The Lakers vs. Celtics 2008 NBA Finals matchup is destined to be one of the greatest NBA Finals ever. With so much on the line, each team will have to give everything they have to win that ring.

We all know storyline: renewing the legendary Lakers vs. Celtics rivalry, will Kobe win without Shaq, will the Celtics Big Three finally win a ring, and so on. We also know the matchups: Fisher vs. Rondo, Kobe vs. Pierce, Garnett vs. Gasol, and blah blah blah…there's too much analysis of that.

But the championship might not be decided by each team’s starters. The bench plays a valuable role for each team. So here is a report on some of the match ups of each team’s bench (warmers).

Guard: Coby Karl vs. Gabe Pruitt

Key Stats

Coby Karl: 17 games played, 1.8 ppg, 80% ft and only 0.29 turnovers a game. (Compared to two-time MVP Steve Nash, who had 3.64 tpg.)

Gabe Pruitt: 15 games played, 2.1 ppg, 0.9 apg, and also a very low 0.33 tpg.

Very, very similar, would match up very well against each other. Coby Karl, the Lakers backup point guard to Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant, and maybe even Vladimir Radmanovic, has the size advantage, but Gabe Pruitt might just be a tad faster. Pruitt gets the upper hand in the shooting department, shooting 1% better at 36%.

Experience is key in playoff match ups right? So Coby Karl gets the edge with one career playoff experience. He even recorded an assist in that game.

Advantage: Lakers

Forward: Ira Newble vs. Brian Scalabrine

Key Stats

Ira Newble: 49 games played, 3.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.4 ast, 0.6 stl and 0.2 blk.

Brian Scalabrine: 48 games played, 1.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.8 ast, 0.2 stl and 0.2 blk.

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