Hardball Heaven

It's only 11:00 but I'm already pacing around, thinking about what Pau Gasol brings to the table, and wondering what the refs will have up their whistles for tonight's Game 1 of the NBA Finals at the Garden. I've also been thinking a lot about how cool it would be to have Red Auerbach see this, especially with LA coach Phil Jackson attempting to beat his record of 9 NBA titles. Red's watching over everything, so look for a little "bounce" or two to go the Celts' way. (Editor's note: It's supposed to be 90 degrees in Boston on Sunday for Game 2 - could we have some HVAC shenanigans, maybe, say, in the Lakers' locker room?)

Even if you don't root for the Celtics or the Lakers, how can you not be fired up for this series? It's obviously got the history angle going for it, but more importantly it's the best offensive team going against the best defensive team. This is the 2007 Patriots going against the 1986 Bears.

I ain't no analyst, but let's look at the personnel. The Lakers will start Lamar Odom and Vlad Radmanovic at forward, Pau Gasol in the middle, and Kobe and Derek Fisher at guard. For the Celtics, it'll be Garnett and Pierce at forward, Perkins at center, and Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo at guard.

Kobe's going to get his, but it will be interesting to see if Doc unleashes Pierce on him like he did with LeBron in Round 2. I don't think we want to see Ray Allen guarding Kobe. The rebounding battle between Perkins and Odom will also be very interesting to watch. Just going by the talent alone on the floor at the start of the game, it seems like the Celtics have the edge. Lakers have the edge in coaching, and maybe give a slight edge to the Celts' bench. So I guess it'll be C's in 4.

And of course, it won't be. This one's going the full 7 - a view I feel even stronger about after hearing Bill Simmons say on the radio today that the NBA makes $80 million per Finals game. Not to suggest that there's anything sketchy going on here, but would you not be surprised to see the refs maybe calls things a little differently as the series evolves? Let's hope when it's all said and done that we're talking more about great plays and players than about referees and blown calls. Enjoy.