NBA Endgame will preview Celtics-Lakers from all angles. Right now: silly mayor wagers!
Before every championship game or series, it's a tradition for the mayors of each respective city to make a friendly (but predictable) wager with each other. Case in point: by beating the Penguins last night, the Red Wings did more than bring the Stanley Cup back to the Motor City; they also ensured Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick would be receiving a gift basket containing Heinz Ketchup, Primanti Sandwiches and an octopus from Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl.
Ketchup and sammiches? Seriously? Yawn. Not even the octopus sounds all that appetizing, especially considering Greektown is just down the block from Detroit's city hall.
Fortunately, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is stepping things up with his proposal to Boston's Thomas Menino for the NBA Finals. You can read his full letter below the jump, but here's the good part:
If the Celtics win, we'll send you the best professional football team L.A. has to offer: the Arena League's Los Angeles Avengers.
Team NBA FanHouse got together to discuss the series ahead. Be sure to join Brett Edwards' Game 1 live blog tonight shortly before the 9 p.m. Eastern tip.
Matt Moore: Thank you, Basketball Jesus, the day has finally arrived. What's crazy is that with all the hype, this isn't just a single game, nay, we've got possibly seven of these things. Let's start off with some nuts and bolts. What's the one matchup on either side you see as the biggest mismatch?
NBA Endgame will preview Celtics-Lakers from all angles. Right now: comparing high-priced collectibles that may or may not result in divorce if your wife ever sees that bank statement.
You see those shoes? Those are a pair of limited edition kicks that adidas is putting out to commemorate Kevin Garnett's appearance in the Finals. But don't plan on heading to your local sneaker shop just yet: they're only producing eight pairs for each game, and they're going to retail for a cool $1,017. (Get it? Boston is looking for its 17th title?) Sounds steep, huh? No doubt, but at least you can take solace in the fact that all proceeds will benefit NBA Cares programs in Boston.
Each shoe will be numbered for the corresponding game in the Finals it represents. I'm guessing at least a couple of these will find their way to eBay, and assuming the Celtics win, I won't be surprised if the shoes representing the clinching games end up fetching quite a bit more than the retail price. (But if the Celtics lose? Ouch. But at least you found some matching kicks to go with that 19-0 T-shirt.)
NBA Endgame will preview Celtics-Lakers from all angles. Right now: KG and Kobe might not be making this commercial anytime soon.
Larry Legend, in full mullet, is about to bust out an MVP trophy while the remaining NBA stars from the 80's tell you why you should rock Converses.
Not to give away free marketing ideas, but some shoe executive would be pretty smart to convince current NBA stars to fire up something like this in an old school retro style. I can see Allen Iverson doing this.
NBA Endgame will preview Celtics-Lakers from all angles. Right now: Rigged lotteries, frozen envelopes and why David Stern always gets what he wants. Or does he? FanHouse debates the conspiracy aspect of the NBA.
Will Brinson: The chief reason people buy into NBA conspiracies is that the NBA looks conspired. David Stern is heavy handed as hell -- witness the dress code and the absolute infinite scrutiny that goes into scheduling each year -- and that causes people to believe he would do anything to take the league to greater glory.
And maybe he would, but really, there's only so much he can do. Lottery conspirators are ridiculous because the whole freaking point of the lottery is that crazy stuff happens and longshot teams can end up with the top pick. If randomness and chance and luck were supposed to be taken out, they just wouldn't hold the lottery.
Tom Ziller: I think the fact that the game is the most difficult to officiate adds a ton of popular credence to the conspiracy theories. The Frozen Envelope theory doesn't really damage the NBA, I think. But the constant references to referee-fixing in favor of big-market teams keeps all the silly ones alive.
NBA Frankenstein pays a special visit to the NBA Finals. Introducing: the franchise which made the phrase "Kelly Green" acceptable for New England hard-asses, the Boston Celtics.
