We're just a little bit more than an hour away from the tip off of the 2010 NBA Finals and I still have no idea what is going to happen. The Lakers have been unstoppable offensively, but the Celtics have been playing stifling defense and have already closed out two of the best teams in the NBA this year (as well as 3 of the 4 best players in the league). The Lakers haven't played great defense and haven't seen a defensive team like the Celtics, but the Celtics haven't had to stop a team with as many weapons as the Lakers. Cleveland and Orlando aren't chopped liver on offense, but both of those teams relied an awful lot on one player to make things happen. The Lakers have a slew of those guys, and they utilize a system that is much harder to defend than your average screen & roll. Either team could win this series, it's just going to come down to who can play a more complete basketball game 4 times. I may not know the outcome of the game, but I do know what the Celtics need to do to win this game.

First of all, I would like to see Rajon Rondo in attack mode early and often tonight. The Lakers have been terrible at defending the pick & roll for a long time now, and with an injured Andrew Bynum out there the Celtics need to make the Lakers defense rotate and move to open up opportunities all over the floor. Rondo is the engine that makes the Celtics go, and he is going to need to be focused, aggressive and determined to make the Lakers pay for leaving him open.

Secondly, I want Ray Allen to be in constant motion when the Celtics have the ball on offense. His movement creates lanes, angles and scoring opportunities for everyone on the floor, and its also a great way for the Celtics to physically punish the Lakers and tire them out. Either Kobe Bryant or Derek Fisher is going to have to chase Ray all over the floor, and they will pay for staying close to Allen.

On the same note, I also want the Celtics to set good, hard, LEGAL screens tonight. Derek Fisher especially sells calls very well (read that: flops) and is almost always protected by the refs, so it is important for the Celtics to curtail that portion of their game and not waste too many fouls on those kind of plays. It's important to find the middle ground and make sure that the Laker defenders take bumps when the Celtics have the ball, but the margin for error is so thin in a series like this that every call potentially counts (especially if you're Kendrick Perkins and 1 T away from a suspension).

I also need the Celtics to play with pace tonight and get easy scoring opportunities when they arise. If Kobe is going to defend Rajon Rondo, he is going to have to find him in transition and that could open up opportunities for the Celtics. Boston also does a great job of getting good perimeter looks off of the secondary fast break after dribble penetration by Rondo, and those shots being there or not could be the difference between victory and defeat.

I would also like to see the Celtics focus on taking Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol out of the game. As good as Kobe Bryant is and as important as he is to his team, the key to victory for the Celtics are the other Lakers. Overcommitting to Kobe leaves other Lakers open, hurts your chances on the glass (where guys like Odom and Gasol and the other Lakers generate a lot of good shots) and gets five guys involved in the offense instead of just one or two. If the Celtics can get Kobe to keep taking those hero shots and finish those possessions with rebounds, I am prepared to live with the results. If Boston lets Odom and Gasol run wild, we have no chance in this series.

As always, I'd like to see the Celtics take care of the basketball.

And lastly but perhaps most importantly, I want to see the Celtics come out and remind the Lakers what physical playoff basketball is all about. The Lakers have played the Celtics tough since losing in 2008, but this Celtics squad looks possessed and determined to take no prisoners in this series. If the Celtics can play their brand of basketball and take the LA "fans" out of the game early, I think they can win tonight and three more times in the series to capture the championship. We shall see, get psyched!