Some may call it a rematch. Some may call it the greatest rivalry in basketball. I call it a pretty incredible June Jubilation matchup.

No, I don’t mean the Celtics playing the Lakers is incredible. I actually am focusing on the Boston Celtics, who EVERYONE wrote off to be too old and washed up, actually making the NBA Finals. Just think about it. In January, the basketball world saw the Celtics as a team that could not even run up and down the court, let alone stay healthy. Boy, what a difference a few months makes.

The Celtics made the Finals by going through LeBron and the Cavs, who held the best record in the NBA, and Da-wight Howard and the Magic, who were the defending Eastern Conference champs. More so, they did this without home court advantage. Tell me you’re not surprised and/or impressed. I dare you.

As for the Lakers, it’s not much of a surprise to see them here. They were the best ‘team’ in the NBA all year, and that is largely due to having Kobe Bryant, the best closer and BEST player in the NBA. They had their bumps in the road too, with injuries to Kobe and Andrew Bynum throughout the year, but they were able to overcome. Two somewhat scary series against the Thunder and Suns weren’t enough to rattle the defending champions, and they look to make it two in a row.

Earlier this year, these teams had an East-West home-and-home in which they split two games. The Lakers won in Boston 90-89 on January 31, thanks to one of Kobe’s many daggers this season. On February 18, the Celtics got revenge 87-86 in LA, but Kobe wasn’t playing and Derek Fisher couldn’t even get a shot up in the final seconds. Think the Lakers missed Mr. Bryant?

I originally planned on taking an in depth look at different matchups in this series, but look how much I already wrote up there! But I’ll still see if I can outline some quick items for you NBA fans out there:

Offense: Wipe out the Celtics knack to keep games low scoring, because they will do whatever it takes to win. If Rajon Rondo continues to run the offense the way he has so far this postseason, it could be a long series for LA. However, I’ll bet Kobe will be guarding Rondo before too late (maybe even in Game 1), so things should slow down a bit. Oh, and if the Lakers hit threes the way they did in their wins against Phoenix, it could be a quick series. EDGE: Lakers

Defense: This truly could be the difference maker in this matchup. The C’s love to play D, but can Garnett stay on Pau Gasol or Bynum? Plus, can anyone stop Kobe? He has been a man on a mission up until this point. Like I said before though, Kobe guarding Rondo could slow things down for Boston, which puts a lot of pressure on Paul Pierce to create. That brings us to Ron Artest, who will get Pierce; through Pierce has been prone to torching him. Did anyone notice the Lakers kept the Suns to about a 106 point average. In my book, that counts for a lot. EDGE: Lakers

Rebounding: The health of Andrew Bynum is biggest here. The Celtics could try to exploit him on defense, but it’s his rebounding that they’ll try to slow down. I’m going to predict Bynum is mostly ineffective due to the length of his season. Not to mention, Rondo has been a rebounding machine so far! EDGE: Celtics

Bench: Well, there’s no James Posey this year to get under Kobe’s skin, but there are a few guys that could make a difference for Boston. Glen Davis gets under people’s skin and even Nate Robinson might have a good game in him. That’s more than the Lakers have to offer though, unless Lamar Odom inspires the bench to step up. EDGE: Celtics

Coaching: Not much to say here. Phil Jackson has done it 10 times before. EDGE: Zen Master (Lakers)

Intangibles: What exactly is an intangible? Haha… Since I can’t narrow this one down, I’m not picking anyone. EDGE: No one

Prediction: Click here

Keep in mind that this is a rematch of the 2008 Finals and that these two teams HATE each other. Therefore, every single thing I already wrote about means nothing…….

LET’S GET IT STARTED ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!

-Shooter