World Cup betting players would compare Lakers-Celtics to a meeting between Brazil and Italy: a clash of the two with the most championships.  These two have also met 11 times in the NBA Finals, and the Celtics own a massive 9-2 lead over the Lakers, including a six-game victory in 2008.  Can Los Angeles keep the NBA title on the West Coast, and exact revenge for a 39-point loss in the clinching game?

Celtics Lakers Betting – Game 1 is Thursday, 9:00 PM ET in Los Angeles

The Celtics have had to go through the top two teams in the East, Cleveland and Orlando, in six games each after a five-game win over Miami in the first round.  The Celtics that we’ve seen over the playoffs are the closest we’ve seen to the 2008 championship team as they’re playing outstanding defense, and a lot of that has to do with a healthy Kevin Garnett, but the “Big Ticket” looked a step slow in the Orlando series.  The Celtics are very much a perimeter team with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo, but if Boston is going to overcome being an NBA Final betting underdog, Garnett is going to have to put the pain aside and play like he did in the first two series.

The Lakers have a pair of six-game wins over Oklahoma City and Phoenix, as well as a sweep over Utah, and this is a different team than the one that faced the Celtics in 2008.  Kobe Bryant is, well, Kobe Bryant, but the rest of the cast has the championship experience of last year behind them.  This will be especially so for Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, who looked out of their element two years ago.  The Lakers now also have Ron Artest, which will aid Bryant and Derek Fisher on the perimeter.  Fisher actually played decent defense on Steve Nash in the last series against the Suns after he was abused by Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook and Utah’s Deron Williams.

The Lakers are -180 NBA betting favorites in this series, and the two split a pair of meetings this season with the road team winning by a point on both occasions.  The Lakers are 15-15 in the Finals, while the Celtics are 17-3, and as we mentioned before, nine have come in 11 meetings with the Lakers.  This Los Angeles team is tougher now after what they went through since losing to Boston, and the addition of Artest will be crucial as he looks to make Pierce, who is a Los Angeles native and grew up close to the old Forum in Ingelwood, work for all of his points.  Revenge is a major motivating factor, and we’re banking on the Lakers to come through this time.

Online sports betting pick: Lakers -180