NBA Finals Preview

The NBA and the fans got the classic matchup that they have wanted since the 2008 NBA finals between the same two teams. The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics meet in the NBA Finals for the 2nd time in 3 years and there are story lines galore. First, this is the Los Angeles Lakers chance to repeat as champions, something they haven't done since Shaquille O'neal was forced out of town. This is Kobe Bryant's chance to further cement his place in history by winning those back to back titles without the help of the Big Aristotle. Kobe Bryant is arguably playing his best playoffs of his career, punctuating that with his incredible array of clutch shots in game 6 of the last series against the Suns. Bryant looks to be on a mission and now gets to try and redeem himself against the team he lost to back in 2008. The Celtics are the underdog story of this playoffs after having a subpar end to their regular season. Nevertheless, the 3 future Hall of Famers in Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen have led this team back to the finals. Rajon Rondo has come into his own during this playoffs, making a name for himself with a few amazing performances so far. The Celtics vs. Lakers rivalry dates back more than 50 years and both teams know what's at stake. This is also a chance for Phil Jackson to potentially further his legacy as one of the greatest coaches of all time. A win in this finals would give him 11 titles as a coach, witch is the most of all time.

The most interesting matchup will of course be what the Celtics plan on doing with Kobe Bryant. In 2008 they had defensive stopper James Posey, but he is no longer with the team. I think Ray Allen will start out on Bryant, and they will run different guys such as Paul Pierce and Tony Allen at him. They will play him similarly to the way they played Lebron James and force contested jumpers. Bryant's supporting cast is much better than Lebron's was so we'll see how big an affect the Celtics strategy will be. This looks to be a great and entertaining finals which will get under way on Thursday.