2010 NBA Finals: Why 2010 Will Be Different Than 2008

The tension is felt from the east coast to the west coast. It reverberates from the extreme north to the extreme south of America as well. The rivalry of the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers is set to start a new chapter on Thursday.

When the two teams met in the 2008 finals, the Celtics manhandled the Lakers. Power forward Pau Gasol had to play center in the place of Andrew Bynum and was thrown around like a rag doll by Kendrick Perkins. This led to the nickname "Gasoft" being given to him.

Besides being roughed up, the Celtic's Big Three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen took turns torching the Lakers on offense. It all came to a head in Game Six when the Celtics closed the series out with a 37-point victory.

This came as a shock to many, as the Lakers had looked unstoppable through the first couple of rounds in the 2008 playoffs. However, the Celtics, who took the season series from the Lakers that year, were unafraid of the rolling Lakers.

Things appear to be different this year. We can start with the Lakers taking three out of four from Boston since the devastating loss in the 2008 Finals. That one loss was without Kobe Bryant in this year's regular season. 

The Lakers now have the chip on their shoulders that it takes to beat the Celtics.

The typical thinking is "the season series means nothing," but the truth is it does between these two teams. This is a rivalry that goes back further than a lot of our lives and every game will have the same intensity, whether if it's in the NBA finals or a pickup game at Rucker park in New York.

How can the Celtics treat any meeting with the Lakers like nothing? Pistol Pete Marovich, Bill Russell, and Bob Cousy are watching. Larry Bird, Kevin McKale, and Robert Parrish are watching.

They know what they have to do.

The Lakers wouldn't take a meeting with the Celtics easy either. Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, and Elgin Baylor are watching. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and Michael Cooper are also watching. For goodness sakes Magic Johnson and Byron Scott are even doing postgame commentary.

Who wants to be the Laker that gets called out for not putting their best foot forward?  I'm pretty sure that no one does.

This is an edge toward the Lakers. Boston has come in with the attitude that they would continue to rough the Lakers up, but that hasn't worked since those 2008 Finals. Gasol has grown up since the 2008 Finals and plays with a sense of resolve against the Celtics now.

Also in 2008, the Lakers went into the championship series missing two key components. Not only was Bynum injured but Trevor Ariza, now with the Houston Rockets, was also injured. We all saw what his worth was in the playoffs last year, while the Lakers were still without Bynum.

Now they go into the Finals with Bynum playing. He is not the healthiest right now, but he's playing and he's healthy enough to make his length and physicality a factor. That also allows Gasol to play power forward and match up with Garnett. The Lakers like that matchup.

Ariza is now gone, but enter Ron Artest, the former Defensive Player of the Year. He has already made life hard for young superstar Kevin Durant in the first round and figures to do the same with Pierce. Artest gives the Lakers more toughness too.

This will leave Bryant to defend Ray Allen instead of having to take Pierce with Ray Allen killing you and vice versa. Now the small forward and the 2 guard spots are a much more favorable matchup than in 2008.

One problem the Lakers may have is young point guard Rajon Rondo.

Derek Fisher can take a page out of Jameer Nelson's book. He can simply take a couple of steps back and dare Rondo to beat the Lakers with jumpers. That won't happen over seven games.

Another factor here is exactly what happened from 1983 to '87; the Lakers were a little more talented but younger. Boston was older but knew how it should be done. They carried a bigger chip on their shoulders.

The Lakers learned to carry that chip from the spanking they took from the Celtics in 1983. The result was a three-peat that gave Magic Johnson legendary status. It looks an awful lot like history is to repeat itself with Bryant as the legend in the making.