Head to Head Matchup: LA Lakers vs. Boston Celtics Bench (Warmers)

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.

This looks like a no brainer who has an advantage here, right? Newble pretty much doubles Scalabrine in almost every stat category, except for assists and blocks. But it’s not always about the statistics.

Scalabrine is Boston’s fan favorite. Every time he comes onto the court, especially at home, the fans go crazy. It gets so loud that opposing teams are probably intimidated so much that they piss in their pants. If Doc River plays his cards right, he might put in Scalabrine during a home game when they're down by 20 to energize the crowd and who knows, maybe Boston might come back to win that game. Just think of Scalabrine as the Darko Milicic of the Pistons when they won the championship…except he will actually be liked.

Advantage: Celtics

Center: Didier Ilunga-Mbenga vs. Scot Pollard

Key stats

Didier Ilunga-Mbenga: 42 games played, 2.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg and one really cool name.

Scot Pollard: 22 games played, 1.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg and crazy hair

Well, there’s not much to say here. Mbenga has much more experience in the playoffs, and he could play a valuable role in the actual game if the Lakers big men get into foul trouble.

But how can you count out Pollard? With his multiple hair and beard styles, he might confuse his opponents. Pollard might become a superstar in the Finals if he takes the right drugs. I mean, he is the drug lord of the NBA, besides maybe Chris Anderson, saying "Hey kids... do drugs" on national TV once.

Advantage: even

Lakers-1

Celtics-1

Tie-1

This report has concluded that the Laker’s and Celtic’s bench (warmers) will play pretty much no role at all in these playoffs.