Now that Boston has won the 1st one, maybe King Kauffman would like to reconsider? The Lakers' "pretty good players" seem not able to rebound any better in the finals than they did in either the regular season or the prelims to the finals.

is right so far. She predicted Game 1 pretty well. So we'll give her that, even though her comments about Jordan vs. Kobe are ridiculous. Kobe can't hit 50% of his shots in the post-hand check era. Jordan hit 52% when the Knicks and the rest of the league where beating the crap out of him on a nightly basis. Jordan put up the best stats a guard has ever put up at a time when defenses were given more latitude to play tough than they've ever gotten.

"there's never been a player like Kobe"

FAIL

NBA Finals prediction: Lakers in 5

Dude, your predictions have become the Salon equivalent of the Madden Curse. Can I take you to Vegas?

For once, I agree with Phil Jackson in saying that those wins in the regular pre-season don't amount to much in the finals.

I'm rooting for the Celts, but really, I just want some good competitive basketball.

Celts in seven.

Heh. Layups are shots too! : ) Jordan was a better shooter than Kobe because he had a much better shot selection. The series could be good. King's prediction is a bit much though. I don't think either team will win in 5.

Ummmb, King? You do realize that the Celts blew out the Lakers twice in the regular season? And that the Celts have home court advantage?

Did you not read Phil Jackson's book? Kobe whined like a bitch to get Shaq out of LA so he could be "the man". And Jordan had a killer instinct that Kobe does not possess, or ever will. In their primes Jordan would easily destroy Kobe one on one because there is no way Jordan would lose out to a punk. Jordan elevated the play of his team mates not cry about them and demand a trade. Without Gasol the Lakers wouldn't be in the finals.

You're right about one thing. Kobe is going to dominate this series. Best coach + Best player = win. It was true in Chicago with Phil and MJ and now it's true with Phil and Kobe.

Forget about my Jordan/Bryant comment, please. My post wasn't about that. That was a throwaway line (though I still maintain that Kobe is a better shooter than MJ, and MJ's FG% is a function of all those layups). My point was that there's never been a player like Kobe, and everything I hear coming from Boston is tending to underestimate him.

The Laker team will keep them in the hunt, and Kobe will take them over the top.

Should be... 49.7% or. 8%)

Yep. And actually Jordan was a better shotter than Kobe. I believe he had 6 years where he shot 50% or more from the floor and even with his Wizards days, his lifetime FG% is 50% (48.7% or. 8%). Meanwhile Kobe, has never had one 50% FG in his career so far.

"Kobe really is "all that and a bag of chips." There hasn't been anyone like him, except maybe Jordan, and really, Jordan wasn't as good a shooter (though Jordan will always be Jordan)."

Okay, I'm a Lakers fan, and I love Kobe.

But Jordan was not that good of a shooter? I'm plagiarizing someone here, but the Shot he hit after pushing off Russell in 98 is the same shot he hit against Georgetown in 1982. I'm talking the form on his jumpshot.

Kobe has matured spectacularly this year. But there's a reason Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time.

Can't we just let Kobe be Kobe? Does he have better than MJ?

Whispers.

It's become popular to deride Kevin, but what does it matter if a point is scored in the final two minutes or the first two. A point's a point.

Five is a bit iffy, but I'd agree with Lakers in six.

Kobe really is "all that and a bag of chips." There hasn't been anyone like him, except maybe Jordan, and really, Jordan wasn't as good a shooter (though Jordan will always be Jordan). Plus, this year Kobe has matured into the team player and leader everyone hoped for in the beginning of his career. No one else on the floor comes close having Bryant's talent, drive and, more importantly, killer instinct. Sadly, KG definitely lacks that killer instinct.

I think Gasol might disappear if Perkins is on him. With KG matching up against him, both players could take each other, because both can shoot from the elbow to 19, and both have good post games. If KG drags Gasol out of the post, that opens up the lane. Same thing the other direction when KG has to guard Gasol's mid-range game.

Speed will be a factor. The Lakers get a lot of easy baskets in the first nine seconds of the clock, and then if they have to slow it down there aren't any better finishers than Kobe. Allen will have to keep Kobe off the free throw line. Good luck. The physical Celtics may find themselves in foul trouble.

Coaching will be a factor in the Lakers' favor. Jackson has the experience to get it done in the finals. 10 finals appearances, 9 rings. In a series that's about match-ups and adjustments, as this will be, coaching will be a factor.

The Lakers will likely lose game one. I'm predicting by 12 points. They will come out flat and nervous. So will the Celtics. It will depend on who gets their legs first, and at the Garden I'm guessing the C's get it done.

But in the end, the Lakers have more weapons, pass better than any team in the NBA, have an underrated defense (at least, when they decide to play it), and they have the killer instinct that Boston lacks. Plus, they are younger, fresher, and have oodles of finals experience to center the younger players.

Lakers in 6.

Huh. The girl knows her stuff! :)

around their neck is Doc Rivers. He'll figure out a way to coach his team out of a championship. That means more Sam Cassell! I mean why stick with a game plan that got you over 60 wins in the season. It was nice to see him statter Rondo's confidence in the Atlanta series so he'd play inconsistent the rest of the post season. Talk about a team that wins inspite of the coach. Lakers in 6.