To pick up a newspaper this morning or to turn on the television in the past few days you would think that Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics meeting in the 2008 NBA Finals had been preordained by Nostradamus in his Les Propheities in 1555, just after he called the French Revolution and the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Or that this matchup and had been discovered encrypted in the five books of the Torah using the equidistant letter sequence method that revealed, among other things predicted in this "Bible Code", the 1995 assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister. From ancient times it might seem that this matchup was fated against all odds. You'd think Magic Johnson actually bowed out of the game of his own volition and not due to an illness that he may, or may not, actually have in order to sow the seeds for the team that treads the boards in LA today.
You'd think that the Basketball Jesus had made this matchup so after turning all the water in Canseco Fieldhouse into wine to lament the lost season under his watch. So slanted is the coverage and so epic is the hype that you might even think that former Laker great Jerry West would have held behind-closed-door meetings in order to send the best player from Memphis to Los Angeles to push his old team over the top and that Kevin McHale would have done the same in Minneapolis for his Celtics. Oh, wait. Those last two did actually happen. Nevermind.
Well, whether it was massive collusion or the work of the gods, it has come to pass: The Lakers of Los Angeles (by way of Minneapolis) are taking on the Celtics of Boston for the 2008 championship of the National Basketball Association. So, let's get to know them both and see how they measure up with one another:
Regular Season Wins:
Lakers: 66
Celtics
Edge: Celtics. Yes, the (L)East was the weaker conference but there ain't two ways about, 66 games is a lot.
Regular Season Margin of Victory:
Lakers: +7.3
Celtics: +10.3
Edge: Celtics. They were running teams off the floor in the regular season from jumpstreet. It took the Lakers a lot longer to get themselves rolling, to realize they were a championship caliber team.
Postseason Seed:
Lakers: 1
Celtics: 1
Edge: Lakers. The West this year was as powerful as any conference we've seen in years.
Playoff Wins:
Lakers: 12
Celtics: 12
Edge: Even. They both got here. Now, it's just a race for those next four.
Playoff Losses:
Lakers: 3
Celtics: 8
Edge: Lakers. This is the key number. It took the Celtics five more games to reach the Finals. And they were supposed to be taking the "easier" route through the East. Of course, with a team making it's first run through May and June together it could be argued that the Celtics will benefit from this time together. It could also, and more convincingly, be argued that the Lakers are rolling because they're just that good.
Playoff Margin of Victory:
Lakers: +6.4
Celtics: +4.3
Edge: Lakers. These numbers are confusing because Boston has tended to win blowouts at home and lose tight games on the road (or at home). Meanwhile the Lakers have been consistently winning by almost the same margin as in the regular season, which shows they've appropriately upped their game to the level of competition.
Average Points Scored, Regular Season:
Lakers: 108.6
Celtics: 100.3
Edge: Lakers. Although both teams scored the way they needed to given the style of play in their respective conferences, the Lakers put up more points against better teams.
Average Points Scored, Postseason:
Lakers: 105.9
Celtics: 91.6
Edge: Huge edge for the Lakers. Here is the big question facing the Celtics: Can they score enough points? Ray Allen is scuffling and Kevin Garnett is primarily a jump-shooter. Can Pierce cancel out Kobe? Can Posey and House score enough off the bench to offset whatever the Lakers are going to get from Vujacic and Farmar?
Average Points Allowed, Regular Season:
Lakers: 101.3
Celtics: 90.3
Edge: Celtics. They were the premier defensive team in the league this season.
Average Points Allowed, Postseason:
Lakers: 99.5
Celtics: 87.3
Edge: Celtics. See above.
Leading Scorer, Regular Season:
Lakers: Kobe Bryant, 28.3 PPG (3)
Celtics: Paul Pierce, 19.6 (30)
Edge: Lakers, but not by as much as people think. Kobe is the game's preeminent scorer but Pierce can fill it up and create his own shot. Remember he out-dueled Lebron in Game 7 of the (L)Eastern Semi-Finals.
Leading Scorer, Postseason:
Lakers: Kobe Bryant, 31.9 PPG
Celtics: Kevin Garnett, 21.1 PPG
Edge: Lakers. When it come to scoring the ball the answer is Kobe every time. He's the leading scorer in these playoffs. He's shown the ability to take over playoff games down the stretch, just ask the Spurs. If the Celtics hope to win this series Paul Pierce move the needle on this category to EVEN. Still, it's worth noting that KG has upped his output in the postseason. He needs to be aggressive and outscore Gasol.
Team Free Throw Attempts Per Game, Regular Season:
Lakers: 27.7 FTPG
Celtics: 26.5
Edge: Lakers. On the right night Kobe can take 20 free throw attempts on his own and on a "bad" night the Lakers still have two starters (Kobe, Odom) who can create their own shot and therefore get to the line at will. The Celtics only have one (Pierce).
Team Free Throw Attempts Per Game, Postseason:
Lakers: 29.5 FTAPG
Celtics: 25.0 FTPG
Edge: Lakers, going away. The Lakers have increased their already gaudy regular season total to a playoff best-29.5 attempts per game while the Celtics have backtracked.
Team Rebounds Per Game, Regular Season:
Lakers: 44.1
Celtics: 42.0
Edge: Lakers. With Odom and Gasol aggressively and swiftly going to the offensive boards the Celtics will need to limit the Lakers to just one shot attempt each time down the floor.
