The Lakers-Celtics series kicks off tonight and I cannot remember the last time I have been this excited for a NBA Finals. We have two championship caliber teams; one the champion in 2008 and the other the defending NBA champ. We have at least five potential Hall of Famers (yes, Rondo is that good at this point) on the court. We have bad blood lingering from the 2008 Finals when the Celtics physically bullied the Lakers, namely Pau Gasol, on their way to their first NBA title in over 20 years. Finally, we have the historical aspects of the league’s two marquee franchises dueling in the NBA Finals for the twelfth time, a history that the Celtics own with a 9-2 edge.
I grew up a die-hard Lakers fan. Magic was my favorite player of all-time, I loved “Showtime” and I hated when Bird or anyone else was able to topple my Lakers. I continued to love the Lakers through the Shaq/Kobe era when for the first time we saw what a dominant big man and guard combo could accomplish. The Lakers are still my favorite team, despite my overwhelming fandom for LeBron James, though the luster has certainly worn off, especially after watching Kobe Bryant play me-first basketball for three years in middle of his prime and his still “above-thou” attitude when talking to the media.
This Lakers team is the best in the league when they are clicking on all cylinders, playing defense and feeding the ball into the post. Kobe Bryant is still Kobe Bryant. Gasol is the best offensive big man in the game. Derek Fisher reinvents himself every postseason hitting clutch shot after clutch shot. Ron Artest and Lamar Odom give the Lakers flexibility, defense and more scoring and rebounding options and Andrew Bynum, despite battling a knee injury, is a force down low. That is before we get to quite possibly the best coach of all-time in Phil Jackson. If the Lakers were playing anyone besides the rejuvenated Celtics, it would be easy for me to pick the Lakers in a short series.
The Celtics, however, have rebounded from a terrible regular season to finally make me a believer. It took three series to get here, but I am finally sold. As I wrote Monday, anyone who saw this team play in the regular season could not possibly have seen this coming. They finished the season on a 26-24 “tear”. Yes, two games above .500 over their final fifty games for a team that was completely healthy. They looked slow, old, and quite frankly, past their window. The only players that competed night-in and night-out were Rondo and Pierce. Then a funny thing happened in the playoffs. Garnett and Ray Allen found the fountain of youth. Rasheed Wallace actually started trying. Tony Allen and Glen Davis picked up their play off the bench and all of sudden this team looked much like the 2008 champions, except for one minor detail. Rajon Rondo is a superstar! The guy has played on a level that only Chris Paul, Derron Williams and Steve Nash have played at in recent years. He has been the difference in each of the Celtics’ series so far as nobody has had someone to contain this guy.
So there it is…both teams have the pedigree, the experience, and the talent to win this series. How do we decide? This pains me to say it, but I am going Celtics in six. The Celtics toughness and depth in the front court should be enough to offset Gasol down low and I simply do not think the Lakers have an answer for Rondo at this point. The Lakers home court advantage scares me, as their role players and bench play that much better at home, but in the end Boston is going to be too tough and too physical for the Lakers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment