The odds in Las Vegas are in the Lakers favor to repeat as NBA Champions in 2010. What’s not to love? The Lakers bring back everyone and swap out Trevor Ariza for the more talented Ron Artest. Kobe Bryant doesn’t want to stop winning, and you could see that in his face Tuesday night when he got his ring. Yes, Bryant was happy, but he wants more, he’s far from content with four championship rings and that’s why Bryant is so great.

If the Lakers are in fact going to win the title, they’re going to have to beat some really great teams, I don’t think it’s going to be easy and that’s why I don’t think the Lakers will repeat as NBA Champions. If you want know who will win the NBA title in 2010, then you better read the predictions after the jump.

Sorry Pau, but you will not be getting your second ring next summer.

Just in case you’re not caught up:

Read my Eastern Conference and Western Conference previews.

Western Conference Finals

San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Lakers

By the time March rolls around, I think it will be clear to most people that this will be the Western Conference Finals matchup come May. The Lakers and the Spurs have had some classic battles throughout the years, and this one could be the best yet.

The Lakers are loaded, but the Spurs just re-loaded. The addition of Richard Jefferson gives the team so much more flexibility in their offense, and it will help even out the fact that the Lakers have both Artest and Bryant to guard a team’s best wing player. Ginobili and Jefferson won’t put up the points like Kobe, and Artest will be able to frustrate either, but they’ll both be able to produce. As for Tony Parker, he will be more than capable of giving Derek Fisher fits on the offensive end.

The Lakers are able to kill teams down low with players like Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and most notably Pau Gasol. With Tim Duncan, Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratliff, the Spurs have the size and quality defenders to contain all three of those players down low and keep rebounds on the Spurs side, especially with the addition of the already impressive rookie DeJaun Blair. In addition to the big men down low, Spurs center Matt Bonner will be able to stretch the floor with his effective three-point shooting.

This matchup is pretty even, but I think the Spurs are better defensively, have a better bench and are more disciplined each game than the Lakers are.

When the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals last year, they were on their game, but before that, they took nights off. The Spurs don’t take nights off, and it’s harder to repeat as champion then come back a couple years later. The Spurs are due for one more title, and if they stay healthy, they should be able to take the Lakers out in this matchup and get one more shot in the NBA Finals.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think anyone on the planet is a better basketball player than Bryant, but I think Duncan is close. I also think that if you look at the Spurs’ roster, guys like McDyess and Ratliff are dying to win NBA titles, and they’re going to play their hearts out knowing it may be their last shot. It’s going to be extremely close, but in the end, I think the Spurs will edge the Lakers.

Spurs in 7

Eastern Conference Finals

Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron James is the best player in this series, but the better overall team is obviously Boston.

Rajon Rondo is a better point guard than Mo Williams, by quite a bit too. Ray Allen is also better shooting guard than Anthony Parker, or Delonte West if he ever comes around.

The Cavaliers don’t have much of a bench and by the time May comes around the Celtics should have Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace, Eddie House, Marquis Daniels, Shelden Williams and Tony Allen. The Celtics have options in their depth and they have plenty of size, along with quality defensive and offensive options. The Celtics are crazy, crazy deep. Cleveland is just not that loaded, and unless they make a trade mid-season, they’re going to have problems keeping up with the Celtics depth and versatility, just like they did with Orland last season.

The combination of Kevin Garnett and Wallace is enough to frustrate anything the Cavaliers can throw at them, on both ends of the floor. Plus, with Kendrick Perkins and Davis, it’s just more bodies to throw at Shaquille O’Neal, who won’t dominate in the series at age 38, by the time May 2010 arrives. Andersen Varejao cannot stop Garnett or Wallace, and he’ll also have problems with Davis, his flopping won’t work in this series, Boston is too tough.

Paul Pierce is a good enough defender to pace James, but more importantly, he’ll make LeBron work on the other end of the floor. The Celtics, in the end will be too much for LeBron and the Cavs. Even with the Diesel there, there just isn’t enough in Cleveland to help LeBron pass this very deep Boston team.

Celtics in 6

NBA Finals

Boston Celtics vs. San Antonio Spurs

It’s clear that both of these teams are deep, from their starters, to their benches, each team is filled with talent. They’re also two of the league’s best teams defensively.

Where Rasheed Wallace is a difference maker in a series against the Cavs, he won’t be as important in a series against San Antonio. Yes, Wallace guards Duncan better than anybody, but he will also have to worry about McDyess, who will for sure remember how Wallace had played lackadaisical during those years they spent together in Detroit–which wound up costing McDyess a couple quality shots a ring. Wallace loses focus and can kill a team just as fast as he can help them, the Spurs don’t have to worry about those problems.

Duncan has always been better than Garnett, and as both players are aging, Duncan still has the edge on him. Garnett is aging much faster than Duncan at this point, and Duncan has always been more clutch and more deadly in the playoffs, nothing has changed, even with his aged. Duncan has always managed to put up bigger numbers in the playoffs than he has in the regular season, or at least over the past five or six years. When Duncan is in the playoffs, he’s another animal, and when the Spurs are healthy, it only makes him more dangerous. Also, keep in mind that Duncan hasn’t had a frontcourt player as talented as McDyess next to him since David Robinson, and you can add the young Blair to that mix.

Both teams have size, both teams have great benches, both teams have shooters.

The difference in this series will come down to composure and coaching, and the Spurs will have the edge in both departments. Both teams are hungry and want to prove that injuries were the reason neither made the finals last year. The pride will be there all series, but coaching is obviously on the Spurs side and that is why they will win this series.

The Spurs know they need to win now, and Duncan has never lost in an NBA Finals in four tries. He won’t lose in his fifth attempt either.

Spurs in 6

2010 NBA CHAMPIONS: San Antonio Spurs