The Finals

Okay, I'm just going to come right out and say it: I'm not sure I've ever been more intrigued by a championship series that had two teams I have zero interest in than this year's Finals.

For the most part as a sports fan, you have that set group of teams you root for day in and day out. Now, if you're a Bay Area sports fan like me, it's mostly been bitter endings as of late. I really have to think hard to the last time any Bay Area team was in the playoffs... and I'm pretty sure it was the Warriors playoff run in 2007. And what came of that? One year of basketball excitement like I've never experienced before in my life... followed by a rapid return to horribleness.

(By the way, I know the Sharks are in the playoffs every year, but let's be real here: you don't watch hockey and neither do I. Plus, they choke every year anyway, so whatever.)

So that brings us to this year's Finals. Celtics-Lakers. Two teams I should honestly care less about except for one thing: I hate the Lakers. With a passion. I hate the team. I hate their bandwagon fans who can't name anyone on the team besides Kobe. I hate that Staples Center looks more like a movie premiere with all the celebrities in the stands than a basketball game. I hate Sasha Vujacic. And I'll be honest -- I hate that the Lakers are good.

Now, at the beginning of the year, I had more or less assumed the Lakers would repeat. I had made peace with it. No other team had really improved dramatically and, if anything, the Lakers got better after winning it all in 2009 by adding Ron "I'm seriously from another planet but I can play basketball well" Artest. But something funny happened. After sucking in the regular season and everyone assuming the Big Three-era Celtics were done, Boston came alive in the playoffs. And I mean REALLY alive. They vanquished Dwyane Wade, then LeBron James, then Dwight Howard. And now they have a chance of vanquishing Kobe Bryant as well.

So suddenly, I'm extremely interested in the series. Last year, when the Magic played the Lakers in the Finals, I think I watched two games. Maybe. Like the rest of America, I knew that Orlando had no chance. It was a forgone conclusion that the Lakers would be champions. Sure enough, five games and it was over. But this year? The Celtics are a legit foe for LA, and even though the Lakers are the favorite, it shouldn't surprise anyone if Boston wins. And that's the difference between this year and last year: an uncertain outcome. That's what makes the Finals intriguing.

Now, I'm not going to make a prediction because I really have zero clue who's going to win this series. I'm sure it will got six or seven games, though, and I'm sure it will be just as dramatic and fun to watch as 2008. So here are The Punch's five most important players of the Finals.

5. Pau Gasol. I've been in denial for a long time, but deep down I know this: Pau Gasol is really good. He's an excellent big man and he's gotten better since the '08 Finals when everyone kept calling him soft. The Celtics have good big men defenders, but Gasol isn't like Dwight Howard who you can foul, put on the free throw line, then slightly laugh as he barely touches the rim and his free throws. Unfortunately, Gasol is good from the line. One noteworthy thing in the Suns-Lakers series was that Amare Stoudemire really took it to Gasol when he was determined (which is a rarity for Amare), and it showed that Gasol can still be overpowered. The problem for the C's, though, is that they don't really have a big man who dominates offensively (although they could try with Garnett) so it's more or less a moot point.

4. Ray Allen. When he's hot, he hits threes like no one's business. When he's cold, he misses threes like no one's business.

3. Rajon Rondo. I've been saying this for a while now, but Rondo has become the best player on the Celtics. He creates, he drives, he rebounds, he plays defense, and he's improved his field goal shooting. You can make the case that, given his success and the numbers he puts up, he is the best point guard in the game right now. But Rondo makes everyone around him better and he helps take the load off the Big Three. The one problem he has, though, is that he doesn't like the ball in his hands in crunch time largely because he doesn't want to get fouled and go to the free throw line where he's still pretty awful. So that means the go-to guy in pressure time is...

2. Paul Pierce. He's not as quick or as explosive as he used to be, but Paul Pierce loves to take over. He can hurt you in so many ways: driving, drawing fouls, mid-range shooting, threes. He might not be Boston's best player, but he's their most important.

1. Kobe Bryant. Okay, let's just put it out there. I hate Kobe. He's cocky, he's a diva, he's a douche, and it's always his way or no way. But he's good. Damn good. Everyone knows that Kobe isn't the player he once was. He's not as quick, his knees aren't as good, and he can't drive like he did when he was younger, so he's forced to shoot a lot more. The thing that infuriates me, though, is that he makes most of those crazy ass shots. Game Six against Phoenix wasn't even fair. He'd be double teamed, have a hand in his face, take an absurd fadeaway jumper, and hit it. WTF, man.

The biggest challenge for him might be to remind the rest of the Lakers that this is still his team. Some guys on the team get that, like Gasol and Fisher. They look to Kobe at the end of the game, defer to him, and let him dictate it. Other guys, though, still feel like they need the glory, namely Ron "seriously, what goes on in my head?" Artest. Remember Game Five against the Suns when Artest took that idiotic three with 50 seconds left even though the Lakers had just gotten a full shot clock? Watch it again and look at Kobe's reaction right after. He was pissed. Rightfully so, I might add. I'm surprised he didn't go over to Artest during the timeout and beat him with the Gatorade cooler. But the bottom line is that no one knows how to end a game like Kobe. Sure, he might not always hit the shot at the end, but he thrives in those moments. It's never over with him. And that's why I hate him even more.

P.S. My favorite guy in the NBA, Steve Nash, on the BS Report with Bill Simmons today. Honestly, how do you not love Nash? He's a great player, an even better teammate, and a really good guy. Please, God, let Steve Nash win an NBA championship one day.