This article originally appeared on June 4, 2008

Red Auerbach versus Phil Jackson, Wilt versus Russell, Magic versus Bird, the NBA?s best offense versus its best defense, the NBA MVP versus the Defensive Player of the Year.

The storylines are endless.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics met twice during the regular season with their last match-up taking place on December 30th of last year.  

The Lakers were 19-11 at the time and riding a four game win streak, but they were nothing like the team that heads into the NBA Finals with only three playoff losses.

The Lakers have played 52 regular season and 15 playoff games since their last meeting.

Boston has played 53 regular season and 20 playoff games since then.

That?s 67 and 73 games a piece ? nearly an entire NBA season (82 games) has passed.

Boston owns homecourt advantage after winning an NBA regular season best 66 games but was pushed to the limit by the 8th seeded Atlanta Hawks and 4th seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening rounds.

Los Angeles captured the Western Conference?s #1 seed in what was arguably the most competitive conference in NBA history ? in large part because they were able to acquire Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies in February.  With Gasol in the lineup, the Lakers are 33-7 (21-4 during the regular season, 12-3 during the playoffs).

Both teams seem to be getting stronger as the postseason progresses.

The Lakers needed only 5 games to dispatch of the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.  The Celtics needed only 6 games to eliminate the perennial Eastern Conference championship contending Detroit Pistons.

The stage is set for the NBA?s top two teams to collide in what should  be one of the greatest NBA Finals ever.

Matchups

Point Guard:  Derek Fisher vs. Rajon Rondo

Fisher is averaging 10 points and shooting 56% from the 3-point line in these playoffs but is coming off of his worst series.  Derek shot just 38% from the field versus San Antonio.  After struggling in the first two rounds against Allen Iverson and Deron Williams, Jordan Farmar was key in the Western Conference Finals when matched up with Tony Parker?s speed.  Jordan put up 8 points per game on 46% from the field.  

Rondo is an extremely explosive player who has great defensive instincts.  His long wingspan allows him to play the passing lanes, but he tends to take too many gambles.  He?s also a below average shooter and turnover prone.  Rajon enters the NBA Finals averaging 11 points per game on 41% from the field and 29% from the 3-point line.  

Due to Rondo?s shooting woes, both Fisher and Farmar will be able to double down on KG androtate on P aul Pierce and Ray Allen, as well.

Reserve Sam Cassell?s experience (2 NBA championships) could play a role in this series, but he has struggled in the playoffs thus far.  Cassell is shooting 32% from the field, and his older age has made him the definition of defensive liability.  Eddie House has produced when called upon, but Doc Rivers hasn?t shown much confidence in him.

Advantage:  Lakers

Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant vs. Ray Allen

Ray Allen struggled from behind the arc in the first two rounds but found his stroke against Detroit.  Allen shot 39% from the 3-point in the Eastern Conference Finals and is averaging 14 points per game during the playoffs.  Assigned the unenviable task of chasing him around baseline screens will be 8 time All-NBA defender Kobe Bryant.  Bryant is a fantastic one-on-one defender but has a tendency to lose track of his man.

Kobe?s concentration will be put to the test against Allen, who ranks 2nd all-time in career 3-pointers made.

Bryant enters the NBA Finals averaging 32 points on only 22 attempts from the field.  He?s shooting at a 51% clip ? an extremely efficient percentage from a player who does most of his damage from mid-range.  

Bryant has seemingly elevated his game to another level in every series of the 2008 playoffs.  Against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs ? led by All-NBA defenders Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan ? he put 29 points per game on 53% from the field ? the highest field goal percentage of his playoff career.

Sharpshooter Sasha Vujacic will spell Bryant at shooting guard and play alongside him should Jackson move Bryant down to shooting forward.  Sasha is averaging 8 points on 41% from the 3-point line.  His long-distance accuracy will be counted upon to stretch the vaunted Celtics' defense.

