credit: NU Husky 91

On June 5th, the NBA Finals will tip off. The Finals will put the best team in the NBA’s Western Conference against the best team in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. The two teams will play a best out of seven series to determine the 2007-08 NBA champions.

The team with the better record will play the first two games and the last two games at home. The other team will play the middle three games at home. By June 19th, the series will be over and an NBA champion will be crowned.

Four teams remain alive in the 2007-08 NBA playoffs. In the Western Conference, the first seeded Los Angeles Lakers and the third seeded San Antonio Spurs are still alive. In the Eastern Conference, the first seeded Boston Celtics and the second seeded Detroit Pistons are still alive. In the NBA Finals, the Lakers or the Spurs will face the Celtics or the Pistons.

The team who had the best regular season record of the team’s left standing is the Celtics. The Celtics were 66-16 in the regular season. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the eighth seeded Atlanta Hawks in seven games. In the second round of the playoffs, the Celtics defeated the fourth seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games.

The Celtics are led by their Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Garnett was acquired in the off season in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Allen was acquired via trade from the Seattle Supersonics. Garnett and Allen joined Pierce and now form arguably the best threesome in the NBA.

Boston’s best attribute is their defense. They were the best defensive team in the regular season – by far. Their commitment to defense is the main reason why they were able to win a league best 66 games. Offensively, the Celtics rely on their Big Three to get the job done. Garnett is a superstar power forward who can score inside and outside. Allen is one of the best perimeter sharpshooters in NBA history. Pierce is a strong perimeter player who can score anywhere on the floor.

The Celtics are led by former NBA Coach of the Year Doc Rivers. Rivers utilizes an open and honest approach with his players to try to get his team to play to the best of its abilities. Rivers smartly uses the team’s role players. Those role players include veterans such as Sam Cassell, PJ Brown and James Posey. The Celtics also have a number of young up-and-coming player such as Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Leon Powe.

Trying to beat the Celtics are the Pistons. The Pistons finished the regular season with the second best record in the NBA at 59-23. The Pistons are no strangers to the playoffs, as they won the 2004 NBA championship with basically the same team. Every year since that time, the Pistons have reached at least the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pistons rely on their four best players in Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace. Wallace is the fiery emotional leader of the Pistons. He’s a power forward with good touch both around the basket and from beyond the three-point line. Prince is a tall and slender small forward who is great defensively and versatile offensively. Hamilton is a tireless scorer who always seems to be in motion. Billups is the strong-willed point guard who was named the Finals MVP in 2004.

The Pistons are coached by Flip Saunders. Saunders first coached in the NBA with the Timberwolves. While with the Timberwolves, Saunders’ best player was Kevin Garnett – the same Kevin Garnett who stars for the Celtics.

Besides their four leading players, the Pistons also have a number of solid role players including Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell, Rodney Stuckey and Lindsey Hunter. The Pistons are currently the NBA’s best evidence of teamwork. While the four players stick out from the pack, it takes a total team effort for the Pistons night in and night out. The Pistons show great dedication to winning and playing hard every minute they are out on the court.

Over in the other conference, the Lakers entered the playoffs with the best record in the West and now find themselves in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers finished the regular season with a record of 57-25 behind the great play of Kobe Bryant. Bryant, who was named the 2007-08 winner of the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, is simply a phenomenal talent who is arguably more talented offensively than anyone in the NBA. In fact, the player Bryant most resembles in NBA history is former Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.

Outside of Bryant, the Lakers have a number of talented players. Paul Gasol is the team’s center. Gasol was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in a midseason trade. Gasol is a tall player who has extremely long arms and a great touch around the basket. Next to Gasol in the frontcourt is Lamar Odom. Odom can truly do it all. He’s tall enough to rebound and defend against bigmen, however he’s also skilled enough to dribble, pass and shoot well.

Perhaps the Lakers’ biggest weapon is their coach. Phil Jackson, the owner of nine NBA championship rings as a head coach, is the team’s head coach. Jackson has seen and done it all in terms of coaching. If the Lakers go on to win the championship, Jackson will definitely deserve a lot of credit. The combination of Jackson and superstar guard Kobe Bryant make the Lakers arguably the most explosive team remaining in the NBA playoffs.

The reigning NBA champions are still alive in this year’s playoffs. The Spurs, who have four championships in their franchise’s history, are trying to knock off the Lakers to advance to the NBA Finals yet again.

The Spurs, like the Celtics, are led by their Big Three. The Spurs Big Three is consisted of power forward Tim Duncan, shooting guard Manu Ginobili and point guard Tony Parker. Duncan, who is from St. Croix of the United Stated Virgin Islands, has great fundamentals and he has established himself as one of the best basketball players who has ever lived. Ginobili is an Argentine ball of energy who can take over a game at any given point. Parker, who grew up in Paris, France, is one of the fastest players in the league and has a knack of finishing around the basket.

Leading the Spurs into battle is head coach Gregg Popovich. Popovich has been around for all four championships the Spurs have won and he’s a very highly regarded coach. He’s known for his demanding yet caring style on the sidelines.

Popovich coaches the oldest and most experienced team in the NBA. With almost the entire team older than 30 years old with multiple championships rings, there’s little the Spurs can see that they haven’t seen before. The team’s role players include defensive ace Bruce Bowen, Argentine center Fabricio Oberto, the always clutch Robert Horry and sharpshooters Brent Barry and Michael Finley.

According to odds makers, the teams with the best chances of reaching the NBA Finals are the Celtics from the Eastern Conference and the Lakers from the Western Conference.