Monday's question of the day: Which two teams will play in the NBA Finals, and which team will win?

Which two teams will be playing in the NBA Finals and which team will win?

Reporters from around the Tribune family tackle the question of the day, then you get a chance to chime in and tell them why they are wrong.

Barry Stavro, Los Angeles Times

David Stern gets a big ratings gift in June when the Lakers beat the Celtics in six games.
The Lakers have the easier path.
In the West the Spurs are aging, the Trail Blazers too young and the Nuggets have too many tattooed-personalities. As good as the Lakers were last year, center Andrew Bynum missed most of the season and was a non-factor in the playoffs. However, Bynum has been dunking all pre-season and as a genuine 7-footer he alters shots from opposing teams in the paint.
It’s tougher in the east, with the Celtics, Cavaliers and Magic in a season-long scrum. The Magic still have Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson, but losing Hedo Turkoglu, basically another point guard, hurts, and newcomer Vince Carter vanishes in the playoffs. LeBron James has a new shooter in Anthony Parker and a new center in Shaquille O’Neal who, at 37, still can’t defend pick and rolls.
Meanwhile, the Celtics are seeing one last hurrah, adding Rasheed Wallace, who gives them extra length, to join fellow 30-somethings Kevin Garnett (back from knee surgery), Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. With a quartet of youngsters on the rise, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis and Marquis Daniels, it’s enough for another dream finals.

Michael Jordan surprises with choice for Hall of Fame induction

In a surprise move, Michael Jordan has chosen former NBA star and North Carolina State great David Thompson to induct him into the basketball Hall of Fame on Friday.

Not Dean Smith. Not Phil Jackson. Not Scottie Pippen. David Thompson.

"I got a call from the Hall of Fame and they asked me if I was willing to be a presenter for someone,” Thompson told Yahoo! Sports. “I said, ‘Yeah.’ I didn’t know who it was. … They said Michael Jordan. I was like, ‘Wow.’ He told them that he was a big fan of mine, and I was the one that really inspired him. Being that there was so many North Carolina people he could’ve chose, I was honored."

Jordan mentioned in his autobiography that there would be no Michael Jordan without players such as Thompson, saying,  “I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era. Without Julius Erving, David Thompson, Walter Davis, and Elgin Baylor, there would never have been a Michael Jordan. I evolved from them.”

-- Houston Mitchell

Photo: David Thompson dunks. Credit: NBA

What recession? Kobe's game-worn Finals jersey goes for $35k

Apparently some memorabilia collectors are unaffected by the economic recession.

A game-used jersey worn by Kobe Bryant in Game 1 of the NBA Finals was auctioned off today for over $35,000.

The auction -- through a partnership between the NBA and MeiGray Group Game-Worn Jersey Authentication Program -- ended Thursday at 6:22 p.m. after being available on the league's auction site since June 4.

Bryant's jersey started at $1,000 and finished 32 bids later at $35,270.90. The minimum bid increment was $20.

Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu's jersey, worn only in the first half of Game 1, sold for $1,770.

The buyer, whose screen name on the site is "jtnbafan," purchased both jerseys.

Imagine how much more it would have gone for had the jerseys been signed.

A much more attainable item: Phil Jackson's X-cap worn after Game 5 in Orlando and during the championship parade Wednesday. The cap is on sale for $25 (plus shipping and handling). Proceeds go to benefit the American Indian College Fund.

--Mario Aguirre

Final chapter for Kobe and LeBron puppets?

Kobe stars in the latest installment of the Nike puppet commercials featuring arch-rival-in-training LeBron.

Seems like a good way to wrap things up for now. But don't worry, the NBA off-season is only a few days long. Maybe Lil' Dez will rise again.

-- Adam Rose

Kobe vs. LeBron plays out on T-shirts, but what's their hardware really worth?

It's been a busy week for these NBA stars.

LeBron James reminded everybody at a day spa that he won some hardware.

Kobe Bryant reminded everybody at a parade that he won some hardware, too.

No sightings of Lil' Dez.

If either of these guys are cash-strapped, they could turn to Cash4Gold (you may remember their Super Bowl commercial with MC Hammer and Ed McMahon). The company suggested that the Lakers could send in their new Larry O'Brien Trophy for up to $3,500. Appraisers noted that the trophy weighs roughly 16 pounds, stands nearly 2 feet tall and is composed of sterling silver overlaid with 24-karat gold.

