Welcome to the Garden ...

Welcome to the Garden, where the Boston Celtics will take on the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals at 9 p.m. The Celtics lead the best-of-seven series, 1-0.

Television crews and NBA personnel are busy readying the arena for tonight’s game. There are cameras to set up, lights and mics to test, and a couple of fake giant trophies to wheel into position. They just ran through a practice run of the pregame introductions, with NBA interns walking past said trophy posing as players being introduced.

I really wish I had something more exciting to tell you than that.

Action outside of the Garden is almost non-existent. Only a couple of fans were milling about around 4:45 p.m. Could be the heat. Or the fact that the game doesn’t start for another four hours.

No players on the court yet. Celtics director of player personnel Mike Crotty is the first basketball-related person on the court, but he can’t do much because all the crews are in the way.

For anyone coming to tonight’s game, you’ll be happy to know it’s nice and chilly in here. The Garden is kept at a constant 65 degrees all year, which isn’t all that fun during the winter. Don’t mind it so much today.

Things should start getting a little more exciting here within the hour. We’ll be covering every angle of Game 2 all night. Stay tuned.