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If an alien came to earth and someone had to explain the NBA Finals to them, he would likely put in a videotape featuring players in green and yellow. The Celtics and the Lakers. This is what NBA championship history is made of. There are certainly fans of other teams who tire of seeing these two teams in the Finals, but as far as the casual fan goes, this is what basketball in June is all about. It almost makes it feel like everything else in the world is normal. Maybe it is the connection to history it makes us feel like we are a part of something that is timeless, an epic struggle.

Of course, we were here in 2008, but we werent really here, were we? That season the Lakers seemed like a decent team but not a great one, not until the arrival of Pau Gasol before the trade deadline. And even his addition felt weird. Obviously the Lakers fleeced Memphis in the trade for Gasol, so maybe we were just still recovering from that blindside hit of incompetence.

As for the Celtics, while they had their new Big Three, it felt kind of weird to call them that. The year before they were horrible, so it was hard to adjust to the new reality of them being the best team in the East. Yes, it was fun to see Kevin Garnett in Celtic green, along with Ray Allen and longtime suffering Paul Pierce, but it just felt strange, like a rock supergroup playing a room in Vegas.

In 2010,we know these teams have concrete styles. They have identities. We know these two teams. And these two teams know each other. And, just like old times, they hate each other.

I really don't have no friends on the Lakers. I don't know who on this Boston team does, Pierce said this week. So it's going to be interesting. I'm not going to say it's going to come to blows, but it's definitely going to get fiery and it's going to get real competitive.

It feels like a classic.

Of course, for most of the season it seemed ludicrous to think that either team would be here. Although they both started out 23-5, both teams stumbled for a time during the middle and end of the season. For the Celtics, it was a four-month stumble. But now theyre both healthy and rested.

Obviously everything for the Lakers starts and stops with Kobe Bryant. He has had an incredible playoffs thus far. While everyone has wondered about where LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will go this summer, Bryant has made it clear that he is the biggest factor on any team. But Bryant is going to need help, specifically from the man who was brought on to help him to a ring in 2008.

That season, Gasol got bullied and whipped by the Celtics, on their way to the title. The Spaniard has since put on 15 pounds of muscle, and considering Dwight Howards exits from the playoffs the last two seasons, he may even be the best big man in the game. But he will be tested yet again by a physical Boston team that has four guys (Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Kendrick Perkins and Big Baby Davis) who will attempt to make his life miserable. Gasol and the Lakers did not see anything from Oklahoma City, Utah or Phoenix that even closely resembles what the Lakers will throw at them.

Naturally, master of head games, Phil Jackson, is already talking to the press about Garnetts physical, hacking style employed against Howard. He knows Garnett can be fragile, and he wants to get an early advantage in his trash talking. But it may give Gasol pause and make the big man wonder if even his coach thinks he is not big enough to handle the frontal assault coming from the men in green.

The Lakers have their own defensive menace in Ron Artest. Throughout the season, people wondered whether the Artest trade had come back to haunt the Lakers. Maybe Trevor Ariza was better than Artest. Maybe the former wild child had lost a step and his edge. But Ron has silenced those critics in the playoffs. He was brought in to help shut down the guys who could hurt the Lakers the most in the playoffs: Carmelo Anthony, LeBron and Pierce. He went ahead and took down Kevin Durant for kicks, and now he will get his shot at Pierce, who was responsible for two of the Celtics wins in the 2008 Finals. His ability to hound Pierce will put that much more pressure on newly anointed team leader Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen.

How the Lakers attempt to guard those two should be interesting. The Lakers should probably put Kobe on Rondo. If you think Kobe wasnt listening to all of the future hall of fame accolades being bestowed on Rondo earlier in the playoffs, you can think again. He wants to go out and show the world who the best player is, and part of being the best is having an all-around game. And if Kobe is on Rondo, the smaller Rondo will be forced to guard Kobe at times on fastbreaks, due to their proximity on the other end. Advantage: Bryant. Besides, the Lakers dont need Kobe out chasing Ray Allen around on the perimeter and absorbing abuse off of screens. They can let Derek Fisher and their reserves handle that role.

With all of that said, the series boils down to unanswered questions: Will Bynum disappear yet again? Can the tandem of Odom and Gasol find space to work in on the offensive end? How much leeway will the refs give the Celtics bruising defense? Can someone besides Odom provide a spark for the Lakers off the bench? Can Rondo take Kobe off of the dribble and wear him down enough to affect him on the other end? Can Ray Allen continue to prove himself as one of the great shooters in playoff history? Has Gasol really toughened up or is it just an illusion? Can Kobe continue his amazing post-season and get a fifth ring?

One thing is certain if the Celtics want to win this series, they have to win game one. If Kobe gains more confidence, he will become too dangerous. The Celtics have the chemistry and the size, but this may be a case where Kobe finally makes a claim as being not just an amazing player but also a great leader. If he can get the most out of Gasol and Odom, while keeping Artests erratic behavior to a minimum, he will be almost impossible to stop. But if the Celtics can hit the Lakers in the mouth early and not let up, they may run away with it. One thing is certain, these teams know who they are, now its time for everyone to find out which one is better. Winner takes two of the last three titles and bragging rights on this era of their history.