Lakers forward Lamar Odom isn't sure he wants his wife, reality television star Khloe Kardashian, sitting among the fans in Boston during the NBA Finals.

"They gave it to my kids last time in Boston," Odom said of the 2008 matchup between the two clubs.

"I don't know how my wife is going to be able to sit in the crowd," Odom continued, later adding that security might be needed.

The Lakers lost to the Celtics in the NBA Finals two seasons ago, something that is undoubtedly fresh on the mind of superstar Kobe Bryant.

Right after Los Angeles eliminated Phoenix to stamp their ticket to the Finals, and another matchup with Boston, Bryant said that the opponent didn't matter.

Regardless, the future Hall of Famer is looking forward to the challenge.

"Just looking forward to the challenge of it," Bryant said.

"Last time we played them, it was a great learning experience for us. It taught us what it takes to be a champion. With the defensive intensity they play with, the tenacity they play with, we learned a great deal in that series."

After finishing off the Suns in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday night, Kobe Bryant downplayed the team's upcoming matchup with the Celtics.

"I didn't give a damn who we played [in the Finals]," Bryant said after the clinching game. "Didn't matter to me."

With that said, Bryant understands why people are excited about a Lakers-Celtics pairing in the NBA Finals.

"There's a lot of things that people can write about and talk about. It's a sexy matchup," he admitted.

Kobe Bryant wrapped up a magnificent series with 37 points, Ron Artest added 25 and the Lakers held off the Suns 111-103 on Saturday night to win the Western Conference finals, as reported by the Associated Press.

The Lakers and Celtics will meet in the finals for the 12th time with Game 1 Thursday night in Los Angeles.

?We?ll see how much we matured,? Bryant said. ?They challenged us extremely well in the finals a couple years ago. Now is a chance to see how much we?ve grown.?

Steve Nash's teammates are standing behind him as they head into Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers.

"They held home court," Nash said after Game 5's loss Thursday. "We'll go back and do the same, and we'll come back here (Staples Center) for Game 7."

The Lakers have not lost a best-of-seven playoff series after they have taken a 3-2 lead with a Game 5 win since 1969.

"We can't make him look bad," Suns forward Grant Hill said.

One day after Ron Artest was the hero in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, he was fined for being late to the team's practice on Friday.

"Usually I have no issues with him being on time but it was just one of those nights, I think he was just so excited after the game that all that processing and things that were on the board there didn't all register," Phil Jackson said.

The amount of Artest's fined wasn't disclosed.

Artest said he was so excited after the game that he went to work out for an hour late Thursday night.

"Ron has a penchant for little things tripping him up in the process; incorrectly reading the board as to practice time today and not being on time to practice by a half an hour," Jackson said. "Those type of things are the things that continually follow him so he is kind of dogged by his own nature."

The Cavs would like to bring in Phil Jackson to fill their head coaching vacancy and entice LeBron James to return next season.

Jackson spoke again on Thursday about the possibility that other teams will pursue him but reiterated that he sees a 90 percent chance that he'll coach the Lakers next season.

But Jackson did have some interesting comments about the unusual dynamics of the Cavs' coaching search as it relates to James' power as a free agent.

"It's an extremely odd situation," Jackson said. "Anybody who's in control of the decision making knows that you have to consult with LeBron, and consulting with him is kind of odd because July 1 he's a free agent. So there are no guarantees to that. He obviously wants to look at free agency."

Jackson sees a potential dilution of the new head coach's authority if he is brought in only with the approval of James.

"As a coach, you really question whether you want to be a handpicked guy and then have to discipline and take care of somebody, the stuff you have to do," Jackson said. "You have to coach players regardless of who they are. So that always makes some things issues. But I know my organization probably won't do it that way. But in [Cleveland's] situation, it's almost impossible not to."

Suns coach Alvin Gentry felt ill after eating lunch on Thursday and was caught throwing up along the sideline multiple times by television cameras.

Phoenix lost to Los Angeles 103-101 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

"I told them not to bring that trash can out to the bench area because I know every camera in the world would be on me if I threw up," Gentry said. "I really was trying not to do it as much as I possibly could."

Gentry had a grilled artichoke and dip at a downtown L.A. restaurant on Thursday afternoon.

"They did?" he asked when told that television cameras captured him throwing up on the sideline. "Oh, well, just tell everyone that it was Kobe Bryant making me sick."

Following Phoenix's 103-101 loss to the Lakers on a buzzer beater from Ron Artest, I asked Amare Stoudemire if he felt the Suns deserved to play an overtime after they fought so hard to tie up the game.

"We lost, so we can't say we deserved it," said Stoudemire. "We played hard, but we lost, so we have to get ready for Game 6."

The mood in the Suns' locker room following the game was undoubtedly somber, but they remained unshakably optimistic about their chances in Game 6.

Steve Kerr and David Griffin exited the Suns locker room appearing slightly stunned, but not with long faces.

During his postgame press conference, Steve Nash echoed a similar sentiment.

"Maybe we deserved the game, maybe we didn't," said Nash. "But we lost."

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was visibly upset after the team lost Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals to the Suns on Tuesday night.

The series is now tied at two games apiece.

"We have to play with a sense of urgency," Bryant said, "and understand this team can beat us."

Los Angeles center Andrew Bynum mentioned facing the Celtics in the NBA Finals after the team took a 2-0 series lead late last week.

"We lost the game," Bryant said of Game 4, "because our defense sucked.

"Our focus was on the other side of the floor, which doesn't win championships. So we need to get back to ground zero when it comes to that."