Lakers vs. Celtics: Tale of the Tape

Lakers or Celtics? Who's it going to be? Both teams have great players and great teams, so how do you decide who's going to win it all?

The only way is to go to the tale of the tape. So, let's take a look at all things Los Angeles and Boston have, and see who comes out on top.

Year Founded: 1948 vs. 1946

Advantage: Celtics. Close call here, but the Celtics were founded 2 years prior to the Lakers. Not to mention the Celtics have stayed in Boston, while the Lakers were originally from Minneapolis.

Better Arena: Staples Center vs. The "New" Garden

Advantage: Celtics. Although both are new arenas, the "new" Boston Garden still has the feel of the "old" Garden with the parkay floor, and the green and white championship banners hanging from above. The Staples Center is nice, but you can't win this argument when you share your arena with the Clippers.

Better Sports City: Los Angeles vs. Boston

Advantage: Celtics. This is an easy one. The Patriots are the best franchise in the NFL right now, the Red Sox are the defending World Series champs, and the Celtics are in the NBA Finals. While the Lakers are once again an elite team, the Clippers, the Dodgers, and the Kings bring you down.

Better colors: Purple and Gold vs. Green and White

Advantage: Lakers. As much as I love the simple green and white, and occasional gold, the Lakers might have the best uniforms in the NBA with the gold home uniforms and the purple away uniforms. Classy, sharp, and traditional.

Better head coach: Phil Jackson vs. Doc Rivers

Advantage: Lakers. Doc Rivers is a good coach. He has to be in order to take three superstars, and make them play together like he has. But, Phil has nine titles and completely overmatches Rivers in this match up. Too much experience on the side of Phil here.

Most NBA Titles: 14 vs. 16

Advantage: Celtics. Although the Celtics have won two more titles than the Lakers, the Lakers have made nine more appearances in the NBA Finals than the Celtics. The Lakers also have more conference titles to show. Celtics had Bill Russell, though, so the Celtics take this one.

Greatest coach: Auerbach vs. Riley

Advantage: Celtics. Pat Riley has won five NBA titles—four with the Lakers, and the most recent with the Miami Heat. He also has a winning percentage of .636. Auerbach recorded 938 career wins and nine NBA titles, tied for first with Phil Jackson. Auerbach by most people's accounts, is the greatest basketball coach to ever live.

Greatest Player: Kareem vs. Bird

Advantage: Lakers. This was by far the hardest match-up to pick. Both teams are loaded with Hall of Fame talent, so it could have easily been Magic and Russell representing their teams. But, when people think of the Lakers and the Celtics, most think Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Larry Bird.

Kareem takes this match up by scoring over 38,000 career points, and grabbing over 17,000 career rebounds. Bird's numbers weren't too shabby, either, with over 21,000 points and over 5,000 assists.

Best Current Superstar: Kobe vs. Pierce

Advantage: Lakers. The Celtics could have been represented by Kevin Garnett here as well, but Pierce has been there his whole career and is the one guy on that team that can explode for 40 points on a given night. But, it doesn't matter because Kobe is the best player in the NBA right now hands down.

So, there you have it. Boston takes the tale of tape five to four. What does that mean when it comes to the NBA Finals starting tonight? Not much, but one thing's for sure, this should be a series to remember. I've got the Lakers in sixth.