For those of you who have this great yearning for a NBA Final that you can distinguish from some of the most recent finals, look no more.
While the fundamental style of the San Antonio Spurs may not have been exciting, it won trophies. The hard-nosed, defensive approach the Detroit Pistons was admirable, but it only led coaches on the junior and high school levels to watch it.
In short, the NBA is giddy to have a matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. They have history, name players and style on their side. In the 61 championships in NBA history, these two teams own 30 of them. They feature marquis players from every realm of how to get to the NBA – from the player who never earned a credit hour in college because they elected to pass it up (Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett) to the traditional route that Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Derek Fisher took via Connecticut, Kansas and Arkansas. The international flavor is here as well, as Pau Gasol was the final piece to the Laker run down the stretch.
The NBA did make one mistake. This series should have started on Tuesday and not Thursday night. Too much time would have gone by before game one.
While I am a big fan of the previous eras of Laker/Celtic lore, I must admit that even I am tired of watching ESPN ram it down my throat. If ABC were smart, it would find a way to have a current employee in Brent Musburger open up the show with one of his memorable opening scene-setters, capped off with one more “You are looking live.” Then I would know that the NBA finals are here and ready for my viewing.
When you think “rivalry,” you think Celtics/Lakers. Some in this neck of the woods would try to convince you that the Cardinals/Cubs and Blues/Red Wings pairings are rivalries. How could you have a rivalry when one team has won 10 championships since the other team’s last – and that was 100 years ago? How could the Blues think they were a rival to Detroit in hockey when the Blues lose in the regular season to them (and let’s not mention the playoff record). A rivalry is when two teams find themselves going back and forth when it comes to winning the championship.
Granted, the Lakers have had the better of the run over the last 20-plus years, but count on seeing them lock horns for the next two or three years, depending on how the Celtics draft and trade. As for the Lakers, their core is solid for awhile with Bryant, Gasol, Bynum and Odom all under 30.
There are some interesting matchups here.
The Ray Allen/Kobe thing will heat up for sure. They personally do not like each other, though neither is willing to elaborate. Check some of the games when they faced each other when Allen played for Seattle.
Garnett-Odom or Gasol? Toss up. Paul Pierce will have a problem guarding either. And that leads us to the point guard spot, where Fisher is superior to Rondo.
Phil Jackson Doc Rivers? You can do the math on that one. Rivers and Jackson both display the ability to win when given good players. Finals experience will be key here, considering in his 10 appearances Jackson has only lost once.
In 10 meetings, the Celtics have won eight. The Lakers have won the last two confrontations, though. Here is an idea: Let’s throw the records out and enjoy.
Claib’s call: Like any sane, right-thinking person, Lakers in six.
