If I understand the logic correctly, the Lakers can't come back and win the NBA finals because it's never been done before. In other words, nothing is possible until it has happened at least once.

Maybe not this time. As much as I detest the Lakers, this could be the year history is made.

Commissioner David Stern, whose credibility as a sports czar is now a rather large notch below that of Vince McMahon of the WWE, got his dream matchup. Celtics and Lakers. Raise the ancient banners, pump up the volume on the hype, pray this is the year the finals TV ratings slide is reversed.

One small problem. The Celtics aren't the Celtics anymore, and the Lakers are just a West Coast version of the Cleveland Cavaliers. So anything could happen, from LA rolling over and playing dead to the Celtics losing three in a row.

How could it happen?

The Celtics were 12-8 entering their matchup with Los Angeles. Round one they went up 2-0 on Atlanta and needed seven games to take down the mighty Hawks. Round two, they barely escaped a game seven one man attack by LeBron James. Next came the Pistons. Tied up after a 19 point blowout in Detroit, they righted themselves to win in 6.

The team all and sundry want to hand over the NBA title to is 3-8 on the road going into tonight's game at Los Angeles. If the dysfunctional Lakers can get their act together, and there is no reason they can't, they will go back to Boston needing only to win two road games against a talented, but not great team.

The Celtics have been held under 80 points four times during the playoffs and are perfectly capable of disappearing for long stretches of game time. When they are good they are very good, and when they are bad they are awfully bad.

What would a Celtic collapse look like? It would see Bryant scoring 40 plus in two of the three games. It would include a serious imbalance in rebounding in favor of Los Angeles. And it would likely include Paul Pierce disappearing in one of the two home games, the way he did in Game 3 in LA.

All of which are possible.

This is the series we learn where Phil Jackson really stands in NBA coaching history next to Auerbach and Holtzman. This is where we discover if the inner demons within Kobe Bryant have voices loud enough to drive him to carry his team on his shoulders three more nights. And it may be when we get solid evidence of how much truth there is to rumors of NBA manipulation of officiating.

Do I think the Lakers will stage a miracle comeback? Probably not, maybe even 80% odds against not. But I do think the series will go back to Boston and that game 6 will be tight. And that a Game 7 battle of two not so great teams would be a coin flip.

Anything can happen. Now we'll see if it does.