Boston proves they are legit
There you have it. The Boston Celtics were the real deal after all.
Blending big names among one team doesn’t always work. The most recent example of that is the 2004 Lakers. That team was loaded, showed a lot of promise, but collapsed in the Finals. With Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and a host of role players that can hold their own, the Celtics were loaded as well. For most of the regular season it seemed like a foregone conclusion that they would win it all. But then the playoffs started.
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| Paul Pierce shows this trick also works in basketball. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) |
Atlanta is an up-and-coming team but nobody thought they would push Boston to seven games in the first round. It almost seemed like they were making Gatorade pay for airing the Kevin Garnett advertisement incessantly during the beginning of the Playoffs. Boston survived in unimpressive fashion. Thank God for home court. The Cavs came next. If Lebron had a couple better players around him the Cavs that series could have ended differently. That series went seven games as well. Boston dodged another bullet. Next came the Pistons.
Detroit stole a game in Boston, and after that something seemed to happen to the Celtics. They started playing. Ray Allen found his rhythm. Pierce and Garnett began dominating. Rajon Rondo was playing like he wasn’t twenty. And the rest of teams stepped it up. This time, it took only six games to take care of the Pistons. They did the same thing to the Lakers in the Finals.
The Celtics play a good game of basketball. Their defense is like no other in the league. It’s not always exciting to watch defensive basketball, but the Celtics are an exception. They trust each other. They help each other out, and it carries over on the offensive end where they keep the ball moving. Now they have yet another championship.
Boston fans have certainly had it good this year.
Observations from Game 7
The taped delay was in full effect last night. Some of the Celtics (KG, most notably) couldn’t help but let the profanities fly as the excitement of winning a title hit them. To the TV viewing public, much of the fourth quarter and post game celebration was filled with periods of censored silence. Whoever is in charge of the delay earned his Christmas bonus this year. I wonder if the NBA will release uncensored version of the NBA Finals.
Kevin Garnett was never more eloquent than during his postgame interview. More people should tell the female reporter that they are looking good, girl. Even if it is a lie.
The dumping-Gatorade-on-the-coach trick seems to work better in football. You don’t have to call a timeout in order to clean that mess up. I was desperately hoping for the action to continue after Pierce doused his coach with some pink stuff, just to see what would happen. But no, the league wouldn’t allow that because that would be too awesome. They like to ruin people’s fun, fix games, and not broadcast cuss words. I’m telling you, there is a conspiracy going on.
