Here we go, the NBA Finals. The biggest stage in all of sports, where camera’s flash so much that there’s bound to be thousands convulse because of the light flickering. Lakers vs. Celtics, Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West vs. Bob Cousy, Kobe Bryant vs. Paul Pierce.
In the history of the NBA Finals, these two teams have met for 10 NBA Finals appearances, in which the Celtics are up 8-2. This year is David Stern’s dream match-up, not only do you have the Lakers which are just as well recognized in the sports world as the Yankees, but you have the STAR of the Lakers being hailed as the next Michael Jordan. That right there kills two birds with one stone when you’re going for fan appeal. The Celtics have three potential future hall of famers, and after reading a lot of forums and websites it seems that all fans everywhere are concentrating on the Kevin Garnett match-up against Kobe Bryant. This NBA Finals is looking to have TV ratings soar up to anywhere between 14-16 as opposed to last year’s NBA Finals match-up between the Spurs and Cavaliers, which ended up rating at 6.3.
The sports world is waiting in anticipation of what will happen Thursday night, which is game 1. Most people know that if Kobe Bryant were to win this ring, it would be his 4th. What is important about that is it would be his 1st ring without Shaq. If he wins this, to him and a majority of the ESPN analysts, it would thereby send a clear message to the world that he was right all along about demanding a trade for a seeming void of talent within the team, but most importantly it would send the message that “I don’t need Shaq around to win.” For Phil Jackson, this title also means a lot. It means that he breaks the tie that he currently holds with Red Auerbach for total championships they have with each having 9 titles. During Jackson’s tenure with Michael Jordan’s Bulls, Red Auerbach made the comment that Phil Jackson was overrated and couldn’t coach to save his life. So in light of that, this next ring would be Phil’s way of not only validating his abilities as a head coach, but also in validating that he is better than Red was as a coach.
I believe that the recent Lakers’ 3-peat team was special, not as special as the ’93 Suns team, but still special, and had that Lakers team stayed down to earth and kept working hard they would have won 7 or 8 titles, making sure that San Antonio, Detroit and Miami would not have won theirs over the past 8 years.
On the Celtics side they say they are fighting for Red Auerbach. They say they’re trying to preserve Celtic tradition, and trying to make Larry Bird and Kevin McHale proud in the process. This is the first time Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and even Ray Allen have made it this far in the post season. Just a year ago, Paul Pierce and Danny Ainge(Celtics’ GM) were both caught under severe pressure and fire by the media after yet another miserable season after having one of the worst records in the league. Danny Ainge’s response to all the criticism was a huge punch in the face saying to the media, “Alright I’ll pull some magic and whip out the best trade for three future hall of famers, and that’ll shut you guys up.”
Bottom line is both teams have come a long way since a year ago. Though not a fan of either team really, I believe that the Lakers’ hijacking of the Memphis Grizzlies to get Gasol is going to be the reason the Lakers win the title this year. All Kobe has needed to be successful was two things. A point guard who knows the triangle offense, and more importantly HOW to run it, and can make smart decisions and big shots when needed. The other component he needed was a versatile big man who can not only pass in the post to cutters and the wing, but also one who is an offensive juggernaut….and can hit free throws. When Shaq was around, his scoring radius was within 5 feet of the basket, and if he couldn’t slam the crap out of the hoop and totally abuse and throw people around, the odds were that he would miss the shot. Nothing against Shaq, but I remember him responding to the question, “Are you worried about your free throw percentage?” by saying that he could hit them when he needed to. He must have not felt he needed to when the Suns faced the Spurs this year because that could have really helped.
Good luck to both teams, I am predicting the Lakers win this series in 7 games.
Check out this resemblence: The two humans are the current guards for the Celtics, check out the resemblance between them and the aliens.
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That Sam guy gets the “military experiment” ratings draw.