Hello... I'd like to take this moment for myself to introduce... well... myself. The name is ROC 27. I'm coming over here to make the Silver Screen and Roll my 2nd home. I come to you from Arrowhead Pride, a Kansas City Chiefs blog... I know, I know... But overall I AM a full blooded Los Angeles Lakers fan. I live here in L.A. and have followed the Lakers since I was a little guy...

So, now that we've passed that and you all know that I'm a new kid around these parts, there won't be any hosility towards me if this is a subject that has already been spoken of... I'll be around here for a long time and I look forward to getting to know all of you fellow Lake-Show comrads...

So, let's get to business...

Let's break down the NBA Finals possiblities... Am I putting the cart in front of the horse? Is it too early to talk like the Lakers are already there? In opinion... NO. We're there. We already held up the Western Conference trophy. Kobe already did the interview. Bynum already celebrated at the Playboy Mansion. And we're just waiting for the East to settle... The only thing that isn't yet determined is WHO we'll be facing... So, Laker fans... Who would YOU like to face?

Option A) Boston Celtics

Ahh, the Celtics... Bird vs Magic. Kobe vs ... well... The whole team. You know, I sat here today and watched the Celtics lose to the Bulls. And... Wow! That was such a great game. I mean, it went into TRIPLE OVERTIME for cryin' out loud. But then I realized something... I wish we were the Bulls.  No. Not Chicago (God no), but in their position. Why? I like the fights. I like the tension and animosity. I like the competitivness. All of that.

Utah proved to be a bit of a challenge... But not enough to come up with more than 1 win. If you ask me, I'm kinda bummed that Sacramento isn't as good as they used to be. I'm kinda bummed that the Suns didn't make the playoffs. It would have been a pretty sweet series against rivals of that sort. So, what's the next best thing? ... Yup, you guessed it; The Boston Celtics. We hate them and they hate us. As I mentioned before, I AM a Chiefs football fan and I Hate the Raiders to an unbelievable amount... Well, I'm a Laker fan who hates the Celtics almost as much. I would LOVE to redeem ourselves from last year's upset. I know, I know... If we won, people will be like, "Well, the Celtics were missing KG. It's not even something to be proud of." And my response to that... If Boston was good enough to get through Chicago, Orlando OR the LeBron and the Cavs, then they didn't even NEED KG. Theyre good without him... I think we need that fire under our ass to make sure we punk out Paul Pierce. We need the aggresion that Derrick Rose showed to shut down Rondo. Our bench needs the motivation to out perform the Boston bench.

But then the question comes up... Is Boston the only team that we can have this heated series with? Cue...

Option B) Chicago Bulls

Ben Gordon, Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose and company have really made their stand and showed this post-season that they aren't going to be pushovers. I mean, here they are giving the CURRENT NBA champs a run for their money and are just about ready to send them home (or in this case.. KEEP them home :::Game 7 Saturday, in Boston). How do we match up? Rose (or Gordon) vs Kobe? Noah vs Gasol? Salmons vs Odom? I think it comes down to experience. And we're just too long to let this young Chicago team challenge us the way they've challenged Boston thus far.  Next....

Option C) Orlando Magic

A big, big team... A team that had our number this past season. Can Andrew Bynum step up his game against Dwight Howard? I'm not gonna lie, but I doubt it. I think Bynum could play on a guy like Yao Ming. Ming doesn't have the explosiveness that Howard does. I think Bynum could have a real hard time with Howard... And don't get me started on Gasol. But that's all we have. Odom could play Howard (6-11 Howard vs 6-10 Odom) but I think Odom might have his hands full with Rashard Lewis at Foward. This is a potential 7 game series. Pretty interesting to see if this actually happens. I think their big men could give our big men a challenge... but with that being their strong points... Insert Mr. Kobe Bryant. Kobe would dominate the Magic backcourt. All we'd have to do is watch the 1 on1's and if they aren't there and it's all double teams, quick pass to Ariza, Sasha, or Fish and theres the open 3. Thank you Kobe. Your'e a threat without even taking a shot. Lakers take it.

Option D) Cleveland Cavaliers

The battle for Jordan's successor. Does that bother you? Well, too bad. It's the truth. We've waited for the next guy to carry that torch. And it WILL be one of these 2. Sure, Kobe will be done with the game well before LeBron is, but Kobe won't be done for quite a while. He is in his prime. But let's shy away from Kobe vs LeBron for a second... Lakers / Cavs... It's what everyone is waiting for. It's what everyone wants. Is it what YOU want... Well, vote. 

I'm not gonna stack my money on the fact that we won in Cleveland when they were undefeated there, like most often do... But it DOES show that they're beatable at home. In my opinion Gasol can take Varejao. I believe Bynum can handle Ilgauskas. Odom can hold Ben Wallace down for the series... So, I think we'll have to focus on Kobe/ LeBron and Mo Williams/ our gaurds. Mo Williams can cut you and we need to find the right guy for the job. Fisher will start, but we need the right backup to keep him fresh. With the arrival of Shannon Brown, we've just became more versatile.

Overall it's more than Kobe vs LeBron. It'll be the ultimate professional series... Boring? Call it what you want, but those will be quite the games.

So there you have it... My 1st post here on Silver Screen and Roll. But have at it Laker fans. Who are we facing in the 2009 NBA Finals?