Defense wins championships. Both of these teams know that. In 2008, the high-flying Lakers were supposed to beat the Celtics. Boston outplayed Los Angeles defensively and won that series. The Celtics know what got them here - 91.4 ppg allowed in the playoffs (vs. 94.8 in the regular season).
Boston will play defense. Los Angeles knows what hurt them in 2008 - soft defense. They saw the Celtics win that series by manning up. Los Angeles will play defense. The result, I believe will be a low-scoring game one. When facinga very good team (.700 or better), Boston is 37-22 UNDER the past three seasons. Los Angeles has a similar resume, going 27-18 unders this season vs. teams that outscore their opponents by 3+ ppg. I like this game to go under the total.
Boston will play defense. Los Angeles knows what hurt them in 2008 - soft defense. They saw the Celtics win that series by manning up. Los Angeles will play defense. The result, I believe will be a low-scoring game one. When facinga very good team (.700 or better), Boston is 37-22 UNDER the past three seasons. Los Angeles has a similar resume, going 27-18 unders this season vs. teams that outscore their opponents by 3+ ppg. I like this game to go under the total.