5. Pau Gasol continued to pay huge dividends by grabbing 19 rebounds in Game 5.

In Beantown, while "Boston Three Party" has not always fired on all cylinders this playoff season, but they have come through in big ways when they were needed the most. Pierce, Garnett and Allen have averaged 19.6 points, 18.8 points, and 17.4 points per game, respectively.

Boston center Kendrick Perkins, 23-year-old who came out of high school straight to the NBA the same time LeBron James did, could be the X-factor in the finals. Perkins averaged nearly 10 rebounds a game against a Detroit team known for crashing the boards. His 18-point, 16-rebound performance in Game 5 was critical in the Celtics 106-102 home win. If he continues to produce similar numbers, it could be difficult for the Lakers to overcome him and the Big 3.

Both teams have proven they can win the road. Los Angeles went 4-3 in road games in the playoffs, particularly in difficult places like San Antonio and Utah. While Boston struggled earlier on the road against lesser teams like Atlanta and Cleveland, the Celtics managed to win two road against in Auburn Hills, Mich. in the last round.

The series starts Thursday, June 5, in Boston. All games will be 9 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) and shown on ABC. The rest of the schedule shakes out this way:

Game 2: Sunday, June 8, Los Angeles at Boston.

Game 3: Tuesday, June 10, Boston at Los Angeles.

Game 4: Thursday, June 12, Boston at Los Angeles.

Game 5: Sunday, June 15, Boston at Los Angeles, if necessary.

Game 6: Tuesday, June 17, Los Angeles at Boston, if necessary.

Game 7: Thursday, June 19, Los Angeles at Boston, if necessary.