Going into Sunday?s game in the Garden, it was an exciting situation for all involved. The winner of that day?s Boston/Cleveland game would face Detroit, and the winner of the next day?s San Antonio/New Orleans game would go to Los Angeles. Every possible matchup in the ensuing conference final series promised something: Cleveland versus Detroit would have seen round three of the Pistons versus LeBron James rivalry, and Lakers versus Hornets would have seen the man many pegged as this season?s MVP (Chris Paul) up against the actual MVP (Kobe Bryant). Fun as they sound, even to those less than enamored with Mike Brown?s idea of offence, we ended up with a pair of series that will probably be even better.

The Celtics and Pistons haven?t both been so good at the same time since the 1980s, although they did meet in the second round in 2002. The Celtics still had Paul Pierce, the Pistons still utilized a team concept under the construction of General Manager Joe Dumars, and both teams played tough defense. (The Celtics? 66-64 victory in one of those games attests to this.) Other than those minuscule details, and others like the Pistons employing a crafty veteran centre with an outside shot, there isn?t much that?s similar this time.

The Spurs and Lakers are noticeably similar yet markedly different teams from the last time they met in the playoffs in 2004. The Lakers? backcourt of Derek Fisher and Bryant remains intact, albeit with a hiatus for the former, and Tim Duncan is still the stalwart in charge of the Spurs? championship hopes. Duncan?s timely jumper with 2.1 seconds remaining in game five of that magnificent series, followed by Fisher?s even timelier catch-and-shoot with 0.4 seconds remaining, highlight the memories in those teams? minds. Like their Eastern counterparts, though, they too have changed greatly.

The Celtics of 2008 are reminiscent of the legends of old, yet with a new flair. Kevin Garnett has looked spectacular on the heels of his first career Defensive Player of the Year award, averaging twenty points and ten rebounds per playoff game. He?s also been delivering passes virtually unseen in the recent NBA, whether behind the back to Kendrick Perkins under the hoop or over his own head to a cutting guard, and providing leadership to a team that needed it desperately. Pierce is still the team?s top scoring threat, as evidenced by his square-off with LeBron in game seven during which each player scored forty-plus points, and his combination of strength and smarts make him a perimeter complement to Garnett?s defensive dominance down low. Ray Allen has disappointed in the playoffs thus far, averaging 9.3 points per game on .328 shooting in the Cleveland series, but has shown life this season (.445 shooting, .398 from three) and should give Richard Hamilton a workout. Doubting the Celtics for losing on the road in the playoffs? 66 regular-season wins and an 8-0 home playoff record disagree.

If there?s one team that can stop the Celtics, at least in the East, it?s unquestionably the Pistons. In their sixth straight Eastern Conference Finals appearance, the Pistons have had three different coaches and have changed every starting position at least once but have retained the gritty mentality that once took a team featuring Chucky Atkins and Michael Curry to fifty wins. Now with a star-studded roster (the starting lineup of Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Antonio McDyess, and Rasheed Wallace should not be mentioned to the elderly or to anyone with a heart condition) and a gaudy 59-23 regular-season record (8-3 in the playoffs), they look primed to head back to the Finals for the first time since 2004. Their players? offensive stats haven?t been too impressive, aside from Prince?s .657 shooting against Philadelphia, but there?s something to be said for holding Dwight Howard to fifteen points per game on .509 shooting. (It sounds impressive, but it?s five points and 9% less than his season marks. Don?t even get me started on his first-round performance against Toronto.) They also won four of five fourth quarters against Orlando, in all of their wins, including a twelve-point thrashing in game one and decisive, if thinner, margins in the final two contests.

The Spurs are appearing in consecutive Western Conference Finals for the first time since the 1981/1982 and 1982/1983 seasons, when the team had George Gervin and Artis Gilmore. It seems odd considering the team?s relative dominance for the past decade and highly competitive nature for the decade before, but it?s true. Those times in the early ?80s, the Spurs lost both series. This time around, they?ve won one already and are facing an opponent potentially ill-equipped to counteract Duncan?s post game and Tony Parker?s slashing. The consistency of their top players is tough to question; Duncan has led the team in scoring every year of his career except 2005/2006, and has led the team in rebounding every year of his career. Parker has led the team in assists every year of his career, and led the team in scoring the only year Duncan didn?t. Add in Manu Ginobili (20.5 points and 6.2 assists in the New Orleans series, and proud owner of a couple consecutive game seven three-balls), and this Spurs team will be difficult to beat.

The Lakers are rejuvenated. Bryant has finally won his MVP award (28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game during the season), Lamar Odom punished the Jazz (18.2 on .587 shooting, 10.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks against the Jazz), and new addition Pau Gasol has answered any doubts about his playoff readiness (20.0 points on .568 shooting, 8.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.9 blocks throughout the playoffs so far). The Lakers have three of the best players in the league at this point, and they?re all doing those things that take teams to the title. Gasol?s utilizing the same over-the-head pass from in the post that Garnett is, and Bryant is happy to return the favor by lobbing it into the paint, where the seven-foot Gasol?s outstretched hands make for easy targets above the hoop. Odom is similarly inventive, finding Gasol in the post almost without fail, often in the middle of traffic. The Lakers? defense has been stated as a possible weakness, but with Odom and Gasol averaging a combined five blocked shots per game against the Jazz, the Lakers? perimeter defenders should feel encouraged to gamble a little more and let the Spurs? slashing-based guard offence either cough up the ball or deal with Odom and Gasol.

