Last-second Finals preview

Yikes, Game 1 of the Finals starts in two hours and I have hardly mentioned the Lakers/Celtics matchup.

Quick rundown of position winners and losers:

Point guard: Fisher has experience, Rondo has athleticism. Rondo has surprised me with his nerves this postseason, so I don't think the jitters will get the best of him in the Finals. He's quick and long, and I see him causing big trouble for Fisher on both ends of the floor. That said, Fisher is crafty. He knows how to draw fouls and sneak around screens and stuff like that. I've got to call this a draw.

Shooting guard: Kobe is the best player in the league. Lakers win this one hands-down. That said, Allen is a major key for the Celtics this series. If he's hitting 3-pointers at a 40% clip, I really really like Boston's chances in this series. If he's terrible (like he was for most of the playoffs), the Celtics are in deep trouble.

Small forward: Vlad vs. Pierce. Radmanovic has been a major head-scratcher for me all playoffs. It seems he'll come out incredibly hot at the start of games, hit three or four shots in the first quarter, then disappear for the final three quarters. Pierce has sort of been the same way. He's taken over at times (41 points in Game 7 against Cleveland, 27 versus Detroit in Game 6), and other times has hardly shown up at all. However, Pierce carried a bad Celtics team for years... Vlad has never been anything but a fourth or fifth option on a team. Edge Celtics.

Frontcourt: Odom/Gasol vs. Garnett/Perkins. This is a tough one. Garnett is the most talented of everyone involved here, but I worry about his penchant for taking fadeaway 15-footers when he can destroy people down low. If KG comes out hungry and wanting to dominate Odom and Gasol, he will. But unfortunately for Celtics fans, KG doesn't seem have this killer instinct.

Perkins is surprisingly good on the block, but Odom and Gasol both outclass him. KG decides who wins in the frontcourt; if he's insane killer KG, Boston gets the edge. Otherwise, it goes to the Lakers. Edge: Even.

Bench: Walton, Farmar, Turiaf and The Machine vs. Powe, Brown, ET, Big Baby and Eddie House. Sasha has been pretty darn good for L.A., and P.J. has gotten some good minutes for Boston. Otherwise, neither team seems to have an edge on the other.

Finally tally: Celtics 1, Lakers 1, four draws.

Apparently I think the series will not be Lakers in five, like many sports columnists are saying.

Also, the game schedule doesn't help L.A., in my opinion. Two away, three home, two away is tough. If they can't put the Celtics away in five, which would require them to win one of the first two in Boston (where the Celtics have been nigh unbeatable), going back to Boston for Games 6 and 7 is fairly daunting.

My final call? Boston in seven.

Of course, I was dead wrong about the conference finals, so please do not gamble based on this pick.

Thank you.