Filed under: Celtics, Lakers, NBA Playoffs, The Bonus, NBA Finals

Thursday marks the beginning of the NBA’s 62nd championship series, 39 of which have featured the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers or both. This will be the 12th time that the franchises from opposite coasts meet in the NBA Finals, with the Celtics holding a decisive 9-2 edge.

Lakers-Celtics. While Bud Selig is wondering whether to rescind an umpire’s blown call and Roger Goodell ponders placing an ankle bracelet on Ben Roethlisberger, David Stern cloaks himself in the smugness of someone who’d already paid off their mortgage in 2008.

Celtics-Lakers. The Celtics have a star who began his career in Minnesota. The Lakers are a franchise who started off in Minnesota. Lakers coach Phil Jackson was a key reserve on the New York Knicks when they beat Boston and then L.A. in 1973 to win the franchise’s last NBA championship.

Lakers-Celtics. The NBA’s Usual Suspects, which is also the name of a film about an L.A. based criminal ring, as opposed to “The Departed,” which is based around a Boston crime ring starring Jack Nicholson and Leo DiCaprio, who are Staples Center staples.

ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons, alias “The Sports Guy,” grew up in Boston and now lives in L.A.

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