Like all classic series, and these two should be joining those ranks as soon as they?re over, post play will be a key determinant in who wins. Each team has a primary post option capable of dominating the game on both sides of the ball, which also generates open shots for guards and allows for more turnover-causing on the perimeter. In the East, Wallace and Garnett are lanky 6?11? players with a plethora of different skill sets but with a common love of playing stifling man-to-man defense; out West, Duncan?s fluidity and Gasol?s finesse will look beautiful ? until each is on the receiving end of a vicious block by the other.

Garnett and Wallace anchor their defenses, but will have an important one-one-one matchup. Both have a propensity to mix low-post moves with perimeter shooting, and are similarly well-suited to guard either type of offense. For all the criticism Garnett has faced for making the fadeaway his go-to move when his back is to the basket, creating separation from Wallace will be critical in getting off the shot over Wallace?s long arms. Wallace is a smart enough player not to jump too early or to allow his man to draw fouls with conventional moves, so Garnett will have to find ways to get around Wallace. Equally important, though, is the need to take an abundance of shots; Wallace?s 3.3 blocks per game against Philadelphia, a team without a central low-post scorer, was far better than his 0.2 blocks per game against Orlando, which has the benefit of Howard drawing attention. Garnett can neutralize Wallace?s defensive impact by taking shots that create distance between the two of them, thus keeping Wallace?s hand out of his face, and by taking a lot of them, so that Wallace can?t sag over toward a driving Pierce.

Wallace?s dilemma is simple: Garnett?s defense is better than Wallace?s offence. While it?s tempting for Wallace to drift out to the three-point line, Boston can counter this by putting Posey on him and having Garnett guard either Antonio McDyess or Tayshaun Prince. Alternatively, Boston can simply let Garnett play perimeter defense while taking advantage of the fact that Garnett will be closer to the basket than Wallace, and therefore more easily able to sprint for a rebound. Wallace can mitigate Garnett?s superior length and rebounding ability by being as physical as possible, fighting with him on every play, making him work for every rebound. Garnett is the better player here but if Wallace can use that weight he?s gained over the years, setting up with his back to the basket and then sealing Garnett on every offensive rebound, Garnett will be forced to attend to his man instead of to a teammate?s. This opens up the offence for Billups or Hamilton to get into the paint because Detroit will need some good scoring performances out of its guards to win this series. Counting on anyone to score on Garnett a high percentage of the time is not a safe bet to win a game.

Duncan and Gasol are perhaps best understood in light of each other. Duncan?s 13.3 rebounds per game in the playoffs, his best since the 2002/2003 season, vastly outweigh Gasol?s 8.6 per game. Duncan?s 149 career playoff games make Gasol?s twenty-two playoff games (twelve prior to this season, and all were losses) look piddling. However, Gasol has managed to edge Duncan on the scoring front (20.0 to 19.5) without being the first option in the Lakers? offence, and is shooting much better from the field (.568 to .475). Duncan is falling into the same pattern his predecessor, David Robinson, did; he is rebounding and defending at an all-world level, especially in the playoffs (remember, Robinson notched seventeen rebounds in his last game, as a 37-year old) while seeing his offence take a bit of a hit. His 40-point game in Phoenix should be proof that he can still score in the playoffs, though, even if that performance was balanced out by an awful five-point game in the opener at New Orleans. History, strength and poise all indicate that Duncan will show up big in this series, and Gasol cannot stop him one-on-one. If help arrives, Duncan is one of the best in the league at kicking the ball out to a shooter.

Whether Gasol has eclipsed Duncan offensively or not, and the smart money is still in the not category, he will need to if the Lakers want to win this series. David West and Tyson Chandler, between the two of them, proved that a commitment to defending Duncan can make him take some difficult shots, many of which will clang against the rim. As long as Fisher and Bryant can seal off the Spurs? guards nearly as well as Paul and Morris Peterson did, Odom and Gasol should be a sufficient tandem to cause Duncan problems. (Fabricio Oberto, for all he brings the Spurs, shouldn?t take much more than a token effort to guard.) Gasol can frustrate Duncan on the other end by being a Laker; knowing Oberto can?t guard Odom and no one in the solar system can guard Bryant, he can establish those key passing options early in the game in order to make Duncan play help defense. If Duncan keys in on Gasol, his help defense is lessened, and the Spurs? perimeter defenders will have to work extra-hard in order to stop Bryant from penetrating. If Duncan ever leaves Gasol, Odom and Bryant are so alert that the ball will be back in Gasol?s hands for a quick dunk over whoever rotates toward him. (He has a two-inch height advantage over Oberto and Robert Horry, a five-inch height advantage over Bruce Bowen, and has roughly the same wingspan as all of them combined.) As with Wallace?s situation, Gasol is not the player Duncan is, but that?s not what?s expected of him; Gasol has to involve the team against Duncan?s defense the same way a defender uses his teammates when guarding a gifted scorer. He won?t get any offensive rebounds against the two-time MVP and four-time champion, so every possession has to count.

The two best regular-season records face off in the East, and the two most decorated teams of the past decade go up against each other in the West. This is as good a couple of series as could be hoped, and the NBA Finals will be incredible no matter who participates out of these four juggernauts. Each team has its stars, as is expected among teams remaining this far into the playoffs, and each team features a crucial post player with a different style of wearing down, lighting up or just plain crushing his opponent. Paul Pierce, Richard Hamilton, Kobe Bryant and Manu Ginobili can keep their limelight, and we?ll be sure to hear their names trumpeted from the scorer?s table almost constantly. Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Tim Duncan and Pau Gasol are the first ones to the opponent?s basket and the last defenders in front of their own, and they?ll ensure that these 2008 championship series are fantastic.