Celtics in 6

In my initial prediction (June 5), I took the Celtics in 7 though I thought the Lakers had numerous advantages. All that analysis was fairly useless as the Lakers just never showed up to play. In Boston Odom and Gasol never joined the attack and the supporting cast (Fisher, Walton, Radmanovic, Turiaf, Vujacic) disappeared completely. But even in LA they didn't look terribly convincing. In game 3, Kobe followed the conventional wisdom and attacked the basket for FT's; but the result was a disappointing FT% and Odom and Gasol got froze out of the offense. In game 4, the Lakers finally had the offense rolling then gave back a 24-point lead with an appalling lack of D. In game 5, they did what they needed to do to win but considering Perkins, Rondo, Allen and KG were non-existent, the victory should've been more decisive.

The Celtics played solid D and everyone did what they needed to do. Pierce carried the scoring when it was his time, Allen chipped in the points when he needed to, KG locked down the middle, Perkins was terrific against Gasol, and Rondo distributed with good efficiency. House made the most of his scoring chances and was a serious pest off the bench, PJ was a calming influence and Posey had some brilliant defensive stretches against Kobe. The Celtics didn't put on some all-world amazing performance, they played within themselves, let their D set the tempo and took advantage of the Laker lethargy.

Kobe probably took on too much responsibility and today he's taking the beating that big stars take when they don't win it all. But frankly he doesn't deserve it. He was easily the best player in a Laker uni in this series. No one--no one!--played well behind him. And for good measure, Phil Jax was out-coached, he brought nothing to his team. The Lakers looked overwhelmed and as good as the Celtics were this year, they weren't that great and the Lakers I think were generally considered the favorite going in. For the Lakers to look so bad can only be the coach's fault.

How is it that the Celtics breezed through the Lakers and Pistons after struggling with the Cavs and Hawks? Were they complacent in those early rounds? Or did the Lakers and Pistons just kind of suck when the time came to play? I'll say both.

Pre-pre-pre-season analysis
The Lakers will be back next year. Kobe will be on a mission next year and a full year of Gasol and Bynum behind him will make the Lakers the team to beat in the west. I'd keep Walton, Vujacic and Radmanovic but perhaps Fisher and Odom can be upgraded. With Kobe and Pau doing the scoring, I think they need to add defensive toughness (Ron Artest or Marcus Camby would be huge, stealing Posey away from the Celtics would be nice, Kenyon Martin might be worth a look). The Suns, Mavs and Nuggets are flailing. The Rockets might take a step forward but does anyone really expect that? The Hornets are coming but don't quite have enough and won't be sneaking up on anyone any more. The Jazz are good but need more to get ahead. The Spurs will be back but I think the Lakers will match up well with them--even if Ginobli is ready to play unlike this year.

I guess I like the Celtics in the east. But the Pistons and Cavs need to make moves and with Miami, Chicago and Washington having some wheel-and-deal potential, the east could look totally different by opening day.