Tonight is Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers. Both teams are the most recent NBA champions, with LA winning last season and Boston winning in 2008. Additionally, LA and Boston both have star players who are playing injured (Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnet).
With so many similarities, many experts predict the series will go to a Game 7. However, the series may be decided in Game 1. According to statistics 79% of teams who win Game 1 go onto win the series. Even more, Phil Jackson (the coach of the Lakers) is 47-0 when winning Game 1 and has done it 23 times with the Lakers (Jackson had a long coaching tenure with the Bulls). How’s that for Vegas odds?
The Phoenix Suns are proving to be a bigger bump in the road for the LA Lakers than expected. The Western conference series is going to Game 6 with the Lakers leading the series 3-2. Los Angeles has the chance to close out the series on Saturday, but Lamar Odom has another bump to worry about… his wife’s bump.