Coming off the bench for the Celtics will be James Posey and Tony Allen.  Both players are excellent defenders.

Advantage:  Lakers

Small Forward:  Paul Pierce vs. Vladimir Radmanovic

A native of Inglewood, California, Pierce is no stranger to the Lakers-Celtics' rivalry.

Pierce has struggled for long stretches during the playoffs but put up his two biggest postseason games when his team needed them most.  Paul put up 41 points in Boston?s game 7 victory over Cleveland and 27 in the Celtics' game 6 win versus Detroit.  

Pierce is a big game player; he will relish the bright lights of the NBA Finals.  

Radmanovic was surprisingly effective defending Carmelo Anthony and Manu Ginobili, but Pierce presents an entirely different set of problems for the Lakers' starting small forward.  Paul doesn?t have the quickness to blow by Radmonovic, but his footwork is outstanding.  He can score from long-range, mid-range, off the dribble, posting up, and is capable of getting to the basket.

Vladimir has struggled offensively at times but shot 63% versus San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals.

Like Vujacic, Radmonovic?s outside shooting will be key in opening up the floor for the Lakers.

Coming off the bench for the Lakers and Celtics are Luke Walton, the aforementioned James Posey, and possibly Lakers' forward Trevor Ariza.  Walton is averaging 7 points and shooting 48% from the field for LA but will provide little defensive resistance versus Pierce.

If Pierce scores at will versus Radmonovic and Walton, Coach Phil Jackson may be forced to slide Kobe Bryant to shooting forward to try and slow him down.

Advantage:  Celtics

Power Forward:  Lamar Odom vs. Kevin Garnett

Lost in all of the Pau Gasol acquisition and Kobe Bryant MVP talk during the regular season has been the emergence of power forward Lamar Odom.  Odom is averaging 15 points, 10 rebounds, and shooting 48% from the field.  

A player with Lamar?s versatility is a match-up nightmare for most teams.

But the Celtics have Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett.

KG is Boston?s leading scorer (21 points), rebounder (10), and the anchor of their defense.  Garnett is also leading the Celtics in shooting percentage (52%).  Kevin shot 53% from the field versus Rasheed Wallace and the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.  Even more impressive is the fact that out of his 101 shot attempts during that series, only 21 of them came inside the paint.

If Garnett isn?t the greatest shooting big man of all-time, I?d love to know who is.

Coming off the bench for the Lakers is the always energetic Ronny Turiaf.  He can?t defend Garnett, but he is the only Lakers' frontcourt player who can match KG?s effort and intensity.

The Celtics will be paced by Leon Powe, Glen Davis, and veteran power forward P.J. Brown.  Brown?s numbers have been pedestrian, but he came up with several clutch plays in Boston?s game 7 victory over Cleveland.

Advantage:  Boston

Center:  Pau Gasol vs. Kendrick Perkins

Gasol is far more skilled than Perkins, but Kendrick?s defense is underrated.  He?s a very good on-ball and helpside defender down low.  Kendrick possesses the size to body up Gasol on the block.

Pau enters the Finals averaging 18 points and shooting a blistering 53% from the field.  He defended Tim Duncan well in the Western Conference Finals and will probably be asked to guard Garnett for long stretches in this series.

Perkins is limited offensively ? and with 3 All-Star caliber players on his team ? receives few scoring opportunities.  But he will convert (59% from the field) on putbacks and offensive rebounds (2 per game).

Subbing for Gasol and Perkins will be Turiaf and Powe, Davis, and Brown.

Advantage:  Lakers

Bench

The Lakers are legitimately 9 deep (Farmar, Walton, Vujacic, Turiaf) team and ten with the return of Trevor Ariza.

The Celtics are deeper in the frontcourt but much thinner at the guard spots, particularly at point guard.

Advantage:  Lakers

Coaching

Phil Jackson has won nine NBA championships.  Jackson?s a master strategist.

