By Kelvin Goh Wong

Liverpool and Manchester United. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys.
They all have one thing in common. Their rivalries have become legend, transcending time. Like the list above, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have battled it out throughout the history of the NBA and when they play each other it's personal.

It's no secret that these two teams have no love for each other. From the time of Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell in the 60's to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in he 80's every game between these two teams is known to be very brutal and very physical. When the rivalry was renewed in 2008, it was no different. Pau Gasol learned that the hard way. Pau Gasol was physically abused underneath the basket by a rotation of Celtic players like Kendrik Perkins, Glen Davis and Kevin Garnett.

It was the suffocating and physical Celtic defence that choked the will to win out of the Lakers in 2008. In 2010, they are set to meet in the NBA Finals again. This time the "Purple and Gold" are looking to serve-up cold revenge with a side of bruising to the Celtics. Throughout the series, Andrew Bynum and a bulkier Gasol seemed to have their way with the Celtics interior defense. The CelticÕs star forward Paul Pierce also seemed to be bothered with the physical defense of newly acquired defensive specialist Ron Artest.

It seemed like the Lakers was ready for anything that the Celtics could throw at them. Everything that is, except for Rajon Rondo.
The third year guard seemed to have grown into a true superstar, blowing past defenders and making game changing plays all throughout the post-season. Rondo, who had a game altering triple double, was a big factor in the Celtics game two win. Scoring almost at will, the Lakers were forced make adjustments.

The Lakers become the talking point when the fitness of Andrew Bynum was questioned after he was pulled out in the fourth quarter. A Bynum-less Lakers allowed Glen Davis to chalk up 18-points in game four. The loss of Bynum would have a big effect on the Lakers defensive rotation as he leads the team in blocks and defensive rebounds. Now that Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are finally finding their rhythm as well, this game looks to swing back to the Staples Center in Los Angeles and possibly going to a game seven, right down to the wire.