Everyone in the mainstream sports world is discussing about the Lakers-Celtics series as if it were back in the 1980's. The attributes included Larry Bird's smooth jumper or Magic Johnsons' artistry with the basketball, Kevin McHale's toughness in the pressure cookers or James Worthy sliding and gliding to the rim. What I can tell you is...I was not alive to witness all the greatness between two teams that most fans of the NBA love or hate. The accounts are based on one of the shows "The NBA's greatest games" on ESPN Classic or the NBA network.

It was quite difficult to get to that point in the season. There were so many high-quality players including Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Moses Malone, Karl Malone, Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman that it was going to be a dogfight all the way through.

This time around, only one of the two final squads faced those obstacles to the extreme. The players might not have been comparable on the Hawks, Cavs, and Pistons (except Lebron James) but certainly provided tests on the defensive end that propels tams to play much better against the less defensive oriented clubs in the Western Conference.

All in all, game one was like a ballet where the first act is enticing but by act three or four you know it's time to go home because you're either greatly amused or terribly disappointed. Start with a bang and end with a ka-boom. Either way, Celtic Green lives on past it's performances of a ten point win in game one and a six-point victory in game two...in spite of dominance throughout the first three quarters.

The Lake show are looking sloppy and appear to have met it's match in the playoffs. LA was 12-3 heading into the NBA Finals including the depositing of the Spurs and Nuggets in nine total games. The Lakers have already equaled the most number of losses in a playoff series this postseason. As if that was not bad enough, the Lakers have never come back from an 0-2 hole to win an NBA Finals series.

Oddly enough, the situation presents itself in front of our very eyes. The defensive mentality is what is going to accelerate a championship run and the Lakers do no exhibit that confidence in any form. Whn a squad allows 103 points per game against the league's best defensive team and overall record during the regular season,not much is going to change.

The key is not to stop the big three but to eliminate the presence of oncoming bench players who would otherwise be silent; so much for a Laker bench that was considered the deepest in the NBA. It does not matter how many players are coming from the sidelines because if you have athletes including forwards Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce and backcourt mate Ray Allen, all you need is two other players to score in double figures for the team to breed success and another scorer to win an NBA championship.

These ingredients are exactly what the Celtics mix up. In the playoffs, the C’s were having a very hard time dealing with Eastern Conference opponents because Ray Allen was doing horribly. Boston needed to find other parts to the winning equation. If Allen was there you would have had a Reggie Miller type shooter to go along with inside presences Garnett and Kendrick Perkins and grit like Pierce and Rondo. For a championship caliber club one needs to examine the bench to get the required scoring, rebounding and most importantly defensive prowess.

Once again, the relative importance of the depth of a bench is becoming smaller and smaller. All a team needs is a different hand or two coming off the bench and giving major contributions if your starting lineup is as dynamic as Boston’s is.

It appears the Celtics will win it’s 16th NBA championship and many of the anaylsts completely overratd the Lakers. Game two tonight