HHG: NBA Finals 2010: Lakers vs. Celtics... again

Two years ago I thought the Celtics were too old to compete, although they might be a bit more desperate for a win. In the end Boston won it all, and proved me wrong. This year much the same applies. Pau and Kobe are still in LA, the Big Three are still in New England. Rajon Rondo has grown up into a fully matured star, while the Lakers added Ron Artest, but that's just about it.

Head: Lakers are still the top team in the NBA during the regular season... but when the rubber meets the playoff road, the Celtics switch another gear. Frankly now I don't know who's the better team. Andrew Bynum is probably the best skilled center in the Finals, but he is injured too often to be a factor. The Celtics seemed a little beaten up thanks to Dwight Howard, but the rest between the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals should be enough to recover for this. All the stars match up well against each other; L.A. might have a small edge depending how successful Artest can keep his counterpart from scoring.

Heart: Kobe doesn't mind LeBron having the attention in the offseason and the regular season, as long as he has the titles and rings. I would think that now he is more hungry for a title than the Boston Big Three. He's picturing himself a Michael Jordan, possibly to become an icon, a logo himself, like Jerry West and His Airness before him. That will only be the case, if he wins more titles, at least six or something. I'm hoping Kobe will do it (eventually), but if he pushes too hard, it won't work.

The teams are so closely matched, there's no apparent favorite. Gut feeling is that Boston retains its advantage over the Lakers, simply because they've been doing it forever. The aura of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce add up to one overpowering trio against Gasol and Kobe. Then again Bryant may have learned a thing or two the past two years, especially winning last year. Let's say the ailing Celtics beat the slightly less ailing Lakers in six.