In case the Lakers are selling, I'll offer $3,600 right now.

No word on how much LeBron can get for the MVP trophy.

-- Adam Rose

Left photo: LeBron James sports an MVP shirt. Credit: Joe Corrigan/Getty Images
Right photo: Kobe Bryant sports a four-ring shirt. Credit: Jeff Goss/Getty Images

Lakers parade, like season, meets the highest expectations

Some behind-the-scenes stories from the Lakers parade ...

The Lakers always knew they could turn to Derek Fisher to save the day.

So did the LAPD, which deputized the team's point guard to grab a microphone in case crowds celebrating the Lakers' NBA championship got unruly. Pau Gasol -- a fluent Spanish speaker -- also was prepped to tell Coliseum revelers to stay off the field.

Contingency plans were as unnecessary as Game 6. The city of Los Angeles was able to relish its second-best moment of the week -- a near-perfect celebration of the first.

The only thing raining on the Lakers parade was confetti, glittering along with hundreds of thousands of smiles and one very important trophy that was placed at center court in the Coliseum.

Lakers parade opponents are asking all the wrong questions

Even in Los Angeles, not everybody is happy with the Lakers' NBA championship.

Reports surfaced that a Lakers parade would cost $1 million, a stat later revised to $2 million. The city and team agreed to split the amount, but people are still asking a big question; How can the city justify taking on a frivolous expenditure when the budget is a wreck and employees face layoffs and mandatory furloughs?

The mayor is scrambling to find private donors to support the event, which is an enterprising solution that should please everybody. But the underlying anger seems a bit misguided. On face value, we should be upset when a wealthy private institution might benefit from public funds during an economic crisis. But what happens when the public has benefited mightily from a wealthy private institution?

Forbes values the Lakers franchise at $584 million. What does this big business mean to the city of Los Angeles?

According to the NBA, the Lakers have the league's most popular merchandise. It's sold in stores all over town. We could track down those receipts, but how do you measure the economic impact of somebody selling an unlicensed T-shirt on the street corner? And what about a player who pays property taxes on an expensive estate? It obviously doesn't end there.

Outtake from the Lakers-Magic series

Game 4 didn't go well for the Orlando Magic, who eventually lost the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.

We're not sure if it went very well for one of these ladies in blue, sitting just behind the ESPN broadcast crew. Where's the assist from her friend?

-- Adam Rose

More photos from Lakers 'celebration'

If you were upset by this earlier report, these new photos are bound to get your blood boiling. While it pales in comparison to some incidents this city has experienced, a somewhat small but very mobile (and destructive) crowd swept through downtown after Sunday night's Lakers night and left quite a mess.

LAist has three photo galleries up of what went down after the Lakers won the NBA championship. It isn't pretty:

• Photos: People Celebrating/Rioting over Lakers Win
• Is This How Los Angeles Defines 'Celebration'?
• Photos: Lakers 'Celebration' Damage Found Around Downtown

Incidentally, Pittsburgh is holding its Stanley Cup parade at the moment. No indication of any problems so far. Iran? Well, they had something larger at stake.

-- Adam Rose

Photo: Expo light rail construction workmen led by Anthony Ornelas (right) work to lift a message board Monday morning that was knocked over Sunday night by revelers on South Flower Street . Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times.

Ted Green: Lakers respond to all of their critics

Sentimentalists love poignance. Like when Forrest Gump's mom, and then Jenny, died in the movie, you teared up.

I'm not crying about the Lakers today. Everyone lives in the end, even (I would think) through the victory parade.

But oh boy, was it ever poignant in Orlando, where the Lakers not only won the NBA title, but in a game that served as a real microcosm, a forum in which the team answered every major criticism leveled at it from Los Angeles to Bristol, Conn. Such as:

Pau is too soft: De veras? If he's soft, how come I get more dunks on my office Nerf hoop than Superman had in the entire NBA Finals? Though still a beautiful finesse player at the core of his Spanish soul, a stronger, fitter, more physical Gasol bodied up against the heavier Dwight Howard all series, never once backing down from the young beast with the cartoon shoulders.