On the surface, the Phil Jackson vs. Doc Rivers appears to be the Lakers' biggest advantage but don?t forget that Boston has defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau.  Thibodeau was influential in getting three superstars ? two of whom were never known for their defense ? to commit to his defensive strategy.

But when it comes to matching wits on the sidelines, I?ll take Phil Jackson every day during the regular season and twice during the NBA Finals.

X-factor

Lamar Odom.

He?s too quick for Perkins and more than capable of getting KG into foul trouble.  

Prediction

Lakers in 6

Keys for the Lakers

1. Let the Celtics fire away from outside

With Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, the Celtics have a clear advantage in the frontcourt.

But Boston is a jump-shooting team.

Kevin Garnett has been unwilling ? and to his credit ? it?s been unnecessary for him to score with his back to the basket in these playoffs.

If Garnett does establish himself down low, he must be bodied up as much as possible.  Garnett has the heart of a lion and plays very physical defense himself but shies away when the same type of physical defense is applied to him.

Ray Allen is capable of shooting the lights out, but Vujacic and Bryant should be able to limit his good looks by hounding him around screens and crowding his catch-and-shoot opportunities.

2. Bench Production

The Lakers' "Bench Mob? has been huge and often times extends leads or cuts deficits when Bryant sits at the start of the 2nd and 4th quarters.

Walton has been in the NBA Finals, but so have Boston?s James Posey and Sam Cassell.

If the Lakers are to win their first NBA championship since 2003, Vujacic, Turiaf, and Farmar will need to weather the inevitable storms and elevate their games amidst the pressure.

3. Move the basketball

Both Michael Jordan?s Bulls and Shaquille O?Neal?s Lakers won multiple championships with the triangle offense.  These Lakers have yet to capture their first ring but their rendition of the triangle is, by far, the most aesthetically pleasing.  Previous versions featured the inside-out post-up games of O?Neal and Jordan.  There was little movement.

With Bryant picking and choosing his moments to strike and all of his teammates cutting and moving as if tied to a string, the Lakers' offense is poetry in motion.

After scoring 25 points in the second half in leading the Lakers to a 20-point comeback victory against the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals game 1, Kobe proclaimed, ?I can get off anytime.?

That may be true.

But Kobe?s patience will be put to the test against the Celtics.

The Celtics are a great defensive team, but they have a tendency to overload on the strong (ball) side.  The Lakers may not score after the initial helpside defender leaves his man, but it?s imperative that they continue to attack and make the extra pass.

Lakers in 6

The Lakers have an advantage at three of the five starting positions, on the bench, and on the sidelines.

The Celtics have the NBA?s best defensive player, the best defensive coach, and obviously are the best defensive team in the league.

The Lakers have the league?s MVP and the best all-around player.

But in the end, it may just come down to who wants it more.

Both Bryant and Garnett are transcendent superstars.

KG is a great player, one of the greatest power forwards of all-time, but he?s not capable of beating the Lakers by himself.  Ray Allen and Paul Pierce will have to play huge for the Celtics to win this series.

I think Bryant will impose his will on Boston's defense.

There?s simply no way to defend him now that he?s surrounded by the likes of interior players Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol and outside marksmen Derek Fisher, Sasha Vujacic, and Vladimir Radmonovic.  If the Celtics play a step off and attempt to make him a jump-shooter ? like the Spurs tried to do in the Western Conference Finals ? he?ll connect from mid-range and beyond.  If they double him on the pick-and-roll, he?ll find a rolling Gasol or Odom.  If they help on his penetration, he?ll kick it to Fisher, Vujacic, and Radmonovic for open looks.

He?s playing the best basketball of his career ? operating with a surgical precision that few players in NBA history have approached.

He?s scoring points, spreading the wealth, and leading by example.

The 2008 NBA championship is his to lose.

Visit Brandon Hoffman's NBA blog BallerBlogger and feel free to contact Brandon via e-mail (ballerblogger@yahoo.com) with comments or questions