Goin' back to Cali.

It's hard to imagine how the Lakers lose this one. Staples will be goin as crazy and be as loud as Laker fans can get - which is about half of what the Warrior fans at the Oracle were like last year. Nevertheless, the home team will be pumped and full of adrenaline. The calls should go their way and Phil Jackson won't have to whine about the calls to the media. Boston took care of business at home, they did what they were supposed to do. It's now LA's turn.

What I've really been impressed with by the Celtics is their ability to make it extremely difficult for Kobe. He's shooting 20-49 in the first 2 games. They really get after him and force him into tough shots. He's going to make his fair share of tough shots as we've seen - leaning, fadeaway baseline jumpers, hanging double pump layups, high high banks off the glass - but he's going to have to shoot better than that to win the championship.

Also is it just me or has Lamar Odom been completely non-existent? Lamar meet KG, the defensive player of the year. The numbers between the 2 aren't even close. KG's just killing him and locking him up.

Onto my fearless predictions...

Predictions

• Lakers win by 9
• Leon Power does not take more free throws than the Lakers entire team
  
• The commentators jock Derek Fisher for one good play despite many bad ones
• KG goes KG

Hit the jump for a Marcus Thompson interview preview.

Thanks to Marcus Thompson for answering some of our questions. We'll drop the interview in a future post but for now, here's a preview of it.

Golden State of Mind: Even though the Warriors aren't in the 2008 NBA Playoffs it looks to be a memorable spring and summer for NBA junkies. Who's your pick to win the West? The East? How about to win it all? Is there any team you think everyone is sleeping on that's going to surprise everybody?

Marcus Thompson: I picked Phoenix and Boston to start the year. But the Finals turned out to be as I expected. I hoped the Celtics would make it, because I love KG and Leon Powe went to my high school. But I figured whoever came out of the East would lose to the Lakers.