2010 NBA Finals: Can Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol Erase the Demons of 2008?

It's hard to argue the success of the Los Angeles Lakers since the franchise acquired Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008, and one of the biggest reasons was the immediate chemistry between Gasol and Kobe Bryant.

Gasol was the perfect complement to Bryant through his on-court intelligence, wonderful array of skills, and willingness to accept a back seat to Bryant, who was now the unquestioned leader of the Lakers' team.

For the first time since Shaquille O'Neal roamed the paint, the Lakers had a legitimate seven-foot presence in Gasol, who was arguably as skilled as any Lakers' big man in the past 20 years.

Gasol has helped Los Angeles clinch three consecutive Western Conference championships, one NBA title, and a chance for a second once the NBA Finals start on Thursday.

The Boston Celtics stand in the way of a Lakers' repeat, and the irony of the situation is hard to miss, considering the Celtics serve as a constant reminder of one of the lowest points in the history of the Lakers' franchise.

Los Angeles could possibly be competing for a third consecutive championship if not for the humbling, humiliating six-game defeat suffered at the hands of the Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals.

That series loss exposed some hard truths about the Lakers, and called into question the toughness and desire of Bryant and Gasol in the face of one of the more physical Finals series in recent history.

At least the Celtics were physical, because the series came to be defined by the inability of the Lakers to prevent Boston from imposing their will, and their 39-point loss in the deciding Game Six was a signature moment.

The Lakers earned the label of being "soft" as they wilted under the pressure of the Celtics' physical assault. No one may have been more targeted than Gasol, who spent the majority of the series being pushed around.

Kevin Garnett, Glen Davis, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe, and P.J. Brown each took turns roughing up Gasol, and Boston benefited from coach Doc Rivers' master strategy.

Rivers had a belief that Bryant was the only Laker who could hurt the Celtics with his penetration. So, Boston placed an emphasis on keeping him out of the lane, and forced someone else to beat them.

That someone should have been Gasol, but it was evident by the second game that he was ill-prepared for his first ever Finals series. By the time Boston finally hoisted the Larry O'Brien trophy, he was clearly a beaten man.

The Lakers have a distinct European feel to their game, meaning they rely on precision, timing, and finesse, and the Celtics were able to counter all three by simply being more physical.

Rivers knew his Celtics team couldn't beat the Lakers if he allowed them to find their offensive rhythm, and the best way to do this was by muscling Los Angeles into submission.

The Lakers spent the 2008 offseason answering questions about their monumental collapse, and Bryant and Gasol were the two players who found most of the accusatory fingers pointed in their direction.

And they should have been, because Bryant and Gasol are often the players who receive the majority of the credit when the Lakers are successful, so it's only fitting that most of the blame for the loss should fall on their shoulders.

The Lakers were able to recover from that devastating loss in 2008, and their championship in 2009 is a testament to the dedication it takes to come back from a defeat of that nature.

There was a lot of soul-searching involved on the part of the Lakers. Both Bryant and Gasol mentioned mental and physical toughness as areas of importance for the Lakers going forward.

Los Angeles will have an opportunity to prove they learned a lesson from their defeat in 2008, and this time, their cause will be helped by a couple of players who were absent from that debacle.

Ron Artest was not a Laker when Boston won in 2008, but he did famously enter the Lakers' locker room after Game Six, making it known then that he would love the chance to help Bryant and Gasol avenge their loss.

Andrew Bynum spent the 2008 postseason sidelined by a knee injury, and he was just the type of big, physical presence the Lakers were missing against the Celtics.

Bynum and Artest will be a welcome addition for the Lakers this season, and the defense of Artest should provide some relief from Paul Pierce, who torched Los Angeles in 2008.

But, if the Lakers hope to win a second consecutive championship, the onus will still lie at the feet of Bryant and Gasol, with 2008 and Pierce's words after 2009 being all the motivation that is needed for the pair.

Pierce said the Lakers' championship of 2009 was illegitimate since the Celtics were unable to qualify for the Finals due to an injury to Garnett, and he intimated that had Boston been healthy, the results would have been different.

The Lakers have heard the whispers about their lack of tough, physical play, and even though they have been extremely successful since Gasol arrived, the perception that they will fold under the first signs of physical abuse still remains.

Los Angeles knows exactly what type of series to expect from Boston once the games begin on Thursday, and we finally get to see if the Lakers were able to learn anything from their historic defeat in 2008.