They've met eleven times before, as recently as 2008, and between them, there are 32 Championship rings. You guessed it, The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics meet for the twelfth time in the 2010 NBA Finals (although it could have been Cleveland vs. Los Angeles had Delonte West kept his wandering eye on the ball!). The way I see it, though, if you apply the blueprint I created in my book, Personal Foul, the league's head office will do their level best to extend the series. Looking at the moving parts -- the fans, the coaching staff, and the players -- it's interesting to speculate on who might walk away with the ring. The wildcard, though, is how the referees will facilitate the message coming down from the head office, which can easily change the direction of the series.
All eyes will be on the individual match-ups and the referees assigned to judge the series. Looking at the fans, those from Boston are among the most knowledgeable in any league. They will cast an incredibly critical eye on the referees throughout the finals. Phil Jackson will wish he was in Sacramento, no doubt he will be wearing his ear plugs. As most NBA games are decided in the first quarter, and since the LA fans don't show up until the second quarter, those fans won't help the outcome of the games much at all. As I score the fans, the advantage goes to the Boston Celtics.
The coaching staffs are a different story. Doc Rivers tries to manipulate the refs by sucking up to them. If that fails, he starts to whine like a baby. Phil Jackson, on the other hand, uses sarcasm and the media to help him with the officials and he does an excellent job at working them game at a time. Jackson's game by game adjustments will make Rivers' head spin. Scoring the coaches and their styles of court side manners, the advantage goes to the Los Angeles Lakers.
As for the players, you can be sure that Kobe will continue to receive 'star treatment', look for the whistle to blow each time he receives a bump or a scratch. Comparing this year's talent, Kobe/Odom/Artest should prevail over Garnet/Rondo/Pierce and I'll throw in Allen. With that, Boston will be frustrated with the refs if they feel to be getting anything less than a fair shake. Game 5 in the Orlando vs. Boston series comes to mind as an example of that. Perkins, Wallace and Rivers will not be able to keep their emotions in check if they feel slighted. Look for some fireworks in games 2 and 3. Scoring the players, both on skill and chemistry, I give the advantage to the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the 2010 playoff series, I quite accurately made some game predictions solely to prove the point of the book's blueprint. I did not, however, pick winners in order to further anyone's gambling habits. In fact, looking in the mirror at myself, as well as the clients that I am now helping through my work at the Firstep Consulting, a gambling treatment facility based in New Jersey and owned by Mike Osborne, I am reminded that the true winners emerging from these playoffs are the very people who can fend off the temptation to have any action on these games.
Does it matter who I think will take home the ring? No, rather, I am hopeful that my book has created a larger awareness of the crooked outcomes in professional basketball as well as the evils of gambling on those very games. The NBA would be wise to let the best team win and simultaneously prove me wrong. But really, I think the head office, as chief architect of series' outcome, will let the refs do the dirty work of letting the almighty dollar call the winner of this series.
Stay tuned for my game breakdowns in this Lakers/Celtics series!