[cured]

Both teams play good team defense but both teams also leave shooters open. The teams they've been playing haven't been able to knock down the bulk of their shots, though.

The Lakers get into real trouble when they turn the ball over and they're behind in the margin because the Jazz and the Spurs don't turn the ball over much. Turnovers have either killed runs or started them for the other team. The thing is, this is true of the Celtics, also. They've had some real problems lately with strings of turnovers setting off big runs for the other team and throwing their defense out of rhythm. Ball pressure on the point guards has been effective in generating turnovers. So again, all things being equal, 3 point shooting (big barometer for these teams), rebounding, and turnovers will decide this series.

A lot of people are picking LA to win the series and I don't get it. The Celtics have homecourt and have whooped the Lakers in both season matchups. Of course, Cleveland beat San Antonio in both the regular season matchups last year and they ended up getting swept in the Finals. But I don't see the Celtics as having that many deficiencies. They've got a lot of weapons. The big minus they have is their coach.