Lakers/Celtics.....great

I fully appreciate the historical significance of the Lakers/Celtics rivalry. That being said its getting old. While the rivalry of old sported the likes of Magic and Bird, Kareem and Mchale, and of course the always fresh Pat Riley, the storyline has gone stale. The Lakers had "Showtime" and the Celtics had the most fundamentally sound team around. The mecca of the West against arguably the greatest sports city in history (props to Philly on that one). It was the perfect rivalry.

In 2008, the last time the two teams met in the finals, the Celtics "Big 3" emerged to defeat the mighty Lakers, making Boston relevant in the basketball discussion once again. But, this time around the storyline is much less interesting. The Lakers and Celtics are the last two teams to win championships, taking away any David vs. Goliath angle, and frankly I can't decide who to root for.

Everytime I think of the Lakers, I see Phil (because he is too cool to use two Ls) Jackson's pompous face snarling on the bench as he watches the best players money can buy destroy the competition and heralds himself as the best coach in the game. Phil Jackson is a douche, which makes me not want to root for the Lakers

The Zen Master, at his best

On the other hand we have the Celtics, who I was fully behind in '08. However, the Celtics now have their own clown who even rivals the Zen Master. Kevin Garnett has become a poor man's Ron Artest. Complaining every time he gets touched in the post, elbowing a helpless Quentin Richardson, and just acting like an all around child have moved Garnett from one of the most respected players in the NBA, to the sandbox.

Leave Ben Gordon alone, you clown

In the end my choice is being made by an unlikely character. Its easy to demonize Kobe Bryant for what he did (or allegedly did) in his past, but watching his game today is almost inspiring. Kobe has gone from a punk kid to the best leader in the game. Does he have the natural talent of LeBron? Is he as good as Jordan? It doesn't matter. When 24 takes the court he has one goal in mind, and most of the time he succeeds. For as much as we all love to hate Kobe, he is the best leader in basketball. He makes everyone else around him better, something that only the greats can do.
So in the end, I'm going to have to live with Phil Jackson riding his talent to another championship and I'll take the Lakers in six.