This would mark the first time that the Lakers would beat the Celtics to win the Championship!
The Lakers had previously attempted to beat the Celtics 8 times before finally winning 111 - 100.

Now that this season's NBA Finals matchup has been finalized, who will win it all?

When you look at the matchup, it has a good guys versus bad guys feel to it. It is a story of redemption versus validation. It feels scripted. The Dallas Mavericks are the feel good story. It’s a story of redemption for Dirk Nowitzki, after the Mavericks blew a 2-0 series lead in the NBA finals five years ago. After years of hearing “he is soft” and “he can’t close out games,” Dirk has slayed almost all of his demons in these NBA playoffs. The only demon left to vanquish is winning an NBA Championship. And who do Dirk and Mavericks need to get through to win that title? The Miami Heat, the same team that came back from a 0-2 series deficit to win the NBA Championship five years ago. The legend of Dirk continues…

The Heat is playing the role of the villain this season. After “The Decision” and “The Welcoming Party,” the Heat became the team people love to hate. People hate that LeBron and Bosh left their teams/fans to make a powerhouse in Miami. People hate that they celebrated their Conference Semi-Finals win against the Celtics as if they had already won the title. Despite their critics, the Heat is on a mission to prove it was all worth it. It was worth it for LeBron and Bosh to leave behind everything they have ever known as an NBA player. It was worth it to take all the criticism from the media and the fans. It was worth it because they are four wins away from an NBA title.

So, who do you have winning the NBA Championship in ‘11?

On June 22, 1994, the Houston Rockets defeated the New York Knicks, 90-84, in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.  This win gave the Rockets their first NBA Championship in the 27-year history of the franchise.

Hakeem Olajuwon finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks. Olajuwon was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, becoming the first center to win the award since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1985.  Vernon Maxwell added 21 points, while Sam Cassell scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to finish with 13.  Derek Harper led the Knicks with 23 points in the loss. Patrick Ewing was held to 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting. This 1994 series was Patrick Ewing's first NBA Finals appearance, and he set a Finals record for the most blocks in a series with 30.

The Houston Rockets played seven low-scoring defensive games against the New York Knicks during this season.  After splitting the first two games in Houston, the Knicks won two out of three games at Madison Square Garden. In Game 6, Olajuwon blocked a last-second attempt at a game winner by John Starks, which gave the Rockets an 86-84 victory, resulting in Game 7. 

So we've got a game seven in the NBA Finals.  With the exception of Celtics fans, most of us are pretty happy about that.  Tomorrow night's game should be one for the ages.

We wondered how many NBA Finals have gone to seven games, and in those games, how often has the road team pulled off the upset.  Here's what we found (home team in bold):

1950 - 51  Royals over Knicks

1951 - 52 Lakers over Knicks

1953 - 54 Lakers over Nationals

1954 - 55 Nationals over Pistons

1956 - 57 Celtics over Hawks

1959 - 60 Celtics over Hawks

1961 - 62 Celtics over Lakers

1965 - 66 Celtics over Lakers

1968 - 69 Celtics over Lakers

1969 - 70 Knicks over Lakers

1973 - 74 Celtics over Bucks

1977 - 78 Bullets over Sonics

1983 - 84 Celtics over Lakers

1987 - 88 Lakers over Pistons

1993 - 94 Rockets over Knicks

2004 - 05 Spurs over Pistons

So to summarize, there have been 16 game sevens in the history of the NBA Finals.  Of those 16 games, the road team has only won 3 times.

So how are you feeling Celtics fans?  Can the guys in green beat the odds tomorrow night?  It happened once, in 1969, can it happen again?

Twenty three years ago, on this date the Lakers would win the NBA Finals over the Boston Celtics in six games defeating them 4-2. This would be the tenth time that the Celtics and Lakers would meet in the NBA finals. The Lakers were awarded home court advantage for finishing the season with a 65-17 record. With multiple lead changes in the final seconds and Magic Johnson's sky hook, Game 4 shaped up as one of the most exciting games in NBA Finals history. The Celtics would not make another appearance in the NBA Finals until 2008, meeting again with the Lakers. Below is the top ten greatest moments from the 1987 NBA Finals.

The 2010 NBA Finals marks the twelfth time that these two teams will meet to compete to be the champions. Out of the last eleven times that these two teams have battled it out for the title the Celtics have emerged victorious nine times. The Lakers would only win in the 1984-85 and 1986-87 seasons.

Who do you think will take the title this year?

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