matt weighs in

I am pretty excited, just like others, for the NBA Finals, which begin tonight. I watched the Celtics or the Lakers play in and win just about every Finals throughout the 1980s, before turning the keys to the championship parade over to a certain team from Chicago in the 1990s. Multiple Hall of Famers playing basketball, the game I like the most, at the highest level possible? Sign me up for a seven-game series, please.

My quick take is that the Celtics should win the NBA Championship over the Lakers in six or seven games. The Lakers are very good at home, so will win at least two games in Staple Center, but I think the Celtics steal either game one or two in LA, eventually clinching it at home in game six or somehow winning game seven on the road.

I know it isn’t a popular prediction, that the Celtics can win game seven on the road, with Kobe Bryant trying to cement his legacy as a top-10 player of all-time, but either Ray Allen or Paul Pierce will have just enough to get it done. Kevin Garnett will match up just fine with Lamar Odom or Pau Gasol in the post, and the Celtics need just enough solid defense from Perkins to make it difficult for the Lakers big men to get comfortable in the block.

I do think that the Lakers length can give the Celtics fits, especially when Rajon Rondo attempts to get to the basket or when they close out on Allen. However, Rondo has become a master at the floater in the lane or going up-and-under after getting the defender in the air. And Allen…well, you don’t become one of the top-five pure shooters in NBA history without knowing how to get your shot off. No matter the angle, he’s always squared up to shoot.

Game one will be a nice gauge to see if the Celtics old legs are fresh for a killer series. Rondo will have to be on top of his game to handle the multiple defenders Phil Jackson will throw at him throughout the game. I think Kobe gets his points, 26-32, but the Celtics defense should bother the other guys just enough to stay in it.

In the end, the Celtics certain Hall of Famers, Garnett and Allen, along with the probable HOFer Pierce, should raise their second NBA Championship banner in three years, defeating the Lakers certain HOFers, Kobe and Coach Jackson. And I will enjoy every trip down memory lane to those 1980’s series that ABC will throw at us over the next couple weeks.

I do love this game.

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One paragraph on the blown call by umpire Jim Joyce at the end of the Tigers-Indians game Wednesday night, denying Armando Galarraga the 21st perfect game in MLB history:
I absolutely hate that this happened. Hate it for Galarraga, for Joyce, for the Tigers team and fans, and for baseball. It was a great story, turned sour. However, I don’t think Joyce should be suspended. He made the mistake, he’s owned up to it, shows he’s tearing himself up for it, and Galarraga has handled it with a class we do not often see from professional players. I’ll add my vote to expanding instant replay and will try to have more on this soon.