NBA Finals - Celtics v Lakers
June 1, 2008
The 2008 NBA finals start Thursday and it is shaping up as a classic series, with the league's two most historic franchises ready to do battle for the Larry O'Brien trophy.
There has not been such an anticipated finals series since Magic Johnson and Larry Bird graced the hardwood in the 80's. The Lakers and Celtics are finally facing each other again for basketball's most coveted prize.
Kobe Bryant takes his MVP game into the house of reigning defensive player of year, Kevin Garnett's Boston Garden for game one on Thursday night.
The arrival of Garnett and Ray Allen elevated the Celtics from an ordinary team to the league's best record and their club's first finals appearance since Bird, McHale and Parish last got the green there in 1987.
The Celtics have the homecourt advantage, but it doesn't help as much given the final's 2-3-2 format. If the Lakers can steal one of the first two games in Boston, they will be highly favored to close it out at home. So far in the playoffs LA has gone 4-3 on the road to Boston's 2-6.
Oddsmakers at Bodog have LA as -190 favorites. At BetUS, the line is set at a slightly better -200.
BetUS also have the Lakers as underdogs to take the first game, giving them a +3 point head start and a money line of +125 (2.25) to the Celtics' -145 (1.69).
But the big question is who is going to win? We're predicting the Lakers in 5 or 6 games.
Kobe Bryant is going to totally dominate Boston's backcourt and will negate Ray Allen or Paul Pierce at the other end, depending on who Phil Jackson decides needs the annoyance of Bryant's firt team all-NBA defense.
Boston's run to the finals seemed to expose more weaknesses rather than strengths whilst the Lakers cruised through the supposedly tougher Western Conference. Phil Jackson is 9-1 in the NBA finals, losing on his last trip in 2004 with an injury ravaged squad. This time around you can guarantee he will be much better prepared to claim his record breaking 10th championship ring - and make it one for each finger...
It might not be as easy for the Lakers as their run so far, but we're confident they have what it takes to stop Boston's miracle season one step short.
We also think that the under bet on the game score will be a good one in most games. BetUS has the total game score line at 192 for game one.
Ed's note: Use our odds conversion calculators to easily convert US sporting odds into your favorite format.
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