Tip-off: Thursday night (June 17th), 9:00 PM ET, ABC

An exciting, entertaining, and epic 2009-2010 NBA season will come to an end tonight in Los Angeles. The past 7-and-a-half months have produced one of the greatest NBA seasons, in terms of competitiveness and storylines.

The Association is filled with marketable names and faces, competitive teams, young stars, and traditional powerhouses. After losing large numbers of fans over the last decade, it looks like the NBA has regained its swagger as a top entertainment entity in the country.

From the Lakers’ dominance to LeBron James’ rise and fall, from the Thunder’s youth movement to the Celtics’ late-season surge, it’s been an unbelievable year that has not lacked great entertainment. But in the end, only 15 players, one coach, and one franchise will be able to call themselves champions.

It’s only fitting that this tremendous year will conclude in Los Angeles in a Game 7 between the two most successful franchises in NBA history. The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics will play one last game for all the marbles, concluding one of the most exciting NBA Finals in recent history.

Game 7 will be played on the Lakers’ home floor, just 2 days after L.A. took Game 6 by 22 points. But the Celtics have a road win in the series, and all bets are thrown out the window when it comes to a 1-game showdown for a championship.

Anything can happen. It will be a completely unpredictable, fight-to-the-death type of game. But here’s a best attempt at previewing the outcome of tonight’s NBA Finals Game 7:

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KEYS FOR A LAKER WIN

- Efficient Kobe Bryant: Kobe has had an unbelievable postseason and proven that he can take over games by himself if he needs to. However, a jump-shooting, 30-shot, 40-point game from Kobe Bryant is a sign that the Lakers are not playing an effective team game. A 20-shot, 8-assist, attacking Bryant is what the Lakers need. L.A. is at its best when Kobe is the go-to scorer but doesn’t have to take more than 22 or so shots. A balanced, efficient Kobe is the key. Laker fans want to see their star prove his greatness on the biggest stage, but he has nothing to prove. He just needs to lead a balanced Laker offense to victory.

- Contain Rondo: This series has been completely unpredictable. The Celtics have won when Rondo scores 8 points, and they’ve lost when he scores 20. But I think the most obvious key to victory for either team is the overall floor game of Rondo. When he’s getting to the hoop, getting out in transition, finding teammates, and not forcing up jumpers, then the Celtics execute easily. The Lakers need to repeat their Game 6 defensive effort on Rondo. If they force him to take 15 shots and not get out in transition, the Lakers have the edge.

- Role Players Contribute: Early in the series, I said that the bench and role players did not have to be a point of emphasis for the Lakers, as long as Gasol and Bryant were dominant. Well, I have to rethink that. Gasol has been consistently great, and Bryant has been spectacular, in every game. But the Celtics throw too many looks at the Lakers, and L.A. has been losing when they don’t get big efforts from Fisher, Artest, or their bench.

KEYS FOR A CELTIC WIN

- Rondo in Transition: Just as L.A. needs to focus on stopping Rajon Rondo’s open floor play, Boston needs to get him out and running. The Celtics are a much better team when Rondo is playing his typical, up-tempo game. That doesn’t mean that he needs to get tons of fast break points, but he just needs to have the ball in his hands in the open court as much as possible. Attack, attack, attack from Rondo, and the Celtics will have a style advantage.

- Three-point Shooting: Rasheed Wallace is expected to start at center for the Celtics, in place of the injured Kendrick Perkins. With Wallace and Glen Davis at center, the entire complexion of the Celtic offense changes. Both players can make long-range jump shots, and Wallace can hit the three. I expect jump-shooting, off of Rondo penetration, to be a major part of Boston’s game. If Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Rasheed Wallace can knock down several three-pointers, the Celtics are in good shape.

- Strong First Quarter: As Jeff Van Gundy often says, “The NBA is a first quarter league.” Now, this might seem like a useless key to a Game 7 of the NBA Finals; obviously you want to get off to a good start. But I really think that this could be a huge factor in this game. For a road team in a closeout game, a slow start can be the death of them. Just ask the Lakers in 2008, who got off to a slow start in Game 6 in Boston and were blown out of the water. The game was effectively over by halftime. The Celtics need to at least tread water for the first quarter, but it would be key for them to have a strong period. If Boston has a lead after 12 minutes, the crowd becomes less of a factor, and the team confidence is elevated for the entire game.

X-FACTOR - REBOUNDING

Rebounding is the absolute X-factor! The team who has won the rebounding battle has won every game of this series. It’s that simple. I’m not going to point to a specific player or attribute here, but it’s just the battle of the boards that is most important. Whoever rebounds better and more frequently is likely to win this game.

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Alright, so there you have a few of my keys to the game. It’s time to just sit back, relax, and watch the action unfold.

We get to witness an NBA Finals Game 7 for just the 4th time in the last 25 years. Let’s hope for a great one. Phil Jackson teams are 47-0 in series when they win Game 1. The Lakers won Game 1, so is this win inevitable for the Lakers? Or will we see the unbreakable pattern finally come to an end?

Here’s my prediction for the game:

I originally picked the Lakers to win the series in 7 games. But after Game 2, I was completely convinced that the Celtics were going to win the series. At this point, I have no idea what’s going to happen. But I’m going with the CELTICS tonight.

The Lakers are 7-point favorites and playing at home in a Game 7. It’s going to be incredibly difficult to see them lose this game. But I just don’t think that the Celtics are fazed by the situation, and a Boston team playing at its best is better than a Laker team playing at its best.

The Celtics will play their best tonight. Rajon Rondo will control the tempo and style. Ray Allen will hit some crucial threes. The Lakers won’t get enough from their role players after Kobe and Gasol. And BOSTON wins, 103-99, in overtime.

Kobe Bryant, even in a losing effort, is the NBA Finals MVP. Win or lose, it’s going to Kobe.

I’m picking the Celtics, but anything can happen! Let’s hope for a great game in the final match of the 2010 NBA season.