I've always enjoyed watching NBA games ever since my first glimpse in the early 80's. I remember watching the Lakers, Celtics, Sixers, Sonics and Spurs battle it out in regular season and playoff games when the stars included Jack Sikma, Moses Malone, George Gervin, Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. At the time, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird was just beginning a professional rivarly that was to spread to what was also a revival of the classic rivalry between their teams - the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.
I have always been a Lakers fan and have read enough about their history to know that they started out in Minneapolis. The "lake" root in the team's name actually comes from the Great Lakes in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. When they moved to Los Angeles, they retained the name of the franchise and it seemed just appropriate given that LA was beside the biggest "lake" of then all - the Pacific Ocean. I also read about the storied rivalry between the Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Boston has so far emerged the more successful team with 17 NBA titles to the Lakers' 15. Most of the Celtics' titles were at the expense of the Lakers including 6 during the 1960's when Bill Russell and company were the best team in the league (they won 8 straight titles).
I was sad when the Lakers were swept the Sixers in the first Finals series I watched on TV. I was even more disappointed to see the Lakers lose the following year to the Celtics in a winner take all Game 7. So when the Lakers won in 1985 and back-to-back in 87-88 I was ecstatic and thought they would finally string up more titles to finally overtake the Celtics in the tally. Lo and behold, the Pistons came and so did Michael Jordan and the Bulls.
In the 90's, I remained a Lakers fan while also supporting (from afar) the Bulls and the Rockets. I particularly admired Hakeem Olajuwon who in 1986 led the Twin Towers to an upset of the Lakers but lost to Boston in the Finals. I also admired the tandem of Karl Malone and John Stockton whom I believed brought the basics back to the game. MJ was, of course, terrific. Through those 90's the Lakers teams were decent enough and even made what were surprising drafts at the time including one Kobe Bryant who was to become the franchise player of the team after the turn of the century.
I think the Lakers organization was the better one compared to the Celtics in the 90's and for most of the past decade. It is already a fact that they maintained a competitiveness that eventually led to a three-peat in 2000-2002. Boston didn;t have a chance until in the preseason of 2008 when they finally came up with a Big Three revival in Garnett, Pierce and Allen. I was pleasantly surprised when the Lakers responded in kind by pulling off the trade of that year when they acquired Pau Gasol for virtually nothing before the deadline. Sadly again, the Lakers lost to a superior team, not having the toughness and enough big men to compete with the Celtics.
2009 was different with the Lakers finally hitting their stride and the Celtics meeting a roadblock in the form of more powerful opponents in the Eastern Conference. I was expecting the Lebron James led Cavaliers to meet the Lakers in the Finals but it was the Orlando Magic that emerged after beating both Celtics and Cavs in the playoffs. The Dwight Howard led Magic truly represented the best in the East but was outclassed by a Lakers team that I believed had the toughness and the finesse they needed in the previous year.
At this time, the Lakers and the Celtics seemed at it again and fated to meet in another classic. I was relieved when the Lakers pounded the Suns in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. I hope they get to exorcise playoff losses to the Suns in 2006 and 2007. I was also rooting for the Celtics in the east despite having thoughts of wanting to see the Celtics lose, too, and maybe see their chances at NBA glory fade away with the aging line-up. But I wanted to see the Lakers and Celtics meet again in the Finals, at full strength and with no excuses to offer. Maybe the Lakers can finally pull it off and Kobe can include beating the Celtics in the Finals in his impressive Hall of fame credentials. Or maybe the Celtics can win it again and frustrate LA. Whoever wins will definitely deserve it and I will be happy with the result.
----------
PS I'm envious that the Clairvoyant will be in Boston for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The atmosphere is sure to be electric as it is a potential series ender should the Celtics win again in Game 3. =)
No comments:
Post a Comment