Liner notes: the 1991 NIE on French Guyana; a pirated copy of Scot Pollard Presents: Yoga for Stoners; Alec Baldwin's tirade against his daughter; FanHouse's NBA Endgame compilation; grainy footage of Ray Allen's 5th grade talent show.
NBA Endgame will preview Celtics-Lakers from all angles. Right now: the obligatory position-by-position breakdown.
In looking at the way the Celtics and Lakers will match up with each other by position, I'm going with the traditional breakdown -- as opposed to who may be actually matched up against each other -- because that's likely to change as the series goes on. We'll be taking a deeper look at some of those individual matchups over the next couple of days, but in the meantime, here's an overview of the starters for both teams.
PG: Derek Fisher (LA) vs Rajon Rondo (BOS): Rondo's quickness and playmaking ability are a big plus, but his unwillingness to shoot the ball when he's open has hurt the Celtics at times. Fisher's playoff heroics are well-documented, and the veteran definitely won't be rattled playing in his fourth NBA Finals. Advantage: Lakers
SG: Kobe Bryant (LA) vs Ray Allen (BOS): This matchup might be closer than you think, at least in terms of how it may affect their respective teams. Kobe's going to get his, but If Ray Allen can find some consistency in this series and at least force Kobe to expend some energy on the defensive end of the floor, he could even this one out a bit. But if Allen isn't hitting his shots, Kobe will be able to cheat off of him and provide some help defense, which will obviously make things tougher for people like Paul Pierce. Advantage: Lakers
NBA Endgame will preview Celtics-Lakers from all angles. Right now: Why this title means more to Kobe's legacy than Pierce, Garnett and Allen's combined.
There will be many miles of prose penned about the ghosts of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird over the next few days. Which is wonderful, because reviving an old matchup and rivalry for the NBA is like an extra ladle of gravy on the biscuit that was the 2007-08 season. The only downside is the potential to obscure what is actually at stake here in terms of individual legacies.
And I know basketball is a team game, and this series is very much about either the Boston or Los Angeles united basketball fronts returning to glory. But no NBA Finals may have ever meant as much in determining the the way history sees, not the way they see themselves, four generational stars. Oh, and P.J. Brown.
Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce united in an attempt to finally win a ring between the three of them, for all three of them. Kobe Bryant's roster was already prepared to contend, even if, sadly, he did not know it yet. The midseason acquisition of Pau Gasol only locked up the Lakers ability to storm the Finals.
But to whom does it mean more? Not that I believe the need for an NBA championship will actually outweigh the level of on-court skill and execution. It won't. But I do think there is an interesting argument that the possibility of a championship for Kobe, someone who already has three rings, means more somehow than it does for KG, Allen and Pierce combined.
NBA Endgame will preview Celtics-Lakers from all angles. Right now: sports betting options for the basketball historian!
If we ever thought that this 2008 series would eclipse the Lakers - Celtics rivalry from a few decades ago, Sportsbook.com is here to make us forget that. They are offering a series of prop bets on the Finals (entitled "Old School-New School") that focus on fake matchups born out of historical stats created by the 1984 series that everyone so fondly remembers. Por ejemplo:
There are two problems with these types of wagers. One, if you bet on any of them in order to seriously make money and not just because they're fun, well, the first problem is yours. But that's an entirely different issue. (No, seriously. If you are risking bankruptcy because you think Luuuuke is a 'lock' to score six a game, call someone.)
NBA Endgame will preview Celtics-Lakers from all angles. Right now: a matchup analysis of each team's dance superstars, Ronny Turiaf of the Lakers and Boston's Gino.
Both Ronny and Gino emerged as major forces in their teams' rises to power. But which one dances better?
First a statement of facts. Here's the man affectionately known as Gino at the 18-second mark:
As you might be able to gather, the Gino phenomenon got plenty of fire this season. But is it enough to counter the equally mindblowing dancing of Turiaf? Take a look after the jump.
NBA Endgame will preview Celtics-Lakers from all angles. Right now: silly mayor wagers! 
NBA Endgame
