I'm not going to go into too much depth here, as I have a buttload of work to do and ESPN kind of have the market of Playoff analysis covered. Instead, I'll just offer a brief look at a couple of match-ups that should go a long way towards deciding this year's Finals.
Artest vs. Pierce
As ingratiating as Artest's last second heroics in Game 5 of the Confererence Finals were to Lakers fans, the move to bring him in for Trevor Ariza will be considered an abject failure if Artest can't prevent Pierce from killing LA the way he did '08. However, Artest has had a relatively cruisy Semi and Conference Finals on the defensive end, and given that his legacy is essentially on the line here, it's safe to assume that Pierce will be working harder than a prisoner of war to get his points.
What has been somewhat lost in the hoopla over Boston's terrific play of late is their struggles on the offensive end in the second half of games. In the Conference Finals against the Magic the Celts only averaged 17 points in the 4th quarter, and part of the reason is that even with Rondo's development into an elite PG, Pierce remains the only starter who can consistently create his own shot off the dribble. If Artest can do a decent job neutralizing Pierce, Doc Rivers may be forced to turn to Nate Robinson for offense, which will only benefit the Lakers as it will mean less minutes for Rondo.
Bynum vs. Perkins
The one caveat of the Celtics victory over the Lakers in '08 was the absence of Andrew Bynum, and whilst he is playing on one leg this time around, he is still a far better sidekick for Pau Gasol than Chris Mihm. During the first three rounds of the playoffs Bynum hasn't faced anything even resembling a dominant center, and the Lakers have managed to survive despite his sporadic contributions. However, against the Celtics the Lakers should go to Bynum in the first quarter in an attempt to not only get the big guy going offensively, but to hopefully get Kendrick Perkins in early foul trouble - especially since the mercurial Celtics center is only one boisterous obscenity away from a one-game suspension. Perkins has himself been invisible on offense so far this post-season, averaging less than 6 points a game, and the Celtics are probably going to need him to at least double those numbers if they are to have a chance this series, as it's unlikely that Big Baby Davis will be able to fill the offensive void against the length of the Lakers.
I'll be shocked if the series goes less than 6 games, and I'll be even more shocked if the Celtics win.
