The Lakers and Celtics pairing for the NBA championship means loads and loads of revenue. It is Commissioner David Stern’s dream come true. It matches two storied franchises with well known superstars on each team. The matchup will generate a huge viewer audience in two large markets, besides interest from a national and international fan base.

The advantage seems to be tilted towards the Boston Celtics. The final playoff series starts in Boston. The first two games are in Boston and then the next three games are in Los Angeles. The final two games go back to Boston. For the Lakers to win the championship, they must beat the Celtics on their home court. This has not been an easy task for teams during the regular season and playoffs.

The Lakers have not beaten the Celtics this season. In two regular season games, the Celtics won with a decided advantage: 107 - 94 and 110 - 91.

link: Lakers - Celtics: December 2007

These games happened before Andrew Bynum was hurt. In the December game, Andrew Bynum had eight points and two rebounds, in twenty two minutes of playing time. The Celtics have not played the Lakers when Pau Gasol has been in the Los Angeles lineup. In the playoffs this year, Pau Gasol has averaged almost eighteen (17.7) points per game and nearly nine (8.9) rebounds per game. When the Lakers have lost during the playoffs, in each of those three games, Pau Gasol had low rebound numbers. With Pau Gasol in the Lakers lineup, the Celtics advantage may be just slight.

The second part of this perfect pairing for David Stern would be that this championship round extends to the final seventh game. That seventh game would attract enormous publicity and attention. The revenue would give Commissioner Stern reason to smile.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
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