Team Rebounds Per Game, Playoffs:
Lakers: 40.5
Celtics: 39.4
Edge: Slight edge to Celtics. The Lakers are playing far more possessions than the Celtics and should have a wider margin here.
Leading Rebounder, Regular Season:
Lakers: Lamar Odom, 10.6 RPG
Celtics: Kevin Garnett, 9.2 RPG
Edge: Even. Rebounding is going to be huge in this series and both teams have players capable of dominating the glass and hauling down 20+ on any given night. Both these players need to have double-doubles throughout the series for their team to have a chance.
Leading Rebounder, Postseason:
Lakers: Lamar Odom, 10.3 RPG
Celtics: Kevin Garnett, 9.8 RPG
Edge: Even. See Above
Leader in Minutes, Regular Season:
Lakers: Kobe Bryant, 38.9 MPG
Celtics: Paul Pierce & Ray Allen, 35.9 MPG
Edge: Celtics. Thanks to so many blowouts in the regular season the Big Three was able to take it easy down the stretch a few times a week. The question is whether or not the used up all that reserve energy after playing so many more games than the Lakers in the postseason.
Leader in Minutes, Postseason:
Lakers: Kobe Bryant, 40.5 MPG
Celtics: Kevin Garnett, 38.0 MPG
Edge: Lakers. For starters, Kobe is so pathologically driven to win that I honestly don't believe that fatigue is an in-game factor for him as much as for others. However, even if it is, it is important to remember that Kobe has average 40.5 minutes over 15 games while KG has average 38 minutes over 20 games. The Lakers should be fresher, even the guy who is always on the court.
Leader in 3-point Shots Made, Regular Season:
Lakers: Kobe Bryant, 150
Celtics: Ray Allen, 180
Edge: Slight Edge Celtics. Even though Ray Allen has struggling mightily at points in these playoffs he still has the best stroke I've seen this side of Allan Houston. Kobe is a streak shooter from deep who just seems to make deep, contested, line-drive shots by sheer force of will.
Leader in 3-point Shots Made, Postseason:
Lakers: Kobe Bryant & Sasha Vujacic tied with 23
Celtics: Ray Allen, 33 3PM (followed by Paul Pierce with 32)
Edge: Celtics. I don't doubt that the Celtics are better equipped to shoot the three-pointer over the course of a game, but are they better equipped to hit the big, dagger 3 in the fourth?
Leader in Assists, Regular Season:
Lakers: Kobe Bryant, 5.4 APG
Celtics: Rajon Rondo, 5.1 APG
Edge: Celtics. There's something to be said for division of labor and defined roles. You want your point guard to be spreading the ball around the floor. And, not the guy who has been known as one of the game's most selfish players. Kobe has shown (Game 7 of that series against the Suns a few years ago and in countless regular season games) that he can lose sight of the big picture when switching from his passive to aggressive modes. It's a fine thing that he has learned to give up the ball to his teammates but not a fine thing that they have to depend upon him to get them the ball.
Leader in Assists, Postseason:
Lakers: Kobe Bryant, 5.8 APG
Celtics: Rajon Rondo, 6.6 APG
Edge: Celtics. And, bigger than in the regular season. Rondo has upped his number of assists while playing fewer possessions and ceding some time to Sam I Am.
Leader in Steals, Regular Season:
Lakers: Kobe Bryant, 1.84 SPG
Celtics: Rajon Rondo, 1.68 SPG
Edge: Even. Although the Lakers may have the better overall thief I will pull the C's even here thanks to their overall team defense orchestrated by defensive guru Tom Thibedeau.
Leader in Steals, Posteason:
Lakers: Derek Fisher, 2.27 SPG
Celtics: Rajon Rondo, 1.80
Edge: Lakers. Having the stronger veteran D'ing up Rondo is a huge advantage for the Lakers.
Leader in Blocked Shots, Regular Season:
Lakers: Ronny Turiaf, 1.38 BPG
Celtics: Kevin Garnett, 1. 25 BPG
Edge: Celtics since Turiaf doesn't start and I don't see him earning enough minutes to have that marked a shot-blocking presence in this series.
Leader in Blocked Shots, Postseason:
Lakers: Pau Gasol, 2.47 BPG
Celtics: Kendrick Perkins, 1.35 BPG
Edge: Huge edge for LA. Gasol is long and active in the paint. He's an All-Star. Mr. Perkins? Not quite.
Leader in Personal Fouls, Regular Season:
Lakers: Lamar Odom, 2.9 FPG
Celtics: Paul Pierce, 2.5 FPG
Edge: Slight Edge Celtics. While neither team can afford to go without these two I really do think that Odom's defense (either on Pierce or KG) is the key to the Lakers success and his proclivity for drawing fouls could be a factor in this series.
Leader in Personal Fouls, Postseason:
Lakers: Lamar Odom, 3.3 FPG
Celtics: Kendrick Perkins, 3.5 FPG (Pierce is at 3.3 FPG)
Edge: Even. With PJ Brown and Posey on the bench and KG's ability to defend the 5-spot, Perkins is expendable. Pierce and Odom are not, though.
Leader in Comedic Film Characters In Uniform:Lakers: Fletch, Chevy Chase
Celtics: Celtic Pride, starring Dan Aykroyd, Damon Wayans and Daniel Stern
Edge: Lakers, by a long shot
OVERALL EDGE
Lakers: 14
Celtics: 12
Even: 5
Lakers Win in 6 Games. Nostradamus totally called it.
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